Know Before You Go

Before visiting Mitlenatch Island, please read the following visitor guidelines:

As a Provincial Park, Mitlenatch provides special protection for birds, terrestrial, and marine plants and animals. But if nesting seabirds are disturbed, they may fly off their nests leaving eggs and chicks open to predation by other gulls, Northwestern Crows, Common Ravens and Bald Eagles.

Please respectfully acknowledge that Mitlenatch Island is within the territory of Coast Salish and Kwakwakaʼwakw First Nations and that the island continues to be used by Indigenous Peoples.

Therefore, if you visit, we ask you to follow some easy guidelines to protect this special place. For more information, visit the BC Parks website.

  • The island is only accessible by boat. Land only in the middle of the beaches on either side of the island – Camp Bay on the south and Northwest Bay on the north. Shores encircling the bays are prime nesting areas.

  • Visitors must stay on paths. Due to the sensitive nature of the ecosystem, a large majority of the island is restricted from access.

  • No camping is permitted in this park.

  • Pets are not permitted. Dogs in particular can quickly create panic in a colony.

  • When approaching the Observation Blind keep your party together and move slowly. The will reduce the gull’s anxiety and allow you to observe their behaviour and “family life” more easily.

  • Do not remove anything from the park (including flowers, bones, feathers, shells, stones. . . ).

  • Nesting cormorants are very easily disturbed. Nesting cormorants are best viewed quietly and at a minimum distance of 50 metres from a slow moving boat.

  • Please do not feed any animals – human food can harm wild animals; they can quickly become habituated and aggressive.

  • Harvesting or collecting of any kind, including shellfish gathering, is not permitted in the park’s marine zone extending 300m around the island. The waters beyond Mitlenatch Island Nature Provincial Park are designated a Rockfish Conservation Area. Please be sure to check the local Fisheries and Oceans Canada office for up to date information.

  • This park has 1 pit toilet, located near the host cabin on Camp Bay.

How to Visit Mitlenatch Island

Before visiting Mitlenatch Island, please read the guidelines above.

Mitlenatch is only accessible by boat. The following operators service the island: