A short five night camping trip to the north end of Vancouver Island at the end of June.
Alder Bay Resort and Marina
Home for two nights, this resort near Port McNeil had lots of sites available – we chose a dry camping site right on the water (although tall hedges somewhat obscured our view when sitting out). The next morning the skies turned cloudy and we worried the solar wouldn’t fully charge so we moved to a site with hookups and a much better view ! The resort offers camping, long term stays, and park model homes to buy (with option to rent out). All sites and homes are waterfront, or water view, but like most RV resorts they offer little privacy. There is however, a small wooded area for tents or small campers. Fully equipped, there is a dump station, store, laundry, clean washrooms with showers, propane fill, licensed restaurant, and marina equipped with fish cleaning stations – they almost have it all – just missing hot tubs. They have also partnered with several companies to offer kayaking, whale watching, hiking, and scuba diving, right from the resort. Our short stay was restful. We sat out each night to eat dinner and play games and enjoyed watching the marina activity and cruise ships going by (Disney cruise passed by one evening).
After a quick drive in the morning we arrived at the ferry terminal in Port McNeil. The ferry goes to two islands on an alternating schedule; Cormorant Island (Alert Bay) and Malcolm Island. At the pay booth we were greeted by a very friendly woman who gave us a map of Malcolm Island and provided a couple great tips – on either island a passenger can park at the terminal and board the ferry for free to go to the other island for a day trip – each island also provides free bicycles for tourists.
Malcolm Island – Bere Point Campground
Disembarking from the ferry after a 25 minute crossing, we drove through the small village of Sointula and onto the dirt road leading to the campground at the other side of the island. The island is small, only 24 km. long and about 5 km. wide, so the drive was quick. Bere Point is a small campground of only 28 dry camping sites and pit toilets. We checked in with the camp host and continued to Site F where we were booked for three nights. Good thing we booked months ago as the campground was full up. Our site right on the water provided great views of Queen Charlotte Strait and mountains beyond, along with close up views of the many cruise ships passing by on the way to or from Alaska. A driftwood built fence provided privacy from the site next door – which, according to the camp host, was built by campers that visit every year. They have built fences, benches, wood decks, and creative art and games throughout the campground over the years. The site next to us has a great wooden deck which is perfect for al fresco dining and wildlife viewing.
From the campground is a great little hiking trail called ‘Beautiful Bay Trail’. It is a 10 km (round trip) trail, but part of the trail is now blocked off with a caution sign stating ‘continue at your own risk’. The trail follows the shoreline and is rated as moderate. It starts with a path through tall hedges – about one km. along there is a large viewing platform overlooking an area where Orcas come to do ‘beach rubbing’,. On the beach below is a small cabin and blind which is a fisheries station set up to record and monitor the unique Orca behaviour. The trail continues through old growth forest and climbs gradually – there are a few paths leading down to the beach far below. Where the trail is blocked off we chose to take the steep trail down to the beach and walk back along the shore to the camp. It was a tough slog walking on the pebbly beach.
We drove the next day to walk the Mateoja trail. It starts out in a forest where 100 years ago a large fire raged. Burned out shells of very large trees and sparse undergrowth are evident so many years later and make for an eery walk through this area. The trail continues on into a marshy section for quite a while (where we saw a lot of large slugs) – and eventually ends at a lake which is a popular swimming hole, but the trail was very overgrown and narrow, so after getting soaked from the wet bushes, we gave up and headed back. The trail can be accessed from another road which we will try next time.
Leaving the next day we parked the van in the ferry line-up which is just along the main road in Sointula. We parked early with two hours to wait so as to make sure we were getting on (this ferry cannot be reserved), and the line of cars soon got long. With hours to wait we were able to check out the local stores and coffee shop.
The history of the village is interesting: It was founded in the early 1900s by Finnish immigrants with a vision to build their utopia. The name Sointula, means a place of harmony. The community had approximately 2,000 settlers who wished to build a better life away from the drudgery of work in the coal mines., but that vision died off within a decade for various reasons. Finnish culture still exists today though and in fact, the language is still found in much of the signage within the community, and can also be heard while wandering around the picturesque seaside village.