Me Time
Far-Coast Escape: Powell River, Lund & Desolation Sound
The literal end of Highway 101: two ferries, cardamom buns, Hawaii-blue water at Savary Island, and glassy Desolation Sound fjords.
Powell River, Lund & Desolation Sound
More infoMe Time
The literal end of Highway 101: two ferries, cardamom buns, Hawaii-blue water at Savary Island, and glassy Desolation Sound fjords.
Powell River, Lund & Desolation Sound
More infoThe end of Highway 101 sounds like a dead end until you learn the same highway starts at the tip of Argentina, which reframes Lund entirely. Two ferries get you to this tiny fishing village of cardamom buns and bobbing boats, the launch point for Desolation Sound and some of the warmest swimming water in coastal North America. Water-taxi to Savary Island for Hawaii-blue shallows.
This one's a proper expedition, and that's the point. From Vancouver, take BC Ferries Horseshoe Bay -> Langdale (40 min), drive ~1.5 hrs up the Sunshine Coast Highway through Sechelt to Earls Cove, then the second ferry Earls Cove -> Saltery Bay (50 min), and finally ~30 min into Powell River, budget most of a day each way, so this is a 2-3 night trip, not a dash. Base in Powell River or push the last 25 minutes to Lund itself. Day one, settle in and swim or paddle Inland Lake (a flat 13 km loop trail) or laze at Willingdon Beach. Day two is the magic: drive to Lund, fuel up on a cardamom bun and coffee at the harbour, then catch the little water taxi to Savary Island for white-sand beaches and the warmest shallows north of Mexico, or book a kayak or boat tour into Desolation Sound's mirror-calm fjords. Day three, wander the historic Powell River Townsite (a UNESCO-listed heritage company town) and the local makers before the long, gorgeous drive-and-ferry home. Photo spots: the end-of-Highway-101 sign in Lund, Savary's sandbars at low tide, and Desolation Sound from the water. Couple touch: a private water-taxi drop on a Savary beach with a packed lunch, just the two of you and the tide. Solo angle: it's far enough to genuinely disappear into a book and the sea, the lake swims, the bun-and-coffee mornings and the slow ferries are perfect alone. Short on time? You can't really do Lund as a same-day trip from Vancouver, if you only have a day, stop at Sechelt/Roberts Creek on the lower coast instead and save Desolation Sound for a true weekend.
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door to door
~4-5 hrs door to door incl. two ferries
from Vancouver
135 km
how long
2-3 nights
best window
July-September
BC Ferries Horseshoe Bay -> Langdale (40 min), drive ~1.5 hrs up Hwy 101 to Earls Cove, then BC Ferries Earls Cove -> Saltery Bay (50 min), then ~30 min to Powell River and ~25 min more to Lund. You pay outbound at the outer terminals (Horseshoe Bay and Saltery Bay); the return legs at Langdale and Earls Cove are free. The Horseshoe Bay->Langdale leg can be reserved online; Earls Cove->Saltery Bay is first-come, so leave buffer between the two.
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