Routes to Jedediah

August-September 1995

This is an article from WaveLength Magazine, available in print in North America and globally on the web.

Access to B.C.'s newest marine park

by Bob Schroeder

Deep Bay, Jedediah Island

WOW, Jedediah is now officially a park! As a 21-year resident of Lasqueti Island, I have to admit that Jedediah and surrounding islands have been my private park for years. What kind of impact is this going to have on Lasqueti and surrounding areas? Are there going to be people trying to camp in my front yard, starting fires, defecating on aquaculture sites? Because of these concerns, and despite the possible disapproval of my friends, I am going to try and give some local information, as a guide of where to go and some places to stay away from.

Your first problem is how to get to Jedediah. See the accompanying map for the following routes.

Route (1) may be the easiest way, from French Creek on Vancouver Island, which is about 10 kilometres past Parksville. The Lasqueti ferry leaves from here, and here your problems can start. The Lasqueti ferry is a 60 passenger-only ferry and runs 3 times a day, 4-days a week (twice on Sundays), except for July and August when it runs 6-days a week. It will only take 6 kayaks -- if the wind is blowing, maybe only 4 (or none) -- it will cost you $10 a boat each way, and there are NO reservations, so get there early.

The other option to get to Lasqueti is a barge that leaves every Thursday at 2:50 pm from French Creek. It might cost you as much as $20 a boat -- if you are a big group, you could charter the whole barge. It doesn't take passengers, however. Call Island Barge Service at 604-752-1386.

When you get to False Bay you can launch your boats on the beach at the end of the wharf and, if you forgot any food, there is a store across from the hotel. It is about 12 1/2 miles from there to Home Bay on the bottom of Jedediah Island. If you don't want to do all that in one day you can head 2 miles out from False Bay to reach the first group of islands, called the Finnertys. There are some camping sites on them -- fisherman and boaters have been camping there for years. There is no water on the islands and there are a lot of mosquitoes, but the islands are good for beach combing, and there is good fishing near by.

From the Finnertys, continue north to the next set of island, the Fegans, 3 miles from False Bay, where there are some small sites that you can get a tent on just above the high tide line. If you want to stop on Lasqueti you can land at Spring Bay where there is a public access and a popular swimming place in the summer, but no camping.

Continuing from Spring Bay, you head down the coast along a 4 mile stretch of fairly open water without many places to get out of the weather. If it is blowing southeast it will be a stiff paddle and if northwest there can be some good sized swells, although if the wind stays under 20 knots there should be no problem.

The next group of islands you get to are what I call the Bunnies, on the top end of Jervis Island (which is private and recently been nuked by loggers). There are a few places to camp here and boaters have been camping here for years, but no water is available. From Jervis, it's 2 and 1/4 miles to Long Bay on the top end of Jedediah Island.

Now I might be totally out of line here as I don't know how soon the provinicial parks department will designate camp sites but here are my suggestion for where to go when you arrive at Jedediah. At the head of Long Bay next to the house there are flat spots for tents and also an outhouse. Long Bay dries at low tide so try to time it for the high tide as carrying your gear and boats up the mud flats won't be fun. Two bays to the right of Long Bay there is a flat section of land that would be good for camping. It is a rocky landing, but no long walk on the flats.

From here continue around Jedediah and up through Little Bull Pass. The current here can run a good 2 knots on spring tides so pick your tide. From Long Bay to Home Bay it is about 2 miles. When coming into Home Bay and seeing the house, take a left and you will see a white sandy beach with an old boat up in the woods. The locals call this "Club Jed" because it is the only sandy beach around and there are lots of good places for tents. In my mind it's the best camp site around. You could also camp in the field behind the house, but here again you need to time landings with the tide as Home Bay empties and is hard to walk through the mud.

Route (2) is from French Creek via Sangster Island, then Squitty Bay at the south end of Lasqueti, around to Jedediah. This route is for the strong paddler because between French Creek and Sangster is 8 miles of open Strait of Georgia waters. Sangster is a private island but if you want to stop for a quick break, the place to do it is Elephant Eye Point, where there is a pebble beach. From there to Squitty Bay is about 2 miles. Squitty Bay Park is worth a stop as it is quite beautiful and although there is no camping, it has some of the best water you can find, at the head of the bay. (Squitty Bay would also be a good day trip from Jedediah.) From Squitty to Home Bay is 3 miles.

Route (3) starts from the mainland by taking the Langdale ferry from Horseshoe Bay to the Sunshine Coast, then driving to Secret Cove for a put-in there. From Secret Cove, head west to North Thormanby, a private island with beautiful sand beaches, then on to the south end of Texada Island. You have to cross Malaspina Strait where it meets up with the Strait of Georgia and Sabine Channel, so weather is a factor. The south end of Texada with its rocky coastline and small bays is a good side-trip and most of it is Crown Land so you might find a campsite or two, but here again, it is exposed to the weather. From Texada to Home Bay is 2 miles.

Route (4) is mainly for people living on northern Vancouver Island. Take the ferry from Comox to Powell River and then take a ferry to Texada Island. Get local info on how to drive to Shelter Bay. This is a gravel road and might be a route-finding nightmare. Shelter Bay has a public access and there are places to park plus an okay beach to launch on. You can paddle down the coast of Texada Island and across to Jervis Island, then down to Jedediah Island -- about 4 miles.

Other options include kayak operators such as Sunshine Kayaking in Sechelt (604-886-9760) and Sea Dog Kayaking on Vancouver Island (604-468-5778) who run trips to Jedediah, or a variety of charter boat companies.

Please remember that this area is NOT wilderness. Most of the coast of Lasqueti and surrounding islands are private. There are lots of people living around here and there aren't any public places to camp -- which is a shame. Maybe that will change in the future, but for now please respect people's privacy. Of course, if you are in trouble, don't hesitate to stop and ask for help as most people will be helpful (but not so on Bull Island, so stay away from there).

And please don't have fires as most of the islands have lots of moss on them and if a fire starts it might burn for days before anybody sees it. There are also a few aquaculture sites around, so if you are picking shellfish look for signs. If you ask the owners, most likely they would let you have something. There are oysters and clams on Jedediah and good cod fishing off the end of the rocks off Home Bay and good salmon fishing along the southern end of Texada.

I hope you have a good time -- it is a jewel of an area.