Guests must arrive at Sandspit Airport (YZP) on the northeast tip of Moresby Island the day before the trip's first scheduled day. Upon arrival, check in with Moresby Explorers to confirm where you need to meet up the following day. Spend the rest of the day exploring Sandspit, walking the beach, and watching the many bald eagles that dot the treetops along the shoreline.
Overnight: Sandspit
At approximately 7:30 AM, the Moresby Explorers will pick you up and drive the group by van to Moresby Camp, a small bay on Cumshuwa Inlet. There, you will board the Moresby Explorers' inflatable for the exhilarating 2½-hour trip along the coast of Moresby Island to our first camp on the northern shores of Juan Perez Sound. After settling into camp, you'll receive a sea kayaking orientation and explore the area to try out new skills.
Overnight: Wilderness Camping
Meals: Lunch & Dinner
After breakfast, we start our Haida Gwaii kayaking trip and set a course for Hlk'yah G̱awG̱a — Windy Bay, paddling the northern coast of Juan Perez Sound along the shoreline of Lyell Island. En route, we'll keep an eye out for whale spouts offshore and soaring eagles above us. Arriving at camp, we are greeted by the Gwaii Haanas Legacy Pole, a 42-foot red cedar pole carved by Jaalen Edenshaw and raised in 2013 — the first monumental pole erected in Gwaii Haanas in over 130 years. We meet the Haida Watchmen, who provide insight into the significance of the site and lead us along a trail through the intact watershed on Lyell Island — past several culturally modified trees and the trail's centrepiece, a giant Sitka spruce estimated at 800 to 900 years old.
Overnight: Wilderness Camping
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Today, we will point our bows south, skirting the Tar and Kawas Islets to observe seabird colonies and paddle past Faraday and Murchison Islands to our campsite on Ramsay Island. Ramsay hosts the most important seabird nesting grounds in the group, and its surrounding waters double as haul-out sites for harbour seals and prime feeding grounds for seabirds working the tide. From here, we are in an ideal location to visit Gandll K'in Gwaay.yaay — Hot Spring Island.
Overnight: Wilderness Camping
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
A visit to Hot Spring Island is unforgettable on many levels. We'll be greeted by Haida Watchmen, so you'll experience their famous hospitality, and soaking in the hot pools, with sweeping views of Juan Perez Sound and the San Christoval Mountain range to the west, is unforgettable. We'll spend the rest of the day exploring the rugged coastline of Ramsay Island before enjoying one of the best sunset views in Gwaii Haanas.
Overnight: Wilderness Camping
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
After rounding the western tip of Ramsay Island, we'll cross to Moresby Island and paddle south to our campsite in a cove on the northern shore of Burnaby's Island. We'll watch for more of the abundant Gwaii Haanas wildlife; pine martens forage the tideline, while Sitka black-tailed deer step out of the trees without a trace of shyness. Bald eagles are a constant overhead presence, and this stretch of coast supports one of the park's highest densities of eagle nests.
Overnight: Wilderness Camping
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Today, timing our departure to take advantage of favourable tides, we'll kayak down the channel between Burnaby and the Moresby Islands. After lunch, we'll explore Island Bay at the foot of Yatza Mountain, the tallest peak in the San Christoval Range that forms the spine of Moresby Island. As we near our campsite by Burnaby Narrows — known to the Haida as K'iid — we'll watch the shoreline for Haida Gwaii black bears drawn to the low-tide access to food at the Narrows, a slender, shallow channel connecting Juan Perez Sound to Skincuttle Inlet. Barely a kilometre long and only fifty metres wide, it has earned a reputation as one of the richest intertidal zones on the planet, with reports of more biomass per square metre than almost anywhere else on Earth.
Overnight: Wilderness Camping
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
A short paddle takes us to Burnaby Narrows at the lower-low tide of the day. Floating the narrows by kayak, we will experience the colourful pageant of this biological wonder up close. A slow-motion procession past giant plumose anemones, sunflower and ochre sea stars, purple sea urchins, red rock crabs, moon snails, and beds of clams and mussels — all visible in water so shallow you could nearly reach out and touch them. This isn't just scenery: K'iid has been a working harvesting ground for the Haida for generations, and remains one still. Back at camp, there will be a fire, a celebratory dinner, and time to reflect on and recount the trip's adventures.
Overnight: Wilderness Camping
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
The final day of our Haida Gwaii kayaking adventure—a leisurely morning at camp as we pack personal gear and wait for Moresby Explorers to arrive. The return trip is scheduled to have participants back in Sandspit by late afternoon or early evening.
Overnight: Sandspit
Meals: Breakfast & Lunch
A Note on Itineraries
Itineraries are intended as guidelines only. Tofino Expeditions reserves the right to change the itinerary without advance notice at the discretion of the guides due to weather conditions or other general or logistical situations at the time of the trip. Tofino Expeditions is committed to producing trips of consistently high quality and safety without compromise.
Overnight: N/A
