 |
|
|
| Accommodations of Central/North B.C. Coast? Not Many
|
|
January 22, 2003
|
|
|
|
I'm planning a trip by private boat from Port Hardy to Prince Rupert. Can you tell me which towns along the way have overnight accomodations?
Thanks
Mike Landeros
|
|
|
Response
|
|
|
|
The short answer is: none.
Well, that's not entirely true, as you'll see below. But if you're looking for a situation similar to a car trip anywhere in the U.S. or Canada, "none" is pretty close.
The central and northern coast of B.C. (the coast between Port Hardy and Prince Rupert) is wilderness, essentially empty of population. The local economy is virtually non-existant. There are no hotels or motels, no B&Bs. Some of the outposts have cabins they rent to loggers, survey crews and maintenance workers who are in for a short time. In most cases, though, they won't have a cafe for supper or breakfast. Towns, as we usually think of towns, do not exist. This is not an area I would recommend for boats without sleeping accommodations and some sort of facilities for cooking. Or you could do it by kayak, pulling your boat up on the shore and camping. With that in mind here are some suggestions, working from south to north:
Rivers Inlet. Duncanby Landing has small but okay rooms in a logging camp they barged in and skidded onto land. They also have a rustic cafe. Dawsons Landing has two or three cabins.
Namu. Some accommodations in a couple houses they have kept habitable. No meal service.
Shearwater (near New Bella Bella). Rooms, restaurant.
Butedale. They've made some of the old cabins habitable and are renting them out.
In the summer or early autumn you might find excellent accommodations at the various fly-in fishing lodges all along the way, but their business is multi-day fishing vacations, not overnight guests. This would require a high order of determination, inventiveness and flexibility on your part, and probably a fat wallet.
With the exception of luxury fishing lodges, expect everything to be pretty rough, and be grateful for anything better than that. (Shearwater would be an exception; their rooms, however, are aimed at fly-in fishing guests.) In other words, be grateful for anything you can get, and no complaining.
I assume you plan a summer trip. The facilities that do exist often are closed during the winter, and the fishing lodges won't be there. Also, winter weather is horrible. Make reservations before you set out. If an outpost has three cabins and six loggers are there, you're out of luck.
Are you sure you want to do this?
Bob Hale
Editor/Publisher
|
|
|
Back to Readers Write In |
|
|
|
