Beachcombing is
the act of exploring sandy and pebbled beaches for as long as
you want. The Charlottes is lucky to have so many beautiful beachfront's
fitting that exact purpose. The beaches located throughout the
archipelago range from small coves to miles of endless coastline
covered in fine sand. Some are accessed by car, boat or floatplane
while others require a short walk or take days to explore while
backpacking and wilderness camping.
Each Haida Gwaii beach offers a different experience.
Some are consisting of fine sand others are rocky and pebbled.
Many times the beach is totally deserted, null of humans, and
other times there is company.
All day visits to a beach should include good outdoor gear (protect
from possible rain, wind), drinking water and binoculars / camera.
Exploring a Queen Charlotte Island beach might
involve spotting some wildlife like whales spouting off the coastline,
Bald Eagles nesting in a tree or running into some Sitka Deer.
Some beaches have trails leading to the coastline. Walks range
from 15 minutes to 2 hours one way. Some like Misty
Meadows and Tow
Hill Trail are short and easy grade walking trails leading
to beaches which offer beautiful coastline scenery. Some like,
North Beach
are massive beaches with piles of driftwood lining the coast and
others like Agate
Beach are short beach walks with people
searching the shoreline for agate rock.
Some waterfront beaches are enjoyed year round. Some beaches
are premium destinations during the storm season capturing the
monster waves crashing the shores and the high winds throwing
logs in the air.
Most of the Queen Charlotte Islands longer hikes encounter sandy
beaches and take 2 - 6 days to complete. The
longer beach hikes require planning and a good
knowledge of tides and weather patterns. Equipment should be prime
and navigation abilities sharp. Longer hikes like the East
Beach Trail follow private massive sandy beaches or, take
the Cape Fife
Trail which leads to rocky cliff viewpoints and more sandy
beaches. |
Beach
Combing 
Queen
Charlottes 