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Bella Coola Valley, BC
Commercial gillnet fleet docked at the marina in Bella Coola
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Bella Coola Valley, BC
10,000 old rock carvings (Petroglyphs) on Thorsen Creek, Bella Coola
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Bella Coola Valley, BC
The 1793 historic Voyages of European explorers Sir Alexander Mackenzie and Captain George Vancouver missed each other by only weeks in Bella Coola
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Bella Coola Valley, BC
Norwegian Augsburg United Church in Hagensborg
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Bella Coola Valley, BC
Rip Rap campsite is owned by Jim and Amber Knudsen
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Bella Coola Valley, BC
Family enjoying Clayton Falls Park
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Bella Coola Valley, BC
Drifting down the scenic Atnarko River. You can see BC Parks bear viewing station at Belarko in the distance
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Bella Coola Valley, BC
Exploring the estuary and Tallheo Cannery in North Bentinck Arm
Story & photos by Cindy Phillips and Gordon Baron
The hidden jewel of North America
For thousands of years the “Nuxalk” people from Bella Coola used a path leading through the coast mountain range, climbing to the interior of BC to trade eulachon’s and salmon with the interior First Nations villages. This route was known as the “Grease Trail”.
In 1793, Sir Alexander Mackenzie and his voyagers used the trail to end their historic journey to the Pacific Ocean. This was the first recorded crossing of the North American continent by land; 432km of this route is designated as the “Alexander Mackenzie Heritage trail”.
Crossing the rolling plains of the Chilcotin from Williams Lake into Tweedsmuir Park and the Coast Mountain Range is a distance of about 340km. This is the provinces biggest provincial park.
The road drops elevation at Heckman Pass, down the famous “Hill” to the Bella Coola Valley and out to the Pacific Ocean. The transformation from alpine meadows 1500m (5,000ft) to the Valley in 30km is stunning. The road slices through the glaciated mountains to the old grown forest below.
Scenic Hwy 20 has the mountains of Switzerland, fjords of Norway, outback of Australia and the wildlife of Alaska, giving the traveler a winning combination for the ultimate holiday adventure. In 1894, a colony of Norwegians came from Minnesota and Wisconsin to Bella Coola and settled 16 km up valley from the Pacific Ocean and started the community of Hagensborg.
Today, the summer commercial opening for salmon fishing has been cut from five days a week to one or two days a week. To diversify their income, the fishermen started doing one to four day sports fishing charters. This has turned into British Columbia’s largest fleet of gillnet boats used for sports fishing. In the summer, the road at the marina is lined with cars, trucks and RV’s. Fishing for salmon in the Bella Coola River has brought visitors to the valley for decades; recreational activities have expanded into bear viewing, off-roading, kayaking, hiking, heli-skiing and sightseeing.
Kynoch Adventures in Hagensborg have river drifts to view grizzlies in their natural environments on the Atnarko and Bella Coola Rivers. At Belarko, BC Parks built a free bear viewing station (platform) that is staffed for the month of September. BC Parks Atnarko Provincial campground located near-by is usually closed in September for the safety of campers. We stayed at the Rip Rap campground in Hagensborg, which was only an extra 30-minute drive to Belarko’s bear viewing site.
This heritage property was once owned by one of the original Norwegians that came to Bella Coola with the first settlers in the 1890’s. You have 2100m (7,000ft) mountain peaks on both sides of the Rip Rap campsite with the Bella Coola River defining the edge of the property. There are platforms on site where you can fish and view grizzlies at the same time. You also have the opportunity to stay in an original Norwegian house, which has been fully renovated and restored. Owner Jim Knudsen does river drifts with Kynoch Adventures for bear viewing. The historic Augsburg United Church is across the highway and the airport is only five minutes away for your scenic air adventures with Bella Coola Air. They also rent cars and 4x4's next to the airport, what more could you ask for?
BC Ferry Corporation started a marine service in Bella Coola connecting RVers to remote communities on BC’s Central Coast and beyond. If you plan in advance, you can get a connecting ferry (MV Northern Expeditions) in Bella Bella northbound to Prince Rupert, or Southbound to Port Hardy on Vancouver Island. The connector is usually full, so you have to plan this trip well in advance. We walked on the ferry (MV Nimpkish), leaving our RV at the campsite in Bella Coola and took a short cruise out the fjord to the marine highway of the famous “Inside Passage”. You can get off and stay at motel or a B & B in historic Ocean Falls for a night, or stay on the ferry to their next destinations of Shearwater and Bella Bella. Then take the return sailing back to Bella Coola.
We parked our rented vehicle at the marina in Bella Coola and took a 2km boat trip across the inlet (North Bentinck Arm) over to Tallheo Salmon Cannery. Garret Newkirk and his wife operate a B & B at the cannery and will pick you up at the government wharf for a tour www.bellacoolacannery.com. They also do water charters to Tallheo Hot Springs and the Big Cedar Tree. This tree is so big that it is registered as a standing monument in the capital city of Victoria. Another popular cruise is to the historic “Mackenzie Provincial Park”, 60 km out the fjords to Elcho Harbour in the Dean Channel. This was Mackenzie’s final destination on his historic voyage to Pacific Ocean (first European to Cross the North American Continent by land). BC Parks built a monument in his honor. Just below the Plaque, on the rock face, is where Alexander Mackenzie wrote the inscription “Alexander Mackenzie, from Canada, by Land, 22nd July 1793”.
The landscape of towering glaciated mountains, torques rivers teaming with salmon and grizzlies combined with access to the Pacific Ocean and the “Great Bear Rainforest” keeps bringing us back to the hidden jewel known as the Bella Coola Valley.
- Visitor Information Centre in Williams Lake - www.tourismwilliamslake.com
- Rip Rap Campsite and Guest Cabins - www.riprapcamp.com - 250-982-2752
- Kynoch Adventures - www.bcmountainlodge.com - 1-886-982-2298
- Pacific’s Edge Fishing Charters - 604-317-4678
- Bella Coola Air - www.flybcair.com - 250-982-2545