Homathko Icefield, northwest of Bute Inlet, BC

Today, Bute Inlet is a paradise for photographers, sports fishermen, hikers, kayakers, mountain climbers, wildlife enthusiasts, and experienced backcountry users. A small sawmill at the Homathko logging camp on the Homathko River delta is operated by a few seasonal loggers.

Location: The only access to Bute Inlet is by boat or floatplane. The best departure point for approach by water is Campbell River on the east coast of Vancouver Island. The one-hour boat ride due north navigates Sutil Channel and Calm Channel.

• Some of the province's largest icefields feed the watersheds of British Columbia's coastal ranges, including one of the largest icefields south of the Arctic Circle, Homathko Icefield, located above Mt. Grenville (3,109m/10,197 ft) and Mt. Queen Bess (3,289m/10,787ft).

• Located between Stuart Island and the mainland at the entrance to Bute Inlet are very strong whirlpools called the Arran Rapids, and just to the west, the Yuculta Rapids. These spectacular rapids are generated by powerful tidal currents that race through the narrow channels like rapids in a river, flooding and ebbing at up to 10 to 15 knots. Natives are recorded as having assisted Captain George Vancouver's men by using ropes from the shore to pull their longboats through the Arran Rapids.

• Fifty kilometres inland from the head of Bute Inlet is Mt. Waddington, the highest peak in the Coast Range and the highest mountain wholly within British Columbia, at 13,260 feet. The mountain is named after the English educational pioneer, Alfred Penderell Waddington (1801-1872).

• The new and modern salmon enhancement program at the Taggares-Homalco Hatchery on Bute Inlet is operated by the Homalco First Nation, raising and releasing coho salmon smolts into Bute inlet. The program projects that 15% of the released coho will return as mature fish, generating significant economic activity and over 120 jobs in the sportfishing and related tourism industries. The Yuculta Rapids Salmon Enhancement Association operating in the Stuart Island and Sonora Island area also works toward the same goals; the betterment of sports fishing and ensuring the future viability of pacific salmon stocks.

• Wildlife: On a visit to Bute Inlet you may encounter bald eagles, cougars, and grizzly bears and black bears feeding along the shoreline and foraging for shellfish. In the emerald waters of the inlet look for otters, sea lions and seals, transient orcas, minke whales, porpoise and pacific white-sided dolphins.

• Fishing: The Homathko and Southgate rivers provide world-class fishing for all 5 species of salmon, steelhead, large cutthroat throat and Dolly Varden. With Bute Inlet exposed to the huge number of salmon migrating south down the east coast of Vancouver Island, the area offers world-class fishing, both saltwater and freshwater.

• Hiking: The remote Homathko logging camp on the Homathko River delta at the head of Bute Inlet is the starting point for organized multi-day hiking trips into the rugged alpine Coast Mountains. These wilderness hikes traverse granite ridges and snowfields high above the picturesque inlet. The Homathko River Valley provides easier hiking along old logging roads and trails that reward the hiker with magnificent views of the inlet and valley below.

• The Homathko River-Tatlayoko Protected Area comprises 17,575 hectares of coastal rainforests and wetlands along the upper reaches of the Homathko River. Unique features of the surrounding area include the spectacular Waddington Canyon on the Homathko River, extensive icefields, the aquamarine Tatlayoko Lake, and valuable wildlife habitat, including the Mosley Creek wetlands and valley migration corridors through the Coast Range. The area is remote and access is difficult, with no trails or roads within the park. Tatlayoko Lake is accessible by boat, and there is a road and a forestry recreation site along the eastern shore of the lake. There are boating opportunities on Tatlayoko Lake, and consistent afternoon thermal winds also create good windsurfing conditions. The Homathko River is considered too dangerous for canoeists, kayakers, or rafters.

• Seven million acres of ancient rainforest in the Central Coast region of British Columbia, the world’s largest area of unprotected intact temperate rainforest, is earmarked for protection by the government of British Columbia and the First Nations Groups who live there. The Great Bear Rainforest features coastal temperate rainforests, pristine watersheds, rugged shorelines and steep mountainous terrain, ranging from Bute Inlet in the south to the Alaskan panhandle in the north, including Princess Royal Island. This vast and precious area is home to wild salmon, grizzlies, black bears and Kermode (spirit) bears, wolves, eagles and other wildlife.

• The Aurora Explorer is a 90-foot working vessel, a steel landing craft that navigates the wilderness of BC's coastal waterways, including Bute Inlet, transporting supplies to and from isolated logging camps, fish farms, resorts and small coastal communities. It is the only working vessel of its kind on the BC coast, and while primarily a freight boat, it can accommodate up to nine paying passengers in cabins with double bunk berths and a cozy dining/lounge area. Itineraries range from two to five-night trips, with freight and tides dictating exact routes and stopovers.

• To the south of Bute Inlet is Campbell River, which bills itself as the Salmon Capital of the World. One of the four main fishing centres on Vancouver Island, Campbell River is a convenient departure point for travel to Bute Inlet.

• Also to the south, and a little closer to Bute Inlet, is Quadra Island, the largest and most populated of the Discovery Islands, best known for its natural and beautiful wilderness scenery and its excellent salmon and freshwater sportfishing. Heriot Bay on the southeast coast of the island provides a good boat departure point for Bute Inlet, as does Squirrel Cove on Cortes Island.