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Aerial view of Quathiaski Cove, Quadra Island

The largest and most populated of the Discovery Islands, Quadra Island is nestled between Vancouver Island and the mainland of British Columbia. Quadra is a popular destination for visitors from around the world, and is best known for its natural and beautiful wilderness scenery, and its excellent salmon and freshwater sportfishing.

The mild temperate climate, rural lifestyle, pristine environment and the friendly people of Quadra all add to the charm of Quadra Island.

Quadra Island was named after Don Juan Francisco de la Bodega y Quadra, the 18th Century Spanish Naval Officer and close friend of Captain George Vancouver. Just over two hundred years ago Captain Vancouver made contact with the aboriginal people on the island, sending yawls to sound Discovery Passage before bringing in his ship Discovery, anchoring off present day Cape Mudge.

Quadra Island has three main communities: Quathiaski Cove, the commercial hub of Quadra and the most populated; Heriot Bay, the picturesque gateway to the Discovery Islands, and Cape Mudge (Yuculta), home to the Kwagiulth First Nation.

Its sheltered coves and inland lakes are home to an incredible variety of wildlife including black-tailed deer, river otters, harbour seals, sea-lions, cormorants, snowy owls, the great blue heron and the elusive peregrine falcon.

Population: 4,000

Location: Quadra Island's Quathiaski Cove is reached by a mere 10-minute ferry ride from Campbell River on Vancouver Island. BC Ferries also links Heriot Bay on Quadra and Whaletown Bay on Cortes Island, a 45-minute journey. Both ferries transport vehicles.

• Totem Pole at the now-closed Kwagiulth Museum in Yaculta

  Long before Campbell River was settled, there was a significant community established at Heriot Bay. For many years the wharf at the Heriot Bay Inn was a major stop for various steamships travelling up and down the coast. The resort was the first in Heriot Bay, established in 1894, with the hotel soon becoming a social centre for residents, workers and travellers of the Discovery Islands.

• Arts and Crafts: Resident artists and craftspeople make the island a fine place to sleuth around for pottery and other creative, handmade wares. The Quadra Island Studio Tour in June steers visitors to Quadra's galleries and studios run by carvers, spinners, weavers, glass blowers, potters, painters, sculptors, photographers, furniture makers, quilters, jewellers, blacksmiths, woodworkers, leatherworkers, and stained glass artists.

  Studio Tour tickets and a detailed map of the island are available at the Visitor Information Centre in Quathiaski Cove, just up the road from the ferry dock.

• Events: The annual Quadra Garden & Quilt Tour and the Arts Festival are two festive events worth attending. The garden tour offers the chance to learn about the native flora and see the beautiful island gardens up close. The Arts Festival showcases the work of local visual and performance artists in a daytime art exhibition and provides a relaxing evening of live entertainment. The Quadra Island Juggling Festival takes place each year in late April at the Quadra Island Community Centre, featuring workshops, juggling performances, live music, door prizes, vendors, billeting, and more.

• Pop in to the Saturday Farmers' Market in Quathiaski Cove, where vendors' tables are loaded with unique local crafts, fresh farm produce, and freshly baked delicacies.

• Cape Mudge Lighthouse, Quadra Island, Discovery Islands

  Worth a visit on the island is the Cape Mudge Lighthouse, which celebrated its 100th birthday in 1998. Leave the Quathiaski Cove ferry terminal on Heriot Bay Road, turn south on Cape Mudge Road, then follow Lighthouse Road to the lighthouse. Tours are available in good weather in spring and summer.

• First Nations Culture: Ancient stone drawings called petroglyphs can be seen along the high-tide line at Wa Wa Kie Beach and Francisco Point.

• Adventure Companies on Quadra Island provide hiking, diving, sea kayaking, boating and sailing tours, revealing the hidden secrets of the Discovery Islands, Desolation Sound, and the sheltered inlets of the mainland coast.

• Fishing: The waters around Quadra Island have yielded some of the largest salmon ever caught on BC's west coast. Although much of the activity is centred in nearby Campbell River on Vancouver Island, there's plenty of action around Quadra, particularly at Quathiaski Cove, where the ferry linking Quadra and Campbell River docks. Anglers also congregate in the waters off Cape Mudge, Copper Bluffs and April Point, and at the entrance to Quathiaski Cove around Grouse Island. Good fishing is also found in the protected waters around Rebecca Spit Marine Provincial Park, where a popular public boat ramp is located. Inland on Quadra, cutthroat trout are numerous in the freshwater regions of Village Bay, Mine, and Main Lakes.

• Kayaking: Exploring offshore waters in a sea kayak is the best way to discover the islands, sheltered coves and protected channels - the fascinating waters around tightly packed Quadra, Cortes, Maurelle, Read, and Sonora Islands will provide hours of enjoyable paddling. You should be well versed in the reading of tidal-current charts to safely explore these waters.

• Canoeing: An alternative to saltwater paddling around Quadra is a small chain of freshwater lakes in the interior of the island that are perfectly suited to canoeing. In summer, the water in the lakes warms up as levels drop. You may well find that you'll have to haul your canoe through a narrow channel connecting Village Bay Lake and Mine Lake. You can bypass this section by launching directly into Mine Lake and heading for the prettiest part of the route that leads from Mine to Main Lake, the largest of the lakes in this chain. Sandy beaches on small islands and in cozy bays are delightfully welcoming spots to land and pass a sunny day, with hardly any other paddlers with which to share this slice of paradise. If you land on the northeast side of Main Lake, you'll find not only a sandy beach but also a short walking trail that follows an old logging road to Yeatman Bay, north of Surge Narrows on Quadra's coastline.

  To reach the launch site, take West Road north from the ferry landing at Quathiaski Bay to Heriot Bay. Keep heading north on first Hyacinths Bay Road and then Village Bay Road. Launch at the bridge in Village Bay or continue another 1.5 miles (2.5 km) farther north along Surge Narrows Road to Miners Bay.

• Diving: The clear waters and profusion of colourful marine life off Quadra's shores make the area one of the best and most challenging destinations for scuba diving. Diving in Discovery Passage can only be attempted during slack tide. The currents are very strong and are phenomenally rich in nutrients and oxygen, sustaining an awesome array of marine life. There's no wreck like an old wreck. That's what the 366-foot former navy destroyer HMCS Columbia is fast becoming. She was scuttled by the Artificial Reef Society near Maud Island on the west coast of Quadra Island. Divers should check with the Underwater Archeological Society of BC, or dive shops and marinas in Campbell River, for more details. The small island of Steep, off the southwest coast of Quadra Island, is rated as one of the best dives in the world. The northern tip of Steep Island is best dived at the end of an ebbing tide, for a fabulous dive amongst a profusion of colour and marine life.

• Cape Mudge 1920 Steam Donkey

  Island Hopping: Travelling between the Southern Gulf Islands and Northern Gulf Islands can be accomplished in small hops. Each of these islands is a world unto itself, each with its own history, culture and colourful characters - each island deserves at least a day or two for exploring.

• Hiking: Rolling forested hills are criss-crossed with over 200 kilometres of hiking trails. Some trails are long-established, while some have been made recently, and many are former logging grades. All of the trails are maintained by the BC Forest Service, and are well signed. Hike up Chinese Mountain for a panoramic island view. The pleasant forested Morte Lake Trail is an easy hike; the Chinese Mountain Trail is for the more experienced.

• Mountain Biking: Logging on the island has left countless backroads, rail beds and challenging trails, attracting mountain bikers to Quadra. The more popular trails are the Morte Lake trail, the Main Lake-Yeatman Bay trail and the trails around Mt. Seymour. Ask for the mountain bike trails map at the Visitor Information Centre.

• Camping: There are no provincial campgrounds on Quadra Island, but there are private campsites. A provincial campground is located at Smelt Bay Provincial Park on neighbouring Cortes Island.

• Drew Harbour, South of Heriot Bay, Quadra Island

  You'll get to tour Quadra Island on the way to your picnic in Rebecca Spit Provincial Marine Park. The park lies on the east side of the island at sheltered Drew Harbour, almost 6 miles (9 km) from the ferry landing. There are more picnic tables here than on any other island, and a prettier sandy beach than almost anywhere else on Quadra. Anglers launch from the boat ramp here, and beachcombing and swimming are popular.

• Octopus Islands Provincial Marine Park is both remote and accessible at the same time. Nestled among the maze of islands through which the waters of Johnstone Strait funnel into the Strait of Georgia, the Octopus Islands are most easily reached from Quadra Island. From the ferry dock at Quadra's Quathiaski Cove, journey east across island to Heriot Bay. This is one of two good places to launch kayaks, along with Village Bay farther north. Tidal currents around Quadra Island are notorious for their strength, particularly at Surge Narrows on the east and Seymour Narrows on the west. Paddlers should avoid Seymour Narrows completely and only transit Surge narrows at slack tide.

• Journey by boat to Mitlenatch Island Provincial Park, you'll find a bird-watching and wildflower paradise 8 miles (13 km) northeast of Saratoga Beach. Mitlenatch is home to the largest seabird colony on the Strait of Georgia, principally 3,000 pairs of glaucous-winged gulls. Other nesting species include pelagic cormorants, pigeon guillemots, and black oystercatchers. Specially designed trails for wildlife viewing lead across the middle of the island between Northwest and Camp Bays to an observation blind. This area is characterized by open meadows carpeted with wildflowers from April through August. Access is restricted to other parts of the island where rocky uplands are forested with trembling aspen, a species more frequently seen in the BC Interior. Their presence, along with prickly pear cactus, are a result of the semi-arid conditions here in the rain shadow cast by the Vancouver Island Mountains.

• Quathiaski Cove, Quadra Island, Discovery Islands

  Take the ferry from Heriot Bay over to Whaletown on Cortes Island. The placid lakes, beaches, and rugged gorges make Cortes Island one of the most impressive of the Discovery Islands, blessed with its own distinctive charm and a wide variety of things to see and do.

• The Quadra Island Recreation Society is a non-profit organization providing details of Community Events and other information useful to residents and visitors.