Port Hardy

Understand

Beaver Cove, near the BC Ferries Terminal, is the oldest known site of human habitation on Vancouver Island (circa 5850 BCE). The first contact with Europeans occurred in 1836 when the steamship S.S. Beaver was sent on an exploratory trip by Hudson's Bay Company (HBC). To exploit coal deposits, the HBC to establish a fortified trading post at Beaver Harbour around 1848, and named it “Fort Rupert” after the company’s governor, Prince Rupert, Duke of Bavaria. Though little of the fort remains, the Kwakiutl First Nations (Indigenous people) continue to reside adjacent to the former fort site.

Port Hardy’s population grew to a little over 5,000 residents while the Island Copper Mine was operating from 1971-1995 about 16 km south of the town. The open-pit porphyry copper mine employed over 900 employees from Port Hardy and the surrounding communities. Today, the former mine is a wildlife habitat and pit lake biological treatment system.

Visitor information Tourism website 1 Port Hardy Visitor's Centre, 7250 Market St, ☏ +1 250-949-7622, toll-free: +1-866-427-3901, [email protected]. May-Sep: daily 9AM–5PM; Oct-Apr: M-F 9AM–4PM. Great ideas and lots of maps and brochures. Accommodations, activity, and transportation bookings. Wheelchair accessible facilities. Public washrooms. WiFi available. Has a gift and souvenir shop. (updated Sep 2017)

Getting there

By car Take the Island Highway from ferries docking at Victoria (500 km, about 5½ hours driving) or Nanaimo (385 km, about 4 hours) from Vancouver, and follow it until the northern end.

By bus IslandLink Bus, [email protected]. Service from Campbell River, Courtenay, and Victoria. (updated Jan 2023)

By boat BC Ferries, toll-free: +1-888-223-3779. Operates ferries connecting coastal communities. (updated Apr 2022) Ferry terminal:

1 Port Hardy (Bear Cove) ferry terminal, 6800 Highway 19. (updated Oct 2023) Served by two routes: From Prince Rupert (16-22 hours) via Klemtu (7.75-11.5 hours) and/or Bella Bella (8-9.5 hours). The ferries travel through the beautiful Inside Passage that connect the North Coasts and Central with the Port Hardy. The number of sailings per week varies by season, and depart up to every other day in the summer. From Bella Coola (10 hours). Operates several days per week in the summer only. Otherwise, travelers from Bella Coola can take a ferry to Bella Bella and transfer to reach Port Hardy.

By plane

Airport 2 Port Hardy Airport (YZT IATA) (about 10 km SE of the town). BC Transit bus route #4 operates a few trips to the airport from Monday to Friday.

Airlines Pacific Coastal Airlines, ☏ +1-604-273-8666, toll-free: +1-800-663-2872, [email protected]. Operates flights primarily in the south coast area of British Columbia with its hub in Vancouver. (updated Apr 2022) Flies to Port Hardy from Vancouver (3 times a day, 1 hour travel time, $195-245 one-way) and Bella Bella (twice a day $165-200).

Getting around

By public transit BC Transit (Mount Waddington Transit System), ☏ +1 250-956-3151. Operates route with Port Hardy and routes that travel to Port McNeill and Coal Harbour. Routes operate Monday to Saturday. (updated Apr 2022)

By taxi Town Taxi, ☏ +1 250-949-7877, toll-free: +1-877-268-5742. Serving Coal Harbour, Port Hardy, Port McNeill, and Telegraph Cove. (updated Mar 2022) Water taxi services are also available at the dock for the North Coast Trail.

See

1 Port Hardy Museum, 7110 Market St, ☏ +1 250-949-8143, [email protected]. Feb-Dec: W-Sa. Permanent exhibits of First Nations (including 8,000-year-old artifacts) settlers' effects, fossils, geology, natural history, and local industry. Rotating temporary exhibits, videos. Gift shop. Admission by donation. (updated Apr 2018) 2 Fort Rupert (10 km SE of Port Hardy: follow Highway 2 to Byng Road, east to Beaver Harbour Road, and north to Fort Rupert (a 2-hr, 15-min walk)). A former Hudson's Bay Company fort which was built in 1849. The present day village of Fort Rupert is a historic Kwakwaka'wakw village of the Kwakiutl and the Komoyue subgroup where the opportunity exists to see native carvers working on totem poles or other artwork and traditional crafts. The band government of the Kwagu'ł is the Kwakiutl First Nation. Fort Rupert (or Tsaxis as it is known by the Kwakiutl) is worth a visit to see its historic cemetery, the Big House, many totem poles, and colourfully decorated public buildings. Also hiding in the underbrush are the last crumbling remnants of the fort erected by the Hudson's Bay Company in 1849, notably a stone chimney. Sandstone petroglyphs dating back to the 1860s can also be found (after careful searching) on the upper reaches of the oceanfront tidal zone. (updated Sep 2017) 3 Quatse Salmon Stewardship Centre, 8400 Byng Road (next to the Quatse River Regional Park and Campground), ☏ +1 250-902-0336. Daily 10AM-5PM. A family-friendly centre that teaches about Pacific salmon. An interpretive gallery, interactive exhibits and hands-on displays that show how salmon are intimately connected to the coastal ecosystem of Northern Vancouver Island, the local First Nations and the local community. Adult $6, youth (5-18) $4, seniors (65 and over) $4, under age 5 free, family (Up to 2 adults + children) $12. (updated Sep 2017) 4 Carrot Park (Rotary Park). Features the Port Hardy Sign and a totem pole. (updated May 2023) 5 Beaver Harbour Park (Storey's

Do

North Island Calendar of Events Festivals, Concerts, Sporting events Some of the best scuba diving on the planet, though the water is cold and conditions are tough (so significant prior experience is expected), is available offshore from Port Hardy. Try 1 God's Pocket Resort. 2 Port Hardy Seawall. Walk on the sea wall. (updated May 2023) Hike Tex Lyon's Trail. A 7-km-long coastal trail heading from the boat launch in Beaver Harbour Park and heating north to Dillon Point at the north end of the Peninsula. (updated May 2023) Fort Rupert Trail (Commuter Trail). A 3.7-km east-west inland trail crossing between Beaver Harbour Park and Bear Cove Rd (Highway 19). Trail includes surfaces such as wood board walk and crushed gravel. (updated May 2023) Wildlife viewing. Including whale, bear, and bird watching (updated May 2023)

Buy

1 The Copper Maker Gallery, 114 Copper Way, ☏ +1 250-949-8491, [email protected]. Gallery owned by and featuring the works of artist and totem pole carver Calvin Hunt. Watch as this carver makes works of art. (updated Sep 2017) 2 Hardy Buoys Smoked Fish Inc., 9300 Trustee Rd, ☏ +1 250-949-8781, toll-free: +1-877-949-8781. A local company that specializes in smoked salmon -- 65 different combinations of products and many varieties of flavours like Maple, Garlic, Cajun, Spiced, and Original. Available in local grocery stores including Save-on Foods and Overwrites Foods. (updated Apr 2018) 3 West Coast Community Craft Shop, 7135 Market St, ☏ +1 250-949-2650. 125 local artists' work is on display. Works of art include carvings, sculptures, paintings