Side by side · Fishing Lodges

Moutcha Bay Resort vs The Lodge at Gold River

Two fishing lodges side by side from their own published tariffs: Moutcha Bay Resort from $1,829, The Lodge at Gold River from $780 per person, with seasons, what is and is not in the price, deposit and cancellation terms, and the transfer from the gateway.

How this page is made. Every figure is from the two operators' own published tariffs and booking pages, as recorded in their Ledgers, last read 14 September 2026. The sentences under "Which one" are rules over those figures, not opinion; where an operator publishes nothing, the row says so and the rule stays quiet. Ben has stayed at both.

Moutcha Bay Resort and its marina from the air, the yurt village set along the shore of Nootka Sound

Nootka Sound Moutcha Bay Resort

A small aluminium fishing boat alone on glassy green water, seen from directly overhead

Nootka Sound The Lodge at Gold River

The record

Side by side

Fact	Moutcha Bay Resort	The Lodge at Gold River
From, per person	From $1,829 per person for 3 nights (Bronze, self-guided), Summer season (May to September), 2026 tariff	From $780 per person per night on a 1-night minimum, Year-round (All year), 2026 tariff
Per night	about $610 per person per night, the Bronze, self-guided rate divided by its 3 nights	$780 per person, the printed nightly rate
All in, with tax	about $1,920 per person for the shortest stay, with GST at 5%	about $819 per person for the shortest stay, with GST at 5%
Stays sold	8 packages of 3 or 4 nights	By the night, 1 to 7 nights
Priced for	Double, two to a boat; Quad, four to a boat; Triple, three to a boat	Double; Single
Season	Summer season, May to September	Year-round, All year
In the price	On a fishing package: a Signature Cedar Yurt for two or a Luxury Cedar Yurt for three or four, a continental take-away breakfast, an artisanal packed lunch and a three-course dinner at the Conuma Grill each day Gold: full days on a 32-foot North River with a certified guide, 10 hours dock to dock, gear and tackle, lunch aboard. Silver: one guided day and the rest self-guided on a 24-foot ABD. Bronze: self-guided days on an 18-foot Quay Craft Provincially regulated fish processing on Gold, Silver and Bronze: filleted, vacuum-packed, flash-frozen and boxed for departure day The Anglers Academy, at no extra charge on any guided boat On a unit booked by the night: dine-in or continental take-away breakfast with the lodge suites, yurts and chalets; breakfast for two with a Forest Cabin; parking for one vehicle On a campsite: water and 30-amp power, washhouses with flush toilets and hot showers, parking for a vehicle and boat trailer, the boat launch, a fire ring, wifi Barbecues around the resort for anyone, and private ones at the yurts and chalets The playground and zipline in the Highland campground	Transport to and from Campbell River, where the lodge meets flights from Vancouver and Seattle A suite in one of the three cabins: two queen beds, a wood-burning fireplace, a sitting area, a granite bathroom, a semi-private covered deck All meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner and appetisers All non-alcoholic drinks The exercise room, the game room with shuffleboard and a large-screen television, and the fly-casting pond On a guided fishing package: the guide, the gear, lunch and transport, including the helicopter on a heli day Sage rods and reels and Simms waders from the tack room, for guests on a guided fishing package A pressurised, heated drying room for waders, boots and outdoor clothing Telephone, high-speed wireless internet and cable television in every room
Not in the price	GST at 5% on everything, including campsites, and PST at 8% on lodge suites, chalets and yurts Extra guests aged 12 and over beyond a unit's base count, $100 each per night Pets, $25 per pet per night in the pet-friendly units (chalets, yurts 1 to 4, select Forest Cabins; free on campsites) A tidal waters fishing licence with the salmon conservation stamp, bought before you arrive Gratuities: the resort suggests $70 to $100 per guest per day for the guide and 20% of your stay for the shore staff Drinks, and lunch and dinner on a stay booked by the night (the Conuma Grill is licensed and a la carte) Fuel and bait on a rental boat, and moorage, fuel and bait for your own boat at the marina Firewood, $10 a bin, delivered to your campsite Kayaks and paddleboards on a unit stay (the Rates page prices them from $35 for two hours as a non-guest rate)	Taxes Gratuities Fishing licences: a BC freshwater licence and steelhead stamp for the rivers, a tidal licence with the salmon stamp for the saltwater day Fishing itself: heli fishing at $3,900 or $4,750 a day, a guided saltwater day $1,000, a local river day $500, the party barge lake day $550 The heli-picnic ($475 with a heli fishing day, $1,750 without), the Hot Springs Cove hike ($1,350) and golf ($90) Alcohol: the rate card lists non-alcoholic drinks only Getting to Campbell River
Deposit	10% of the booking when you reserve, charged to the card on file	Not published
If you cancel	More than 90 days before arrival: 10% of the booking; the rest refunded 90 days or fewer before arrival: full payment forfeited	Not published
Getting there	Road from Gold River (the resort, on Head Bay Road towards Tahsis, about 6 km past the Conuma hatchery): about an hour from Gold River on Head Bay Road, gravel with 15 and 18% grades, not in the price. Timing partly our estimate.	Road from Gold River (100 Muchalat Drive, Gold River; the lodge meets flights at Campbell River): in town; the transfer from Campbell River, about an hour, is in the rate, in the price.
Sleeps	100 guests	18 guests
Region	Nootka Sound, British Columbia	Nootka Sound, British Columbia
Source	2026 tariff, read 14 September 2026	2026 tariff, read 14 September 2026

"From" is the lowest adult double rate in the newest tariff, per person for the shortest stay sold; the all-in line adds the tax the calculator adds. Anything marked "our estimate" is ours, not the operator's.

Which one

What the record says

The two are not priced the same way, Moutcha Bay Resort is priced as a package (Bronze, self-guided, 3 nights) and The Lodge at Gold River priced by the night, so the fair comparison is per night: about $610 per person at Moutcha Bay Resort against about $780 at The Lodge at Gold River, both before tax.

The Lodge at Gold River has the longer season, All year against May to September at Moutcha Bay Resort, the whole year.

The Lodge at Gold River lists more in the price, 9 items to 8; both lists are in the table.

The Lodge at Gold River starts in Gold River itself; Moutcha Bay Resort is about an hour from Gold River on Head Bay Road, gravel with 15 and 18% grades (the timings are partly our estimate).

The Lodge at Gold River is the smaller place, 18 guests to 100.

Which of those matters is yours to weigh; the pages behind each place have the rest, and the calculators price a stay for your own party.

Moutcha Bay Resort
The record and the Ledger What a trip costs, all in Request availability
The Lodge at Gold River
The record and the Ledger What a trip costs, all in Request availability

Answered from the record

Which is cheaper, Moutcha Bay Resort or The Lodge at Gold River?

What is included at Moutcha Bay Resort and at The Lodge at Gold River?

Moutcha Bay Resort lists 8 things in the price, starting with on a fishing package and gold. The Lodge at Gold River lists 9, starting with transport to and from Campbell River and a suite in one of the three cabins. The full lists, and what each leaves out, are in the table on this page.

How do you get to Moutcha Bay Resort and to The Lodge at Gold River?

Moutcha Bay Resort: Road from Gold River (the resort, on Head Bay Road towards Tahsis, about 6 km past the Conuma hatchery): about an hour from Gold River on Head Bay Road, gravel with 15 and 18% grades, not in the price. Timing partly our estimate. The Lodge at Gold River: Road from Gold River (100 Muchalat Drive, Gold River; the lodge meets flights at Campbell River): in town; the transfer from Campbell River, about an hour, is in the rate, in the price.