Exploring the reopened country: Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada

Tim Viall
·4 min read
The view from Cape Flattery, Washington, looking southwest into the Pacific Ocean.
The view from Cape Flattery, Washington, looking southwest into the Pacific Ocean.

We are off on a five-week tour of Vancouver Island, British Columbia and the Pacific Northwest, starting with three weeks housesitting on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. The island is stunning as to scenery, and quite large, running 283 miles in length and about 60 miles in width.

With a population of 865,000 (about half of which live in the metro area of the provincial capital, Victoria) Vancouver Island offers vast sections with little population and a wealth of provincial and regional parks featuring rivers, falls, mountains reaching to 7,200 feet and marvelous hiking, biking, fishing and exploration opportunities.

Lake Quinault Lodge in Olympic National Park.
Lake Quinault Lodge in Olympic National Park.

We began planning this trip months ago, ensuring we had updated passports and our full vaccination/booster records, our housesitting details firmly arranged and tentative plans to visit friends in the Seattle and Spokane, Washington, area on our return. Our route, with our small SUV, would take us north up Interstate 5 to Portland, Oregon, then over to and up the coast of Washington and around the Olympic Peninsula, to the ferry crossing in Port Angeles, Washington, then to Canada.

The Black Ball Ferry arrives at Victoria’s Inner Harbor.
The Black Ball Ferry arrives at Victoria’s Inner Harbor.

Since the only ways to reach Vancouver Island is by ferry or by air, our choice was the ferry from Port Angeles across to Victoria. A big part of our decision was tied to past trips along the Washington coast and Olympic Peninsula, including trips to Lake Quinault Lodge, Kalaloch Campground and historic Kalaloch Lodge. Heading north up the Washington coast, we stopped at the old Kalaloch Lodge for a delectable fish and chips lunch, presenting a beautiful, sunny view of the Washington coast and the national park.

Just north, at the very northwest tip of the state is remote Cape Flattery. A marvelously scenic detour, following Washington Highway 112 to 113, then west through Neah Bay, takes visitors to this wild and lonely state park. After a short hike to the shore, the views looking out at Tatoosh Island, the North Pacific and Strait of Juan de Fuca are memorable and offer stunning photo opportunities. We then backtracked and continued eastward to Port Angeles.

Sunrise over Port Angeles Ferry Terminal.
Sunrise over Port Angeles Ferry Terminal.

Olympic National Park, featuring a number of these locations and dominating the Olympic Peninsula, is always a wonderful destination, particularly when the weather can be so nice in late September through October. Had we more time, we could’ve taken the road up to Hurricane Ridge inside the park, for stunning views of the park’s rugged interior and lofty glaciers.

The next morning, we arrived early for an 8:20 a.m. departure on the Port Angeles-based Blackball Ferry for the 90-minuteferry ride, costing just a bit over $100 for transporting our vehicle and two passengers.

Entering Canada is made easy by downloading and filling out the Arrive Canada app: ArriveCAN, which makes getting through Canadian customs relatively painless (other than the Canadian customs officer who, when he asked if we had any cannabis, failed to chuckle when I said “nope, I haven’t tried it since my tour in Vietnam”).

You’ll need to fill out the ArriveCAN app about four days prior to your ferry departure, allowing time to upload a copy of both passport and vaccination record.

The Blackball Ferry is a 351-foot seagoing ship, transporting up to 125 autos and 1000 passengers. It departed on schedule, following a noteworthy sunrise to the east. After a smooth, voyage, we docked in Victoria’s Inner Harbor. The entrance into the old Inner Harbor is quite grand, with the British Columbia Parliament Building, the Royal British Columbia Museum and the classic Empress Hotel circling the waterfront, with vivid flower displays in all directions.

Victoria is a city of flowers, evidenced immediately by the “Welcome to Victoria” spelled out in towering red flowers in front of the Parliament, and the flowerbeds and hanging flower baskets all along the Inner Harbor and Empress Hotel grounds. A short walk past the nearby Royal British Columbia Museum, the adjoining Victoria downtown and surrounding neighborhood reveal a number of English pocket gardens, still awash in flowering beauty in late September. Visitors will also find that Victoria has a number of dedicated bike lanes, out of traffic, making seeing and touring the old city quite energizing. More to follow; next week, our exploration of Victoria, its lovely flower displays and many visitor attractions.

For more information: Blackball Ferry, cohoferry.com; Olympic National Park, nps.gov/olym/. Vancouver Island, vancouverisland.travel; Victoria, BC, tourismvictoria.com.

Contact Tim Viall at tviall@msn.com; happy Canadian travels.

This article originally appeared on The Record: Tour of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada