A small waterfront village on Secret Bay in Sechelt Inlet, Egmont is located a short distance east of the BC Ferries terminal at Earls Cove.
Egmont is the trailhead for Skookumchuck Provincial Park, and features two modern marinas offering moorage and supplies for yachts and floatplanes. Boat Charters are available in Egmont, and guided tours can be arranged to the many natural attractions in the area.
Egmont is named after the HMS Egmont, which served under Rear-Admiral Sir John Jervis at the Battle of St. Vincent on 14th February 1797.
Look up to view the 2,000-metre pyramid-shaped peak of Mount Churchill towering over the waters of nearby Prince of Wales Reach.
Location: Egmont is located 3.6 miles (6 km) off Highway 101 at the northern end of the Sechelt Peninsula on the Sunshine Coast of BC. The Sunshine Coast is accessible from the Lower Mainland only by boat or airplane. Travellers aboard BC Ferries leave Horseshoe Bay in West Vancouver for the 45-minute ride to Langdale on the Sechelt Peninsula. Highway 101 links Langdale with Egmont and the ferry terminal at nearby Earls Cove.
Egmont was used as the background for the television series Ritter’s Cove, based on the adventures of a float plane pilot.
At the apex of the sheer granite walls which rise out of the sea, Freil Falls cascades nearly 450 metres from the mountaintop Freil Lake into Hotham Sound, located east of Egmont. Feel the waterfall spray as you sail alongside the falls.
Charter boats will take you through Skookumchuck Narrows, but be prepared, as the water can reach speeds of up to 14 knots in spring and summer! The waters near the Skookumchuk Rapids are a favourite haunt for experienced divers and extreme kayakers.
Jervis Inlet, just north of Earls Cove, leads inland from Malaspina Strait to a number of sounds and inlets, including Hotham Sound, Agamemnon Channel, Sechelt Inlet, Prince of Wales Reach, Princess Royal Reach, and into Queens Reach. Leading off Queens Reach is Princess Louisa Inlet, at the head of which is Princess Louisa Provincial Park and the stunning Chatterbox Falls. Trips to the falls are available out of nearby Egmont.
Princess Louisa Marine Provincial Park: Egmont is a convenient and popular departure point for cruises up Jervis Inlet and Queens Reach to Princess Louisa Inlet and the Chatterbox Falls, one of the most splendid trips you can take in British Columbia. Voted most scenic natural anchorage in the world, Princess Louisa Marine Provincial Park has a charm and scenic beauty that must be seen and experienced to be fully appreciated, a tranquil paradise tucked into the Coast Mountains on the BC mainland.
Stop at the sandy swimming beach at Dan Bosch Regional Park on the eastern shore of Ruby Lake, 10 minutes south of the Earls Cove ferry terminal, where you’ll find just the place to picnic and swim. The park has 3 picnic tables, and a quarter-mile loop trail along the shoreline of Ruby Lake. If you need a boat, nearby Ruby Lake Resort rents them out.
Ruby Lake Lagoon provides a safe home to over 80 species of birds, including a growing abundance of North America’s most beautiful waterfowl, the Wood Duck. Other wildlife at Ruby Lake includes painted turtles, beavers, otters, Roosevelt elk, deer and bears. The Ruby Lake Lagoon Nature Reserve Society provides facilities for the casual bird watcher and family nature hikes, and supports activities ranging from scientific research studies to local school projects.
Desolation Sound: Egmont also makes a good base for charter boats to explore the prime cruising grounds of Desolation Sound – one of the most beautiful and varied cruising areas in British Columbia.
Egmont Park is located in the heart of downtown Egmont on the old Egmont School site. There is a grassy field, tennis court and playground.
One of the greatest natural shows in British Columbia occurs twice daily in Skookumchuck Narrows Provincial Park in Egmont at the north end of the Sechelt Peninsula. One of the largest saltwater rapids on Canada’s West Coast, Skookumchuk Rapids boils as huge volumes of water force their way through Skookumchuk Narrows at the north end of Sechelt Inlet (Skookum is a Native word for strong and chuk means water). A 2.5-mile (4-km) walking trail leads from the outskirts of Egmont to viewing sites at North Point and Roland Point. This is an easygoing ramble without much diversion except where it skirts Brown Lake. Depending on the motion of the ocean, viewing is at North Point during a falling tide and at Roland Point during a flood tide. The two points are separated by only a short distance. You can plainly hear the boiling, bubbling roar of these tidal rapids at Roland point.
At low tide, the bays around both points display astonishingly colourful and varied forms of marine life. Giant barnacles, colonies of starfish, sea urchins, and sea anemones thrive in the nutrient-rich waters, whose strong tidal currents cause these creatures to grow to extravagant sizes. In order to fully appreciate the scene, plan your visit to coincide with the change in tides. The most dramatic motion, when billions of gallons of water are sucked into cavernous whirlpools and whipped up into standing waves, occurs an hour after slack tide when the ocean is rising. Consult tide tables to determine the timing of your visit. You’ll find these posted at Visitor Centres around the Sunshine Coast, on BC Ferries, and at the trailhead.
Diving: The Artificial Reef Society of BC scored a major coup for divers when it was given the go-ahead to scuttle HMCS Chaudiere, a retired Canadian Forces destroyer escort, off Kunechin Point in Sechelt Inlet. The Chaudiere now rests on its side in deep water (66-130 feet/20-40 m). Several descent lines lead divers to the 387-foot (118-m) hull of the ship and assist as guides to the surface. Kunechin Point, in Sechelt Inlets Marine Provincial Recreation Area, is also the site of a marine park campground and can be reached by boat from either Sechelt or Egmont.
The northeast corner of the Sechelt Peninsula is also the entrance to the Sechelt Inlet. Boat dives originate from the village of Egmont. Two other dive sites close to Egmont are in the waters of Jervis Inlet off Foley Head, in Agamemnon Channel, and the Park Wall off North Point at the Skookumchuk Narrows. A combination of wind and tidal currents makes diving at these sites both exhilarating and dangerous.
Recreation Sites: Just east of Earls Cove lies the Forest Service recreation site at Klein Lake, as well as North Lake and Waugh Lake close to Egmont. All three are beautifully clear, freshwater lakes with tiny little fish that will nibble your toes if you stand still. North and Waugh Lakes are situated beside Egmont Road, and access points are easily spotted. Klein Lake is reached after a short drive along well-marked North Lake Forest Road from Hwy 101 near Earls Cove. You can hike or bike down the trail from Klein Lake to Ruby Lake.
Mountain Biking: One of the most ambitious mountain-bike trail projects, the 20-mile (33-km) Suncoaster Trail, opened in the mid-1990s. At present, it extends between Homesite Creek, near Halfmoon Bay, through the foothills of the Caren Range to Klein Lake near Earls Cove. Along the way, it passes abandoned rail lines, BC Hydro service roads, old-growth forests, and rocky promontories, and near its northern terminus has incredible views of Ruby and Sakinaw Lakes. Although mostly gravelled singletrack, the trail follows Hwy 101 for short distances where necessary. The shoulders on the highway have been broadened to comfortably accommodate cyclists in these places. Eventually, the trail will extend to Langdale. One of the most scenic spots is beside a waterfall where a 68-foot (21-m) bridge spans Sakinaw Creek.
Canoeing & Kayaking: Between Madeira Park and Earls Cove, you can canoe or kayak Sakinaw Lake, and follow the portage route up to Ruby Lake. There’s lovely freshwater paddling on Ruby Lake, which most folks only get to admire from their vehicle as they pass by on their way to or from the Earls Cove ferry terminal. Ruby and Sakinaw Lakes are noted for good trout fishing in season. Boat and kayak rentals are available in Egmont.
Sea Kayaking: It takes the better part of a day to paddle the 22 miles (35 km) from the federal dock in Sechelt to Egmont at the north end of the inlet via Skookumchuk Narrows. You can reduce the paddle time by launching at Porpoise Bay Provincial Park or private Tillicum Bay Marina, a good place to leave your car if you’re going on an overnight paddle. Both the park and the marina are located on East Porpoise Bay Road (Sechelt Inlet Road) in Sechelt.
Fishing: Ruby Lake and Sakinaw Lake, located between Madeira Park and Earls Cove, are noted for trout fishing in season.
Hiking: The hiking trail between Ruby Lake and Klein Lake is also part of the Suncoaster Trail system. At 2.5 miles (4 km), the trail is not overly long but is quite steep as it climbs north between the two lakes. Park at Don Bosch Regional Park beside Hwy 101, just north of Ruby Lake Resort. The trailhead at Klein Lake begins near the south end of the lake opposite the Forest Service recreation site. If you have a four-wheel-drive vehicle you can drive to the Klein Lake trailhead; if you don’t you may have to add 0.6 mile (1 km) to the hike where the road around the lake grows impassable. To reach Klein Lake, follow Hwy 101 north to Egmont Road, then drive 1 mile (1.6 km) to the North Lake Forest Road. The rough road follows the shore of North Lake, then climbs towards Klein Lake. Use your discretion as to where to park and begin hiking. When you reach Klein Lake, take the left fork and follow the road as it leads around the lake, staying right at each subsequent fork until you reach the well-marked trailhead. Allow two to three hours to make the round trip.
Hardy Island Marine Provincial Park is a small Island in Blind Bay, located between the south shore of Hardy Island and the tiny Fox Island. The park is located directly south of Saltery Bay on the upper Sunshine Coast, and is only an island at high tide. Undeveloped Musket Island is the epitome of peace and tranquility, where wildlife like eagles and seals abound, the warm water encourages swimming, and wilderness campsites are provided for overnight campers. Musket Island is accessed by boat from Saltery Bay, Earls Cove and Egmont.
Spipiyus Provincial Park is documented as the oldest closed-canopy temperate rain forest in Canada. The park protects pockets of old-growth Douglas-fir stands, and contains groves of the oldest living Yellow Cedars, Mountain and Western Hemlocks in the world. Also known as the Caren Range, the 2,979-hectare Spipiyus park also protects prime habitat for the Marbled Murrelet, which was found breeding close to the many lakes and in the ancient forests of the Caren Range above Pender Harbour.
At the north end of the Sechelt Peninsula, 4.5 miles (7 km) from Egmont, is Earls Cove, the location of the BC Ferry terminal for sailings to Saltery Bay, linking the Lower Sunshine Coast with the Upper Sunshine Coast. The ferry trip is a scenic 16-km, 50-minute ride up Agamemnon Channel, around the northeast tip of sparsely populated Nelson Island into Jervis Inlet. The ferry provides a spectacular view of the steep and rugged mountain slopes of the Coast Mountain range and the magnificent Sunshine Coast fjord country.
Circle Tours: See the best of the area on a driving Circle Tour. Head north out of Vancouver for the scenic Sunshine Coast and Vancouver Island Circle Tour. Board a B.C. Ferries vessel at Powell River that will take you across the waters of the Strait of Georgia to Comox, on Vancouver Island’s east coast. Travel south to Victoria and return to Vancouver by ferry from Swartz Bay to Tsawwassen. Circle Tours in British Columbia.
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