VICTORIA AND VANCOUVER ISLAND - British Columbia: Including the Alaska Highway - page 285

Information
The staff at the downtown Port Hardy Visitor Centre (7250 Market St., 250/949-7622,
www.ph-chamber.bc.ca , 8:30am-6pm Mon.-Fri. and 9am-5pm Sat.-Sun. in summer,
8:30am-5pm Mon.-Fri. the rest of the year) will fill you in on everything there is to see and
do in Port Hardy and beyond.
Getting There
Most visitors who drive to Port Hardy do so to catch a ferry to points further north. From
Campbell River, 235 kilometers (146 miles) to the south, allow 2.5 to three hours. From
Victoria, 495 kilometers (308 miles) south, allow six hours without stops.
Port Hardy Airport, 12 kilometers (7.5 miles) south of town, is served by Pacific
Coastal (604/273-8666 or 800/663-2872) from Vancouver. It's a spectacular flight, with
stunning views of the Coast Mountains for passengers seated on the plane's right side.
North Island Transport (250/949-6300) offers bus service between the airport and down-
town for $15 one way.
The North Island Transport depot (7210 Market St.) is also the local IslandLink stop,
with once-daily bus service up the length of the island scheduled to correspond with ferry
departures. The departure of the southbound bus links with ferry arrivals. The journey
between Victoria and Port Hardy takes a painful nine hours and costs around $170 one-way.
Continuing North by Ferry
Most people arriving in Port Hardy do so with the intention of continuing north with BC
Ferries (250/386-3431 or 888/223-3779, www.bcferries.com ) to Prince Rupert and beyond.
The ferry terminal is at Bear Cove, 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) from downtown Port Hardy.
If you don't have a vehicle, call North Island Transport (250/949-6300) for a transfer $10
per person one way). In summer, northbound ferries depart at least once every two days,
with the run to Prince Rupert taking 13 hours. The service runs year-round, but departures
are less frequent outside of summer. Peak one-way fare is adult $194.75, child 5-11 $97.50,
vehicle $444.50. (These peak-season fares are discounted up to 40 percent outside of sum-
mer.) Cabins are available.
CAPE SCOTT PROVINCIAL PARK
Cape Scott Provincial Park encompasses 22,566 hectares (55,760 acres) of rugged coastal
wilderness at the northernmost tip of Vancouver Island. It's the place to go if you really
want to get away from everything and everyone. Rugged trails, suitable for experienced
hikers and outdoorspeople, lead through dense forests of western red cedar, hemlock, and