Nitinat River, Pacific Rim, Vancouver Island, British Columbia

From its source in the remote mountains of central Vancouver Island, the Nitinat River flows through Nitinat Lake and the Pacific Rim National Park (West Coast Trail Unit) before discharging into the Pacific Ocean east of Bamfield on the west coast of Vancouver Island.

Access to the pristine Nitinat River is via Cowichan Lake and the Nitinat Main logging road off the Franklin South Main road toward the town of Bamfield on Barkley Sound.

The Nitinat River is a good river for flyfishing. A small run of summer steelhead occurs in June and early July, with a run of winter steelhead in February, March and early April. The lower section of the Nitinat River and the mouth of the Nitinat are productive for cutthroat trout, and Chinook salmon fishing is good from August to September, thanks to the native Nitinat Fish Hatchery in the lower Nitinat River. Coho and chum salmon runs are good in October and November.

Black Bear tracks, Nitinat River

Nearest Towns: Lake Cowichan, Nitinat Lake, Bamfield

Nearest Lake: Cowichan Lake, Nitinat Lake, Flora Lake, Tuck Lake

Nearest Parks:
Hitchie Creek Provincial Park
Nitinat River Provincial Park (Two sites: Nitinat River Falls and Nitinat River Bridge Pool)

Additional Info: There is a campsite at Flora Lake, and camping facilities are available at the Nitinat Lake Recreation Site nestled in a grove of giant spruce trees. The campsite is popular with windsurfers enjoying Nitinat Lake who occupy many of the rustic campsites beside the lake. The campsite is busy almost year round. If it's not the windsurfers, it's the visitors to nearby Carmanah Walbran Provincial Park.

The nearby Nitinat Triangle is a very popular island canoe route.

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