Port Hardy is the terminus of the Prince Rupert ferry and the Discovery Coast Passage ferry to Bella Coola. During the summer season the demand for accommodation is high with hotels and motels filled to capacity. Accommodation facilities currently provide more than 400 motel and hotel rooms, three campsites, numerous bed and breakfast operations and a variety of eating establishments. 

Flower festooned boulevards and spacious tree-lined Market Street provide a relaxing atmosphere for travelers wishing to browse through the many interest stores and shops. Tourists should be on the lookout for the original David Courtenay landscape mural on the north side of the Museum/Library complex on Market Street.

Stroll along the waterfront and you will see a bustling harbour, where fish boats, cruise ships and seaplanes come and go year round. Across Hardy Bay, you can see a bulk oil plant and the B.C. Ferries terminal. Tugboats also make their rounds, pulling log booms from the dry land sort at the head of the Bay.

A walk down to Fisherman's Wharf brings you within sight of fish processing plants, busily taking their silver harvest during the summer months. Follow the seawall to the Rotary and Kinsmen Parks and keep a sharp eye out on the beach for ancient petroglyphs on the flat rocks or continue up Park Drive to the Gwa'Sala'Nakwaxda'xw Tribal Council's big house project.

Local attractions of interest to tourists include the Port Hardy Museum and Archives, Seven Hills Golf Course, logging and forestry tours and salmon hatchery tours.

Port Hardy's full-service airport, its central location and its proximity to numerous fjords and island groups make this community an ideal site for a "soft adventure" small vessel cruising port.

Native Culture

Culturally the North island is the centre of a thriving renaissance in the art and culture of the Kwakiutl Indians, world renowned for their magnificent masks and dances.

Adjacent to Port Hardy is Fort Rupert, an historic Kwakiutl Village where the opportunity exists to see native carvers working on totem poles or other artifacts. Fort Rupert is the site of a former Hudson's Bay Company fort. Petroglyphs, though difficult to find, do exist on the sandstone formations in the upper tidal area in front of the old Hudson's Bay Fort site.

Wilderness Scenery and Recreation

Spectacular mountain views, large expanses of natural wilderness areas and miles of undeveloped coastline are readily accessible and combine to create an ideal setting for a full range of outdoor activities, from sports fishing to boat cruises to wilderness hiking.

Port Hardy is an excellent base for outdoor adventures. Cape Scott Provincial Park at the northern tip of the island is known for its wilderness hiking trails. Visitors can also explore Winter Harbour and San Josef Bay, a community built by Danish settlers at the turn of the century, or take a day trip to Coal Harbour - site of an old whaling station.

The North Island is also fast becoming the centre for whale watching on Johnstone Strait where the legendary killer whales, or Orcas, gather in pods to rub themselves on the stony shores of nearby Robson Bight.

Marine recreation opportunities for visitors include fresh and salt water fishing, world class caving, underwater diving and ocean kayaking and canoeing.

Spectacular Diving