Steep Island Lodge

$545 per person per night in 2026, the same at single, double or triple occupancy, with children 12 and under at half. That covers the cabin, every meal, the shuttle from Campbell River Airport and the water taxi to the island. Taxes, alcohol and gratuities are on top, and so is the fishing, which is priced by the boat.

Guided salmon fishing is $190 an hour per boat, based on an 8-hour tide, so $1,520 a day for the boat. Boats take one to four anglers and have a washroom on board. The price includes the guide and boat, all fishing gear, rain gear and floater coats, a picnic lunch and snacks, and cleaning and boxing your catch. Licences, taxes, gratuity and any extra processing (vacuum sealing, smoking, canning) are not included. Split four ways, a fishing day is $380 a person before tax.

Cedar cabins set among the trees, each uniquely decorated, with a wood stove, a private ocean view and everything except a kitchen. The lodge and cabins take up to 22 guests. The main lodge has the dining room and a lounge looking over Gowlland Harbour; the Lido Deck looks the other way, over Discovery Passage, for cocktails and appetizers at the end of the day.

Get yourself to Campbell River and the lodge does the rest: a shuttle from Campbell River Airport and a 10-minute boat ride to the island, both in the nightly rate. Driving, you are met at the Discovery Marina dock; from Vancouver that is the ferry to Nanaimo (an hour and a half to two hours) and a two-hour drive north.

Flying, Pacific Coastal Airlines and Central Mountain Air fly daily from Vancouver to Campbell River, WestJet flies Calgary to Comox, and Kenmore Air runs a scheduled floatplane from Seattle straight to the lodge dock, about two hours, with a shuttle between Kenmore's terminal and Sea-Tac.

In the lodge's own words: eight hours on the water with your guide, your catch cleaned and stored when you land, cocktails and hors d'oeuvres at the lodge, dinner at your leisure cooked by the Red Seal chef, then repeat. Snacks and a picnic lunch go out on every trip. Non-fishing days are built around an eco tour, a dive, or the island itself.

Gourmet meals from a Red Seal chef, built on local fish and seafood, seasonal vegetables and herbs from the lodge gardens, with bread and desserts baked daily. Special diets and menus are accommodated with notice. Alcohol is not included in the rate.

The same boats run eco tours: a Transport Canada-approved 32-foot Daigle tour boat, or an open boat with one of the lodge's partners, with a lunch out in Desolation Sound, the Discovery Islands or Johnstone Strait and orcas, minkes, greys, sea lions, Pacific white-sided dolphins and bears on the shore. Discovery Passage is a cold-water dive site the lodge rates as the best around Campbell River. On the island there is a 20 to 25 minute loop walk through old forest to tidal pools at the southern tip, three pairs of resident eagles, an exercise room and a games room with pool and shuffleboard. From 1 August to 15 September guests can row the Tyee Pool, the Campbell River tradition. Golf, freshwater fly fishing, kayaking, heli tours and hiking are arranged through partners. Eco tours and diving are priced on request.

Yes. Licensed and insured divemasters guide dives from Coast Guard-approved boats, with tanks, weights, fins, mask and drysuits included in the dive price, which the lodge quotes on request. Bring proof of PADI certification, and proof of drysuit certification if a drysuit is needed. Equipment can also be rented from the dive shops in Campbell River.

Children 12 and under pay half the nightly rate. The lodge publishes no minimum age; the island walk is a beginner hike, and a fishing boat holds four, so a family of four can take one boat for the day.

The lodge does not publish its season dates. Its Tyee rowing runs 1 August to 15 September and it offers spring and fall heli-fishing packages, so ask for the opening and closing dates when you enquire.

Less than you think for the fishing: rain gear and floater coats are on the boats. Bring walking shoes for the island loop, a tidal fishing licence bought online from Fisheries and Oceans Canada before you arrive, and your certification cards if you plan to dive.

Gratuities are not in the price; they are at your discretion, and 10% is the norm at lodges on this coast. The lodge books by email and phone (1-250-830-8179) and publishes no deposit, balance or cancellation terms, so ask for them in writing when you reserve.