Friday, January 8, 2016

Queens Charlotte Islands Accommodations: After The Day's Adventure Is Done

By Edward Allen


The North American continent is home to many of the world's greatest outdoors vacations, where one can escape it all and head back to the way the ancients lived. Among these sites is the Great Northwest's version of paradise: a forested archipelago off the Canadian mainland at British Columbia. Most of us will be happy to learn that even in the largely pristine Queens Charlotte Islands accommodations are available. In fact, they're quite civilized, just in case you prefer a resort-level meal and a comfy bed to camping on the beach with the bears.

Quietly, this apparently pristine wilderness has sprouted several mid-sized to small lodges and cottages, most of them considerably more posh on the inside than magnificent on the outside. Few visit the Queen Charlotte Islands to hang out in the lodge, so this is a luxury that remains fairly secret. This isn't Vail, but a genuine wild environment where visitors typically come to enjoy the primeval and the solitary.

Also known as the Haida Gwaii, the archipelago of islands has been home to the Haida Indians for untold thousands of years. Today these first peoples' ancient villages are of endless fascination to tourists from all over the world. So too are their cultural artifacts, such as their majestic Pacific Northwest Indian totem poles.

Today, the Haida Gwaii is likely known best for its population of black bears, many of them topping seven feet tall. Certainly they can be dangerous if one should come upon one suddenly. The safest way to view them is from the deck of a boat, observing the bears on a nearby beach. Wondrously, the bears' population is so healthy that bear-hunting is encouraged, and highly popular.

On one point, bear and tourist are likely in agreement. The salmon fishing is excellent, and was one of the earliest attractions to these islands. So is the deer hunting. It's rare to find a place of such easily abundant wildlife associated with the Pacific Northwest, from eagles to sea otters.

The archipelago consists of one hundred and fifty little islands, large and small. As one might imagine, this is wonderful if one is a boater. There are abundant streams and rapids, as well as innumerable coves to bring out the explorer in any boat's captain. In season, the salmon runs can be spectacular. There are all sorts of hidden gems to be found by water, such as the cove where Captain Cook dropped anchor and began the Islands' modern history.

The vistas are nothing short of magical, and it's no surprise that the Charlottes are commonly known as the Misty Isles. The fog can be overwhelming, blanketing the island mountain peaks and winding through the trees. Boaters can encounter spectacular "fog bows" as well as rainbows over seas full of sea lions, seals, even whales.

This is a place of moss on the tree trunks, winding trails, and quiet, rocky beaches. It's a wonderful place to come for hiking, biking, camping, or hunting. But it isn't necessarily to sleep out on the land. There are plenty of warm, sumptuous lodges to retire to after a day of adventure.




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