Outer Shores Lodge is located on the west coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada, in the remote historic fishing and marine science community of Bamfield, within the traditional territory of the Huu-ay-aht First Nations. We are at the doorstep of Pacific Rim National Park Reserve, including the Cape Beale Headlands and the Broken Group Islands, an archipelago for more than 300 islands, an ideal place to experience the interconnections of west coast wildlife, ecology, and human history.
The Lodge itself is nestled on the exposed shoreline of Canada’s Pacific Coast. Our lookout bluff provides encompassing views of Barkley Sound and west coast sunsets. Surrounded by the rugged Canadian outdoors, we’re just a short walk through the surrounding temperate rainforest to the protected harbour from which we launch our ocean-based excursions.
Bamfield is a remote coastal community located on the west coast of Vancouver Island, within the traditional territory and treaty lands of the Huu-ay-aht First Nations, and at the edge of the Pacific Rim National Park Reserve. The village, which has about 250 year-round residents, is comprised of East Bamfield and West Bamfield, separated by Bamfield Inlet. Outer Shores Lodge is located in West Bamfield, which is home to the village’s historic waterfront boardwalk, connecting almost all the homes, businesses, and docks located on the shore of the inlet. The boardwalk is just a couple minute’s walk from Outer Shores Lodge and is usually one of the first places guests visit following their arrival. Bamfield is also home to the Bamfield Marine Sciences Centre, Canada’s premiere marine science and education facility, as well as the Canadian Coast Guard Bamfield Search and Rescue Base.
Anyone who visits this region immediately understands why lodge founder Bruce Scott campaigned so diligently throughout much of his life for the creation of the park. The ocean and ancient temperate rainforest here are teeming with wildlife and opportunities for discovery. Centuries of Nuu-chah-nulth culture permeates throughout the park reserve and people from around the world make their way here every year to hike the legendary West Coast Trail.
Vegetation in the park reserve includes soaring western hemlocks and Sitka spruces, ancient western red-cedars, and a rich variety of lower level vegetation like dunegrass and deer fern. And there’s no shortage of animal species, varying from marine and intertidal species, like humpback whales, Northern sea lion, and ochre sea stars, to large terrestrial mammals, like wolves, black bears, cougars, and elk, as well as myriad species in between. Birdwatchers can catch a glimpse of some approximately 250 bird species including Pacific-slope flycatchers, rhinoceros auklets, marbled murrelets, bald eagles, and red-necked phalaropes.
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