VICTORIA AND VANCOUVER ISLAND - British Columbia: Including the Alaska Highway - page 271

the emphasis on traditional foods has lessened, although the salmon soup garnished with
seaweed and served with a side of bannock bread is a delight. For mains, there's the usual
steak, pork, and chicken choices, or stay with the local theme and order herb-crusted cedar
plank salmon.
Getting There
BC Ferries (250/286-1412, www.bcferries.com ) offers services from Campbell River to
the island, every hour on the hour 6am-11pm; round-trip fare is adult $8.95, child $4.55,
vehicle $21.45.
CORTES ISLAND
Accessible by ferry from Quadra Island, Cortes Island (pronounced cor-TEZ—it was
named by a Spanish explorer in 1792 for Hernán Cortés, a Spanish conqueror) is a relatively
remote place at the top of the Strait of Georgia, closer to the mainland of British Columbia
than to Vancouver Island.
South of the ferry dock, Manson's Landing Provincial Park is a beautiful little spot
sandwiched between a large tidal lagoon and the forested shoreline of Hague Lake. The
park is named for the Manson brothers, who emigrated from Scotland in 1887 and be-
came the island's first European settlers. Learn about their history at Cortes Island Mu-
seum (957 Beasley Rd., 250/935-6340, noon-4pm Fri.-Sat., donation), which is housed in
a former general store and surrounded by a garden planted with the same species of veget-
ables and herbs used by early settlers.
Practicalities
Close to the ferry dock on a protected waterway, Gorge Harbour Marina Resort (Hunt
Rd., Gorge Harbour, 250/935-6433, www.gorgeharbour.com , tent sites $25, hookups
$37.50-40, motel rooms $150 s or d) is set across a sprawling acreage sloping down to the
water. Amenities include a swimming pool, kayak and boat rentals, fishing charters, a wa-
terfront restaurant (open daily for breakfast, lunch, and dinner in summer), and a general
store. Smelt Bay Provincial Park, 15 kilometers (9 miles) from the ferry terminal, offers a
few campsites (no services) for $16 per site between mid-May and September.
Getting There
The ferry trip between Heriot Bay on Quadra Island and Whaletown on Cortes Island takes
40 minutes. BC Ferries (250/286-1412, www.bcferries.com ) operates scheduled service
between the two islands six times daily, with the first departing Quadra Island at 9am and