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Port Hardy, BC: Gateway to Vancouver Island, Inside Passage and Discovery Coast by Jerry W. Bird "I coined the term "Adventure Islands," because this area has always been a magnet for adventure travelers and soldiers of fortune, including my father, who left the family's Seattle home in his late teens for a post with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police at Dawson City in the far Klondike. The Inside Passage, geographically speaking, is a vast stretch of the North Pacific seacoast from Seattle to Siberia, dotted with islands and awesome in its beauty. There are the San Juan and Gulf Islands, Queen Charlotte Islands and Aleutians for starters, plus Vancouver Island, which is bigger than many European nations. The Yukon's poet laureate, Robert Service, captured its majesty in his 'Songs of a Sourdough', Jack London immortalized it in his sagas, and Pierre Berton chronicled it in his book Klondike. For my personal Klondike Memories, read the page on Yukon Riverboats." At one time, our family and friends from Dawson, Yukon, considered the Inside Passage a normal, once a year commute to Vancouver or Seattle; heading "outside" from Dawson City, via Skagway and the Alaska Panhandle ports of Juneau and Ketchikan, and BC's Northernmost seaport, Prince Rupert. The final stop en route to Vancouver was a native community at Alert Bay, near Port Hardy on the Northern tip of the biggest "Adventure Island"... the one named for Captain Vancouver... .Pick a direction ... North to the fabled Haida Gwa'ii(Queen Charlotte Islands) and Alaska; east to the Central Coast and Cariboo Chilcotin; down Island to Alert Bay and quaint seaside villages; across the seas to Asia Pacific ports. The North Island's modern at Port Hardy airport is a stone's throw from the Inside Passage. Its BC Ferry Terminal offers sailings to Prince Rupert and Central Coast. As Northern terminus of the scenic Island Highway, Port Hardy is home base for a variety of circle tours, like the one we enjoyed this summer. For flight- seeing, few vistas compare with the 45 minute Port Hardy jaunt, along the Inside Passage, soaring with an eagle's eye, as the Princess Love Boats glide by, and whales frolic beneath our wings. Port Hardy is where mining and logging history was made. Port Hardy Airport, 250-949-6424, fax 250-949-9013 Coho Country A local event, "Fi-lo-mi Days," salutes the big three money earners; fishing, logging and mining. Known as "Coho Country", Port Hardy is famous for superb salmon fishing, and fresh water lakes and rivers where steelhead thrive. Mayor Hellburg showed us the new sea walk along the harbor, next to a large marina, which attests to the size of the local sports fishing industry. Over 400 charter boats operate from this scenic port . Whale watching is a huge draw; pods of whales travel through Johnstone Strait daily, to feed, and to visit special beaches, where they sink to the ocean floor and rub against rounded stones. History and Cultural Heritage A short ferry ride from Port McNeill takes you to Alert Bay on Cormorant Island, with one of the world's tallest totem poles and the U'Mista Cultural Center's treasure of aboriginal potlatch artifacts. Another ferry serves Sointula, a Finnish fishing village on Malcolm Island. Check out Cape Scott Wilderness Trail, North Coast lighthouses, the old whaling station, Stories Beach, salmon farms, Quatse River Nature Trail and Port Hardy Fish Hatchery. For native culture, there's the Kwakiutl Long House, Indian Cemetery, and Gator Gardens Ecological Park . Other nearby place names include Sayward, Woss, Nimpkish, Zeballos, Fair Harbor, Cape Scott, Coal Harbor, Winter Harbor and Port Alice. Locating a business or buying a retirement home? You'll find serviced land a fraction of the cost of similar property on Southern Vancouver Island or BC's Lower Mainland. Continued: Port Hardy to Bella Coola- Central Coast, Bella Bella, Bella Coola and Cariboo-Chilcotin on BC Ferries Discovery Coast Route. Alaska Cruises on the Inside Passage. Interactive Map - Click for a page profiles on each major destination on Pacific Coastal Airlines flight schedule.

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