Spend a few hours, a day or overnight in the wilderness. Discover the wild rainforest or soak and relax in the multiple natural hot springs this area has to offer; or view bears, wolves, otters, eagles, swan, ducks, sea lions and ravens, maybe even whales, in their natural environment.
Wildlife Sightseeing Eco Tours
Full day 10-12 hours, all-inclusive with shore barbeque, cheese and wine or all-inclusive overnight packages.
Dala-Kildala Rivers Estuaries Provincial Park
Dala-Kildala Rivers Estuaries Park is located at the east end of Kildala Arm, along the east side of Douglas Channel, approximately 15 km southeast of Kitamat Village. The park protects significant and productive tidal wetlands, river estuaries, fish and wildlife habitat, salmon streams and Grizzly Bear habitat. It has an area of 741 hectares. Access is by boat only. Use Marine Chart #3743 (Douglas Channel) and NTS Map Sheets # 103 H/15 (Kitimat Arm) & 103 H/16 (Kildala Arm).
Foch-Gilttoyees Provincial Park and Protected Area
Foch-Gilttoyees Park and Protected Area is located roughly 33 km southwest of Kitimat on the west side of Douglas Channel and is also accessible by boat only.
It is 61,183 hectares of rugged coastal and mountainous terrain, from sea level to alpine tundra. The park is nestled in the Coast Mountain Range on the north side of the Douglas Channel and has a diversity of features including pristine freshwater drainages bordered by steep rocky slopes covered with old-growth forests, numerous waterfalls, tidal estuaries, unique tidal narrows, and a windswept coastline. Snow-covered peaks, glacial tarns, cirque basins, and receding glaciers cap the park. Together with Gitnadoiks River Park and Protected Area to the north, Foch-Gilttoyees completes a contiguous protected area corridor between the Douglas Channel and the Skeena River. Use Marine Chart #3743 (Douglas Channel) and NTS Map Sheets # 103 H/14,15 & 103 I/2,3.
Kitlope Provincial Park
At 317,000 hectares the Kitlope Valley is the largest intact coastal temperate rainforest in the world, located in an isolated region of northwestern BC, south of Kitimat. One must arrive by boat, sailing or motoring from the ocean into the Gardner Canal, and then anchoring in the Kitlope River estuary, just outside the park.
Unlike many parks that protect only part of an ecosystem, the Kitlope is a complete primary watershed from its glacier peaks to the ocean floor. Hidden in an isolated area of northwestern British Columbia, the rugged terrain of the Kitlope is cloaked in old growth trees, many of which are up to 800 years old and 10 feet in diameter. Species in the area include bald eagles, peregrine falcons, mountain goats, black bears and grizzly bears. The rivers of the Kitlope hold large spawning runs of all five Pacific salmon species.
Natural Hot Springs Tours
Full day 10-12 hours, all-inclusive with shore barbeque, cheese and wine or all-inclusive overnight packages.
Weewanie Hot Springs Provincial Park
Weewanie Hot Springs Park is located on the east side of Devastation Channel in an area of 35 hectares approximately 38 km south of Kitimat. It is situated in a semi-sheltered bay with a hot spring and bath house for soaking, and is accessible by boat only. The park is used by recreational and commercial boaters for hot springs soaking, anchorage and camping. Facilities also include a pit toilet, picnic area, campsite and one mooring buoy in the bay.
For access directions use Marine Chart #3743 (Douglas Channel) and NTS Map Sheet # 103 H/10 (Devastation Channel).
Special Feature: A bathhouse is provided so that park visitors may enjoy soaking in the hot springs water. The hot springs water comes out of the ground on the hillside above the bath house at a flow rate of about 11.8 litres per minute. Water temperature at the source is about 44.7 degrees Celsius and about 38.6 degrees Celsius in the bath house. The hot springs water is not suitable for drinking.
History and Heritage: Weewanie Hot Springs Park is within the traditional territory of the Haisla First Nation. The bay was used in the past for logging. Remains of the old log landing site, logging road and an old steam donkey engine can be found on shore at the end of the bay. The bath house building was built in 1992 by a group of volunteers. Prior to being designated as a Provincial Park in 2004, Weewanie Hot Springs was a BC Forest Service Recreation Site maintained by the Kalum Forest District out of Terrace.
Bishop Bay Hot Springs – Monkey Beach Conservancy
Bishop Bay-Monkey Beach Conservancy has an area of 3,374 hectares and protects one of the most popular marine hot springs and boat anchorage site along the Inside Passage. It is located about 25 km east of Hartley Bay and 75 km south of Kitimat and is only accessible by boat or floatplane. Local boaters, as well as those going to or coming from Alaska, commonly stop at Bishop Bay for hot springs soaking, safe anchorage, picnics and camping. This very popular recreation site includes a boat dock and ramp, boardwalk, tent platforms, pit toilet, and bath house for soaking. The Monkey Beach area also protects a number of attractive small beaches, camping spots, important intertidal habitats and traditional shellfish harvesting areas by local First Nations.
Special Feature: A bath house is provided so that park visitors may enjoy soaking in the warm and odourless hot springs water. The hot springs water comes out of the ground from a crevice in the granodiorite bedrock beside the bath house. It flows out at a rate of about 32.4 litres per minute. Water temperature at the source is about 41.3 degrees Celsius and about 38.8 degrees Celsius in the bath house.
Cultural Heritage: The conservancy is in the asserted traditional territories of the Haisla, Gitga’at and Gitxaala First Nations. The conservancy contains five known archaeological sites (pre-contact shell middens, plank house depressions, faded pictographs) and has historically been used for the traditional harvest of shellfish and trapping by local First Nations. Monkey Beach got its name from legendary sightings of monkey-like creatures (Sasquatch) by local First Nations.
Conservation: The conservancy protects an area of cultural and historical value to the local First Nations as well as high recreational use and old-growth forests of red cedar and hemlock, portions of small coastal streams and coastal wildlife habitat that includes the marine foreshore and intertidal areas.
Wildlife: Bears, wolves, and sometimes deer can be seen along the shoreline. Humpback Whales, Killer Whales, Dall’s Porpoises, Pacific White-Sided Dolphins, Sea Lions and Harbour Seals can also be seen in the adjacent marine waters. Kermode Bears are commonly seen on Gribbell Island, to the west of the conservancy.
