Take flight in modern floatplanes and conventional twin-engine aircraft for a bird's eye view of northern Vancouver Island's patchwork quilt of islands, ocean, forest, rivers, lakes, and mountain corridors. Campbell River is home to a handful of aviators offering safe and comfortable flightseeing tours.
Floatplanes
Floatplanes are a fact of life in a region where loggers, environmentalists, fishing enthusiasts, outdoors adventurers, and garden variety visitors alike are keen to reach otherwise inaccessible wilderness regions.
The town's two major operators – Corilair and Vancouver Island Air – are headquartered just north of the Discovery Harbour Mall on Spit Avenue near the Tyee Club and the Campbell River estuary. A third company, Discovery West Aviation, flies out of Campbell River Airport.
Flightseeing Tour Options
Utilizing their fleets of Transport Canada-certified aircraft, operators offer a menu of alternatives ranging from breezy 25-minute flights above the Discovery Passage to day-long and longer adventures involving a range of exciting land activities far from Campbell River. From three to nine passengers can be accommodated on these flights depending on the aircraft.
Tour options include: Quick and memorable trips above Campbell River, Quadra Island and the Discovery Islands; interior flyovers that take in the Comox Glacier, Forbidden Plateau and the mountains of Strathcona Provincial Park (the Golden Hinde, Vancouver Island's highest peak, included) as far west as the Pacific coastline; flights to such remote wilderness communities as Refuge Cove, Surge Narrows, Blind Channel, and Port Neville; and wildlife expeditions, white-water rafting, and gourmet lunch flights to such wilderness resorts as Blind Channel Resort and Shoal Bay Lodge.
Check with the Visitor Centre (1235 Shopper's Row) for rack cards and tips on who's flying where.