Hot Springs Cove Vancouver Island
Hot Springs Cove Vancouver Island is adjacent to Sydney Inlet, the northern entrance to Clayoquot Sound. Depending on the points of departure and arrival and the exact course is chosen, the distance from Nootka Sound around Estevan Point, past Hesquiat Peninsula, and east to Hot Springs Cove, is approximately 30 – 31 miles. When travelling south, once you are past Chief Matlahaw Point, you can duck into the lee of Hesquiat Peninsula to avoid the worst of ocean swells.
Hot Springs Cove is the reason cruising boats do the West Coast. The challenge of getting to the Hot Springs is sufficient to make a reward – a soothing bath in comforting water worth the entire trip. In earlier times most visitors came the hard way, up from Barkley Sound or down from Cape Scott. Now tour boats, floatplanes, and even helicopters carrying visitors who have arrived without effort at Tofino visit Hot Springs Cove many times a day. An hour by high-speed boat and they are there.
The cove is easy to enter. Chart 3674 shows that the mouth is open and the channel free of dangers. The marine park public dock is approximately 1.7 miles farther into the cove from the hot springs themselves. You can anchor in 24 feet, or boats less than 40 feet can tie to the BC Parks dock. Moorage on the dock is $2.00/meter; self-registration and fee payment onshore at the park information Shelter.
The B&B boat Innchanter, with attached dinghy floats, is normally anchored nearby and may have space for visiting boaters for dinner or breakfast. Call Shawn on the Innchanter at 250-670-1149.
A 2km walk along a well-maintained boardwalk and path leads to the hot springs. A $3 per person park fee is payable at a dropbox near the head of the dock. A park attendant lives in the cabin next to the public dock. The hike through the rainforest to the hot springs is easy and beautiful. Toilets are available at the end. The modest will find a pleasant changing room in which clothes may be doffed and a bathing suit put on. Traditionalists will lament that the hot springs no longer can be enjoyed in the old way, sans bathing suits. The place is popular.
Although a constant stream of bathers hike the trail and soak in the springs during the day, savvy boaters know that if they come before 9am or after 6pm, they’ll share the springs only with other boaters.
For more information visit our partner site Waggoner Cruising Guide. For all your yacht provisioning call our concierge desk at +1 778 432 0477. If you’re looking for a superyacht marina we accept 65′ to 220′ vessels. Phone or book online to reserve your slip or book the ultimate yacht Rendezvous.
