BC Tourist Attractions: The Bella Coola Valley

One of the BC tourist attractions that is well off the beaten path is the beautiful Bella Coola Valley.

We visited for an afternoon last summer after surviving 11 kilometers of terror – aka the drive down THE HILL on Highway 20.

On a sunny day the town of Bella Coola is a little slice of heaven. I couldn’t get over the shades of blue in the ocean. I wish we’d had at least a full day to explore the area.

Quite the shades of blue in this water

But what is there to do other than to admire the scenery?

Plenty as it turns out.

The 80 kilometer long Bella Coola Valley is situated between the Great Bear Rainforest to the west and beautiful Tweedsmuir Provincial Park to the east. Unfortunately it’s not the easiest place to get to. You either have to drive 450 kms  along Highway 20 from Williams Lake (and that takes about 7 ½ hours) or take the ferry from Port Hardy on Vancouver Island – and that will take you nearly 24 hours.

Looking out to the Burke Channel near Bella Coola

But once you’re in the Bella Coola Valley there are plenty of things to do.

• Tops on my list would be a grizzly bear tour in the Great Bear Rainforest. There are many people that offer such tours including the lodges listed below. Also check out BC Grizzly Tours.
• Have a picnic lunch by Clayton Falls and enjoy the ocean view from the picnic table. (See the photo above.)
• If you have a 4 wheel drive vehicle head for Blue Jay and Grey Jay Lakes, 45 minutes above Clayton Falls. There’s a trail and a boardwalk, camping, trout fishing and terrific alpine views.

The ferry terminal at Bella Coola

Lazy ocean fishing

• Visit the Bella Coola Museum and admire the artifacts from the past 100 years. Pick up a pamphlet when you’re there so you can take a self-guided walking tour of Bella Coola. Look for the tiny cabin that was the town’s first jail, search for the home of the Hudson’s Bay manager and then check out the totem pole entry at the House of Noomnst.
• Arrange for a tour of the hundreds of petroglyphs with a Nuxalk guide. They lie in the forest in the Thorsen Creek area. The carvings were created by Nuxalk Ancestors and are thought by some to be 3500 years old. In fact Norwegian explorer Thor Heyerdahl proposes a connection between these petroglyphs and those from the Easter Islands – because of the similarity in the rock carvings.

Totem pole in the front yard of a Bella Coola house

• If you’re into rodeos visit Bella Coola on the first long weekend in July when it plays host to one of the largest amateur rodeos in western Canada.
• There is loads of hiking in the Bella Coola Valley. Or head for Tweedsmuir Provincial Park and choose from a huge variety of trails including what I consider a world class hike – the Rainbow Range hike.
• Go fishing – in one of the famous fishing holes in Tweedsmuir Provincial Park or in the ocean.
• Enjoy the drive up the Bella Coola Valley. It was far more scenic than I ever imagined it would be.

Beautiful pot of flowers welcomes you to the Bella Coola Mountain Lodge

Where to stay in the Bella Coola Valley

• Bella Coola Mountain Lodge - A nice looking newer lodge with 14 rooms and a dining room with an inspired menu – offering fresh, local seafood, organic greens and predator friendly ingredients. They also rent cars to their guests should you have arrived on foot via the ferry. If you need a latte for the road you can get one here.
• Tweedsmuir Park Lodge boasts 600 meters of river frontage and views of Mt. Stupendous and Mt. Melikan. Choose a cabin or a chalet and sit back and relax OR pick something out of their wide range of activities – fishing, mountain biking, bear viewing, heli- skiing to name just a few.
• Anahim Lake Eagle’s Nest Resort is located on Anahim Lake at the top of The Hill. Choose a cabin or a suite and enjoy your meal in a dining room overlooking the lake. We watched a bald eagle pull a fish out of the water from our seat.

Bald eagle with fish

Heading east out of Bella Coola

Giant wooden mushroom seen along the highway

You get glacier views driving the highway

Location map for the Bella Coola Valley

Have you been to the Bella Coola Valley?

Leigh McAdam

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About Hike Bike Travel
Avid world traveler. Craves adventure - & the odd wildly epic day. Gardener. Reader. Wine lover. Next big project - a book on 100 Canadian outdoor adventures.
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