Haida Gwaii Kayaking Tours

Our Haida Gwaii kayaking tours explore Gwaii Haanas National Park and offer both a rich environment and rich cultural heritage. The Islands of Haida Gwaii are referred to as Canada’s “Galapagos” because of their unique ecology. You will stay at beach camps where generations of Haida paddlers have landed their magnificent cedar canoes, and where the rainforest floors are covered with a thick carpet of moss.

We run our Haida Gwaii kayak tours in the remote southern portion of Gwaii Haanas National Park. The trips are timed for the best weather and structured as a journey between what we feel are the two most compelling features of the Park, the tapestry of brightly-colored sea stars at Burnaby Narrows, the highest density of intertidal life on the planet, and the standing totem poles at the Skung Gwaii village (Ninstints), a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Located 80 miles off Canada’s extreme northwest coast, the islands of Haida Gwaii (Haida Place) are home to the Haida, an indigenous people with a formidable sea-going lineage and a remarkable artistic tradition. Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve (Gwaii Haanas means "Place of Wonder") was founded to protect the natural and cultural integrity of the remote southern portion of the archipelago.

Sea kayaking routes on the west coast of Canada are some of the best in the world and experienced paddlers regard Haida Gwaii, formerly the Queen Charlotte Islands, as the best of the best. You’ll travel the Islands in style using the best equipment available. Each day your guides will surprise and delight you with freshly prepared meals that reflect Tofino Expeditions’ reputation for high quality trip food and campfire cuisine.  

National Geographic rated Gwaii Haanas National Park as the top park destination in North America — “Beautiful and intact. A great model for other regions.” Outside Magazine Travel Awards rated Haida Gwaii as “Best Islands.” UNESCO has declared the village of Skung Gwaii with its intact totem poles a World Heritage Site.

Your guides take you on a multi-day kayak camping journey through the southern portion of Gwaii Haanas, a place where sea lions lounge on rocky haul-outs; gulls, petrels and tufted puffins perch on cliffs; humpback and orca whales glide through the channels and straits; and tidal shallows are scattered with brightly colored sea stars.

Feel the silent power of the standing totem poles at the SGang Gwaay (Skung Gwaii) UNESCO World Heritage Site. Float through the richest inter-tidal life on the planet at Burnaby Narrows. Experience the incomparable blend of landscape, cultural history, and wildlife that make Gwaii Haanas National Park truly a place of wonder.

Tofino Expeditions has been operating trips in Haida Gwaii since 1992. As one of the most experienced kayak guide teams working in the Gwaii Haanas, we know the Park in a way few paddlers do. All of our trips are run with tandem expedition kayaks because their added speed (at least 25% faster than singles) and stability ensures safety, comfort and route success. Our Gwaii Haanas program is operated by the same Canadian company that I founded in Tofino in 1988 and has been running trips on the BC Coast ever since. Have questions? Call me at 800-677-0877 — Grant Thompson, Founder and Owner, Tofino Expeditions

"I have been a mountain guide for more than 30 years, but know nothing about ocean kayaking. So I booked a trip for my 63 year old sister, her partner, my 13 year old daughter, my partner, and myself. Grant and Jess took us from the ancient totem poles of SGang Gwaay to the tidal flats of Burnaby Narrows in Gwaii Haanas National Park and Haida Heritage Site, Haida Gwaii, British Columbia, Canada. It was an immersion in a totally different world, facilitated by a fellow guide whom I salute. We encountered whales blowing, sea lions bellowing, and salmon jumping. Needless to say, the organization, the food, and the guiding were smooth and well thought out. We got great food, we had very good kayaks and tents, and decisions were made at the right time and communicated well. Grant always knew where the group was at, was generous in sharing his knowledge, and I learnt a thing or two about guiding from him. I recommend this operator in general and this trip in particular." — Christoph Dietzfelbinger, Bear Mountaineering Smithers, BC

“… Kayakers camp in protected coves, pitching tents just off the pebbled beaches in the soft, moss-covered forest floor beneath hundreds-year-old Sitka spruce. If the winds and tides are right, it’s possible to paddle to SG_ang Gwaay, also known as Anthony Island, and view the remains of the ancient Haida village of SG_ang Gwaay LInagaay, complete with monumental totem poles carved of red cedar.
Expert outfitter: Not everyone can guide the waters of Haida Gwaii. It sits on the edge of North America’s continental shelf, where the ocean floor drops off 2.5 kilometers, and is subject to unpredictable, violent seas, even in the summer. Tofino Expeditions is the veteran guide in the area, with more than 30 years of experience, and a flawless record."  
— Jayme Moye,  Men’s Journal