Visit the Sunshine Coast & Desolation Sound, Canada

Studded with rugged headlands, sandy beaches and quiet lagoons, British Columbia’s Sunshine Coast.

It is reached by a delightful drive from Horseshoe Bay in North Vancouver to the little village of Lund, crossing two rivers by ferry and with plenty of opportunities to explore en route. The Vancouver ferry arrives at Saltery Bay, where the Provincial Park protects a forested area first exploited by trappers.

Awe-inspiring scenery

The pristine waters of Desolation Sound, just ten kilometres north of Lund, are surrounded by steep evergreen mountains that teem with wildlife. Through the summer months these waters are easily warm enough for swimming and snorkelling.

The scenery is less severe — but just as dramatic — as many of the other sheer-sided waterways along the central coast, framed by the snow-capped peaks of the Coast Mountains that soar to heights of 2,400 metres above the tideline.