Sayward Lakes
Canoe Tour
In our hearts, we all live on the land. That is the real world. We take away the obstacles to experience what is real, to experience your bliss. We show you the way. That's Coastal Bliss Adventures.
Look For Your Bliss Now
We Take Care Of You
We do the planning, logistics, and support. You do the experience and the fun.
All-inclusive Tour
From pickup to return, we cover everything you need, except your personal items. We take you to and from the trip start, and feed you well along the way. We can't guarantee weight loss on our tours.
Knowledgable Guides
Our guides get out into our areas. They know the ins and outs of the trip and provide exceptional interpretation of flora, fauna and history. You'll know more after you leave.
Supportive Preparation
We give you an entire packet of information on how to prepare, what to bring, how to pack, and a plan for training so you can fully enjoy the trip. Our care for you starts before you even arrive.
Sayward Lakes
5-day Canoeing Tour
Canoeing the Sayward Lakes on Vancouver Island is a true Canadian canoe adventure. The Sayward Canoe route is located in the Sayward Provincial forest close to Campbell River on Vancouver Island. It is fully established as a canoeing adventure, with easy portage trails and a clearly developed circuit. It consists of four larger lakes and a number of smaller lakes linked together by portage trails. In total approximately 40 km of paddling and 8 km of portaging lie on this canoe tour. We take a leisurely paddle through the chain to enjoy the beauty of the area.
- CANOEING DAYS: 4
- TRAVEL DAYS: Two Half Days
- RATING: Strenuous
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Dates And
AvailabilityBook Your Tour Now
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Itinerary
We no longer offer this tour.
Itinerary
This is our typical itinerary for this tour. Because we are travelling in wilderness, itineraries can change. There are many factors that can affect how a tour actually runs. We confirm pickup times by phone, email or SMS at least 12 hours before.
This trip begins in Nanaimo, where we will arrange your pickup to drive to the location where we begin the activity.
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Day One
Meet in Nanaimo and drive to the Sayward Lakes. Sort out gear and canoes and launch at Apple Point. Paddle and portage to Fry Lake.
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Day Two
Early rise and pack up. Paddle Lower Campbell Lake. This lake can get windy in the afternoons, so an early start is required to made for easier and safe travel. Following the most challenging portage on the trail we reach Gosling Lake, have a few small portages and lake before reaching Mohun Lake, where after a short paddle we reach our camp for the nigh at Mohun Island.
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Day Three
Another early rise and break camp. We paddle north up Mohun Lake and make our way around the top of the circuit to Mr Canoehead camp on Amor Lake.
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Day Four
Now getting up early is getting easy! We journey a short distance and will complete our longest portage on this day (2.3km). Thankfully we will have wheels to help us transport the canoes. Our final night will be at Brewster Point, on Brewster Lake.
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Day Five
Our final day on the Sayward canoe circuit. An early morning paddle south on Brewster Lake. We hope to arrive at apple Point (where we started and will now finish) by around 10:30am. Here we will have unloading and loading to do. We pick up our shuttled van and leave for Nanaimo. We stop for lunch in Campbell River, expecting to arrive in Nanaimo by 4:00 pm.
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What's Included
Included Not Included Transportation from and to the departure location (pick up and drop off) Your transportation to the departure location (from your home) All kayaking gear Water Boots or shoes Dry bags to keep your things dry Sleeping bags or mats (available for rent) All backcountry park fees and camping fees National Park entry fees (may change as Parks alters their policies) All meals (except on any travel days) Some food (on travel days) Professional guides Gratuities are not included. Recognizing your guide for their hard work and care is always appreciated; $10-20/day per guide is recommended. Tent (shared)* *A single tent may be substituted for a supplemental charge. Single travellers that cannot be placed in a shared tent will be charged the single supplement charge. A substantial preparation guide Gear rental options -
Getting There And
Where To StayGetting There
If you are travelling into the Vancouver, Victoria, or Nanaimo area from afar, you should arrive at the departure location (in Nanaimo) for your trip the day/evening prior to the trip start date and plan to leave the day following trip return.
You can fly to Vancouver (airport code YVR) or Seattle (airport code SEA) then connect to Vancouver Island using ferry, bus, or air, or arrange flights directly to Vancouver Island.
Flying to Victoria (Airport code YYJ)
Flying to Nanaimo (Airport code YCD)
Nanaimo Airporter shuttle service.
Servicing all of Vancouver Island from airports to ferrys to cruise ship terminals. Tel: 1 250 758-2133BC Ferries 1-888-BC FERRY (1-888-223-3779)
We will let you know the ferry to take for travelling to Vancouver Island, but if you want to check out times, you can go the the BC Ferries website at:
www.bcferries.com/schedules/Where to Stay
Naniamo Pick up & Hotels
Pick up: Departure Bay, Duke Point Ferry Terminal, or the following Accommodations:
Days Inn Harbour View Nanaimo
Address: 809 Island Hwy South, Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada, V9R 5K1
Phone (250) 754-8171
Website: www.nanaimohotel.com
Best Western Dorchester Hotel
Address: 70 Church, Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada, V9R 5H4
Phone: (250) 754-6835
Website: www.dorchesternanaimo.com
Painted Turtle Guesthouse
Address: 121 Bastion Street, Nanaimo, British Columbia CANADA, V9R 3A2
Toll Free: 1-866-309-4432
Phone: (250) 753-4432 -
Preparing
Preparing For Your Trip
How you prepare for your adventure is important. Being well prepared will enhance the quality of your experience. Because we are travelling in wilderness, it is very important for you and for the rest of your adventure group that you are fit enough to handle the level of difficulty and demand with no problems. Our guides know how to minimize the impact of these demands as much as possible, but they cannot remove them. The depth of your experience can only increase if you have made sure that you have prepared well.
Your preparation will be different for different activities. Preparing for a kayak trip is different from preparing for a hiking trip. We have provided some basic information that can be downloaded through the following links to pdf documents.
Use the links below to download some of the preparation files for this hiking or kayaking tour. When you book your tour, we will send you a complete preparation packet to help you get ready.Please take this seriously. Most people are unaware of the demands of a coastal environment, particularly with keeping dry and warm. Your preparation will really help make your coastal hiking or kayaking tour a great experience. -
Gear Rental
Need Gear?
We have gear available to rent if you don't want to buy a particular piece of equipment, or need to travel without it.
Look over the following list to help you decide whether you want to rent. If you decide to rent gear, you can tell us on the phone or book it online with your tour.
Item Price (per day) Sleeping Bag Rental $6.50 Thermarest Rental $2.25 Water Booties Rental $1.25 Wetsuit Rental (for specific trips) $6.50 Helmet Rental (for specific trips) $2.25 Single Tent Supplement $6.50