Where are the Great Bear Rainforest and the Broughton Archipelago? Don't feel badly if you're unsure of the location - that's what makes it special! Very few people know where it is, and even fewer have access to this precious piece of paradise...

The Great Bear Rainforest

The central coast of British Columbia is a land of fjords between stupendous mountains, islands, waterfalls and great river estuaries. Home to grizzlies, wolves and the mysterious white Spirit Bear, it is known as the Great Bear Rainforest. 

Whales and dolphins frolic and feed beside you as you travel in the protected fjords of the inside passage and explore the estuaries and forested valleys of some of the greatest salmon rivers on the coast.  In the springtime, the river estuaries are bursting with new life, migrating birds, and grizzly bears grazing on tender new shoots. In the Autumn, the rivers are filled with spawning salmon, providing a feast for bears, wolves and other mammals. Eagles by the hundreds, ravens and a host of other birds join in. Lining the banks are magnificent Ancient forests so intensely beautiful that people have described them as "living Cathedrals." Everywhere is evidence of the civilization of the first nations peoples of the coast.

Here is a chart with the Great Bear Rainforest area shadowed in green. Click on the red highlighted area for a more detailed chart of Bella Bella or Hope Island in its own window. From Princess Royal Island in the north to Port Hardy is about 150 miles.

The Broughton Archipelago

The Broughton Archipelago is a wilderness marine park consisting of a maze of many small islands and numerous islets between the northeast tip of Vancouver Island and central British Columbia mainland. The islands in the marine park are undeveloped and are largely undiscovered, although there's plenty of evidence of early First Nations settlement.

The Broughton Islands are home to orcas and a variety of marine life together with a myriad of unique marine waterfowl and fauna. The numerous remote, solitary islands incorporated in the park provide unlimited and unique fishing, kayaking, and exploring opportunities.

Here is a chart of the Broughton Archipelago we love. Click on a highlighted area for a more detailed chart in its own window. From Hope Island in the west to Gilford Island is about 50 miles.