Government Dock in Port Hardy BC

According to Captain George Vancouver, Queen Charlotte Strait was named in 1786 after Queen Charlotte, the consort of King George III, by Mr. S. Wedgeborough, commander of the trading vessel Experiment. Queen charlotte (1744 - 1818) was the youngest daughter of a brother of the third duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. With the royal marriage arranged, she travelled to England in 1761 and married George 111 the very day they met, eventually bearing the king fifteen children.

Location: Queen Charlotte Strait is located between the northern coast of Vancouver Island and the mainland of British Columbia, accessed from Port Hardy and Port McNeill on North Vancouver Island.

• Port Hardy
  Port Hardy is located at the northern end of Island Highway 19, which runs the length of Vancouver Island, from Victoria in the south. Port Hardy is the largest community on the North Island, with many services and facilities, marinas and marine services, sport fishing operations, and a wide variety of outdoor activities.

• Port McNeill
  The town of Port McNeill is a thriving community on the northeastern coast of Vancouver Island. As well as being the centre of North Island logging operations, the town's sheltered harbour is also a launching point for sportsfishing enthusiasts who test their skills in the maze of waterways between Vancouver Island and the mainland.

• Malcolm Island
  Malcolm Island is a picturesque island offshore from Port McNeill, offering scenic beauty, excellent fishing and a fascinating history. Originally established as a Finnish settlement nearly a century ago, the Finnish culture still exists today, and is evident in the neat and tidy houses and gardens that surround the town of Sointula.

• Broughton Archipelago, Queen Charlotte Strait

  Broughton Archipelago Marine Park is a wilderness area consisting of a maze of several small islands, numerous islets and adjacent foreshore at the southern extremity of Queen Charlotte Strait, off the west coast of Gilford Island. The islands in the marine park are undeveloped and largely undiscovered. Facilities are limited to a day-use recreation site. The numerous remote, solitary islands incorporated in the park are fabulous for exploring by kayak, and provide unlimited and unique fishing and swimming opportunities.

• Gods Pocket Marine Provincial Park provides some of the best underwater scuba diving on the Pacific Coast. Most diving takes place in nearby Browning Pass, an area rated by the late underwater explorer Jacques Cousteau as one of the best cold water diving destinations in the world. Gods Pocket is made up of a group of islands, the largest of which are Bull and Hurst Islands, about 20kms due north of Port Hardy.

• Cape Scott Provincial Park is a rugged and rain-soaked wilderness at the north end of Vancouver Island, with a network of trails originally cut by enterprising Danish settlers that makes it a paradise for the well-prepared hiker. From the park's main parking lot, historic trails traverse the upland areas in two directions, either north to Cape Scott or southwest to San Josef Bay. The North Coast Trail extends a further 43.1 km from Nissen Bight to Shushartie Bay. There are more than 35 miles of ocean frontage within the park, composed of rocky headlands and promonotories interspersed with wide, sandy beaches. Cape Scott's strategic location means that it is a natural gathering place for migratory birds. Cape Scott Park is also home to wolves and bears.

• Ferry Services: Three BC Ferry service routes originate in Queen Charlotte Strait:
  Inside Passage: Port Hardy to Prince Rupert (Connect to Haida Gwaii/QC Islands)
  Discovery Coast: Port Hardy to Bella Coola (Access to the Chilcotin)
  Port McNeill to Sointula and Alert Bay (Malcolm Island and Cormorant Island)

• North of Queen Charlotte Strait is Blackfish Sound, consisting of countless islands and inlets offering beautiful natural scenery, awesome kayaking and superb fishing in sheltered and tranquil waters. Blackfish Sound connects to Johnstone Strait, a deep and narrow glacier-carved passage extending roughly from Telegraph Cove in the north to Rock Bay in the south. Johnstone Strait serves as an important thoroughfare for marine vessels that include cargo freighters and cruise ships bound for Alaska in the summer months.

• North of Queen Charlotte Strait is Rivers Inlet, carved deep into the rugged Coast Mountains the remote and beautiful Central Coast of British Columbia. Rivers Inlet is one of the many famous sport fishing destinations in British Columbia, with an impressive history of producing some of the largest Chinook Salmon in the world. Fly-in trophy salmon fishing lodges and rustic fishing camps are located in Rivers Inlet, while luxury sport fishing cruising vessels serve as floating hotels, providing wilderness fishing adventures of a lifetime.