Telegraph Cove Things To Do
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 Telegraph Cove rejoices in isolation and grandeur. It enjoys a protected coastal setting, temperate rainforest. It boasts splendid access to the Johnstone Strait and Broughton Archipelago and their islands, glassy waters, whales and wildlife. Pack the days with whale-watching, fishing, ocean kayaking, diving, caving, hiking, walking and Aboriginal cultural touring.
Land Activities Caving BC contains more limestone caves than all the other Canadian provinces combined. Some of Canada's longest and deepest cave systems are found on Northern Vancouver Island. The explanation is its karst landscape, a geological phenomenon hallmarked by elaborate networks of caves, sinkholes and disappearing streams. Vancouver Island has more than 1,000 caves. Gather curiosity and enter.
Hiking The Cove is a natural for North Island hiking. A popular and accessible trail for newbie hikers is the relatively short, 3.7km/2.3mi Marble River Trail in Marble Creek Recreation Park. Seasoned hikers may prefer the challenge of the 48km/30mi-roundtrip Cape Scott Trail in Cape Scott Provincial Park. It's second only to the West Coast Trail in BC hiking fame.
Walking Tours With so splendored a setting, it goes without saying walking is one of the great, civilized pleasures of the Telegraph Cove area. Across the Strait on Malcolm Island - a ferry ride from nearby Port McNeill - walks have a charm entirely their own.
Water Activities Bear Watching Telegraph Cove's Tide Rip Tours specializes in the big guys, the grizzlies of Knight Inlet across the Johnstone Strait on the mainland. At low tide, the bears feed along the beaches, dining on seaweed, crabs, barnacles and mussels. A favourite time is mid-July, when bears frolic with their cubs. Get up close and personal with grizzlies from flat-bottom herring skiffs.
Fishing Chinook salmon - the largest of BC's five salmon species - trophy-size Sockeye and pink salmon abound. Halibut and ling cod of Jurassic proportions are the prizes from the depths. Crabbing and prawning further diversify the catch. Yet what amazes many anglers most is the astonishing calm of the Broughton Archipelago. No swell here. And that's just swell.
Diving The Cousteau Society ranked Vancouver Island as one of the finest cold-water diving destinations on the planet. The heroes of the 3-D IMAX film Denizens of the Deep were the marine creatures of the Broughton Archipelago. Bravo to undersea performers from wee nudibranchs to the giant Pacific octopus.
Ocean Kayaking Less than an hour from Telegraph Cove, the vast, sheltered Broughton Archipelago, BC's largest marine park, reveals itself as ocean kayaking wonderland. Welcome to a realm of misted seas, uninhabited bays and beaches, temperate rainforest amazing wildlife and spectacular whales. Local outfitter North Island Kayak Rental & Tours offers kayaking adventures from 2-hour family spins to 6-day wilderness expeditions.
Whale Watching Whale-watching in the Johnstone Strait and Broughton Archipelago is a contender for best in the world. Celebrated oceanographer Jacques Cousteau called it one of the best places in the world to view and enjoy Orca or Killer Whales in their natural environment. Telegraph Cove's stellar enterprise is Stubbs Island Whale Watching, the first - and best, according to seasoned observers - whale watching company in BC and on Canada's west coast.
Flightseeing West Coast Helicopters out of nearby Port McNeill offers customized flightseeing tours including heli-hiking, heli-fishing, heli-skiing and heli-photography. Its hiking and glacier tour involves not only soaring over the glacier but landing square on it for a hike and hi-altitude gourmet picnic.
Aboriginal Cultural Touring A ferryboat ride from nearby Port McNeil, the U'Mista Cultural Centre and Museum at Alert Bay ranks as one of the most important First Nations attractions in BC and in all of Canada. Passengers discover the Native tradition of potlatch and view the Potlatch Collection, a stunning collection of ceremonial masks and regalia once outlawed in this country. Complete the experience with a visit to the Big House for exhilarating First Nations drumming and dancing. And remember the totem poles at the local cemetery. Photograph them from the sidewalk. For information and brochures, drop by the Visitor Centre at the Telegraph Cove Resort.
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