Perfect Parks, Cool Culture
Scenic places and unique habitats are preserved in 155 national and provincial marine parks and park reserves. You can get to many of them by road or trail.
Many marine parks provide primitive camping sites, and some provide standard provincial park facilities (water, toilets, tables, garbage disposal). Most provide locations to launch a kayak and some have boat launches.
To find marine parks and park reserves, visit British Columbia Marine Parks.
Manson’s Landing Marine Park, Cortes Island, credit BC Parks 
Newcastle Marine Park, Nanaimo, credit BC Parks
British Columbia’s coast is vast. Across it you will find a laid back culture that operates at a slower pace than much of North America. That culture shows in friendly cities and reaches its epitome in the funky island cultures on the islands that dot the Salish Sea. Explore places like Sointula on Malcolm Island, Port Hardy, Port Alice and other small communities where the land and the sea still define the way of life. The slow pace and the charm of place and people will affect you.
First Nations’ culture is alive and well on British Columbia’s coast. Indigenous people have lived here since time immemorial and their traditional way of life is an integral part of west coast culture.
A visit to BC’s coast is not complete without an experience of West Coast Indigenous culture. From a visit to the Bill Reid Gallery of Northwest Coast Art (Vancouver) to the crafts, dancing and carvers of Haida Gwaii, all along the way you will find opportunities to experience Indigenous Culture. There are opportunities to learn about traditional knowledge of the natural world and traditional ways of life.
