Port Hardy to Shushartie Bay

In the future, a coastal trail between Port Hardy and Shushartie Bay might be possible. However, this is a low priority for VITA at this time because of anticipated construction and logistical difficulties and expense of building such a trail.

Consequently, the VIT utilizes a water route between Port Hardy and the North Coast Trail trailhead at Shushartie Bay, as do most other users of the North Coast Trail. This is accomplished via a water taxi service available for hire in Port Hardy, available from April 15 to September 30 – see Cape Scott Water Taxi (best to reserve ahead if at all possible!). 

If utilizing the water route/water taxi is not feasible because of availability, your trip timing or cost, then you can hike via logging roads from Port Hardy via Georgie Lake most of the way to Shushartie Bay. This route starts on the Holberg Road, continues along the Georgie Lake FSR and then to road-end via a series of branch roads. Past Georgie Lake the logging roads branch repeatedly and become increasingly disused and grown-in, to end almost a kilometer within Cape Scott Park. A campsite is available at the eastern end of Georgie Lake.

To get from the end of the logging roads to the Shushartie Bay estuary, you can follow a rough trail 450 m to the estuary tidal flats. This trail is not a sanctioned, established BC Parks trail but apparently the work of North Island residents. Once onto the mudflats, you can walk at all but high tide around the perimeter of the bay to the North Coast Trail trailhead, avoiding the sensitive inter-tidal ecosystem and saltmarsh vegetation wherever possible.