The Wild Coast: A Kayaking, Hiking, and Recreation Guide for North and West Vancouver Island

Ann Turner is the financial and budget manager of the University of
British Columbia Library.

Though Vancouver Island is only 500 kilometres (300 miles) long as the
crow flies, its rugged west coast is so deeply cut by sounds and fjords,
and so liberally sprinkled with small islands, that it offers thousands
of miles of pristine wilderness shoreline to explore. This recreation
guide is organized into 11 sections, beginning with God’s Pocket
Marine Park and Cape Scott at the north end of the Island and proceeding
south via Quatsino Sound, Brooks Peninsula, Kyuquot Sound, Nootka Island
and Sound, Clayoquot Sound, and Barkley Sound to Juan de Fuca Strait and
Sooke at the southernmost tip. The pages for each section are
colour-coded along their fore edges for easy consultation and packed
with exceptionally detailed maps and information. A brief introduction
to each section covers access to the area, its geology, ecology,
weather, and history of Native occupation. There are suggestions for
exploring it by kayak (the author’s preferred method) and some
recommended trips to see the best of the area given limited amounts of
time from a day to a week or more. A detailed shoreline guide follows,
leading the visitor along the coast bay by bay and island by island,
noting points of interest along the way. Beautiful colour photographs
illustrate and entice.

This is an outstanding recreational guide to Vancouver Island’s west
coast, and its excellent maps and thorough index make it a valuable
quick reference work on the area.