Raft Cove Provincial Park is a provincial park

Provincial park

A provincial park is a park under the management of a provincial or territorial government in Canada.While provincial parks are not the same as national parks, their workings are very similar...

 in British Columbia

British Columbia

British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...

, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

, located south of San Josef Bay on northwestern Vancouver Island

Vancouver Island

Vancouver Island is a large island in British Columbia, Canada. It is one of several North American locations named after George Vancouver, the British Royal Navy officer who explored the Pacific Northwest coast of North America between 1791 and 1794...

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Conservation

Raft Cove contains features characteristic of the Nahwitti Lowland Landscape such as rounded hills, poorly drained areas, rugged coastline and western hemlock

Western Hemlock

Tsuga heterophylla. the Western Hemlock, is a species of hemlock native to the west coast of North America, with its northwestern limit on the Kenai Peninsula, Alaska, and its southeastern limit in northern Sonoma County, California.-Habitat:...

 and western red cedar

Thuja plicata

Thuja plicata, commonly called Western or pacific red cedar, giant or western arborvitae, giant cedar, or shinglewood, is a species of Thuja, an evergreen coniferous tree in the cypress family Cupressaceae native to western North America...

 forests. Other park features include a river estuary and a long spit and crescent-shaped sandy beach. Raft Cove is home to a significant population of black bear

American black bear

The American black bear is a medium-sized bear native to North America. It is the continent's smallest and most common bear species. Black bears are omnivores, with their diets varying greatly depending on season and location. They typically live in largely forested areas, but do leave forests in...

s, who forage along the creek beds and beach in the park. Wolves, cougars, Black-tailed deer

Black-tailed Deer

Two forms of black-tailed deer or blacktail deer occupying coastal temperate rainforest on North America's Pacific coast are subspecies of the mule deer. They have sometimes been treated as a species, but virtually all recent authorities maintain they are subspecies...

, raccoon

Raccoon

Procyon is a genus of nocturnal mammals, comprising three species commonly known as raccoons, in the family Procyonidae. The most familiar species, the common raccoon , is often known simply as "the" raccoon, as the two other raccoon species in the genus are native only to the tropics and are...

s, river otters, red squirrel

Red Squirrel

The red squirrel or Eurasian red squirrel is a species of tree squirrel in the genus Sciurus common throughout Eurasia...

s and a variety of bird species can also be found in the area..

Recreation

The following recreational activities are available: backcountry camping, hiking, swimming and board surfing in the heavy surf. The ocean currents are too rough for windsurfing opportunities but board-surfing at Raft Cove is becoming increasingly popular with surfers trying to find new surfing challenges and opportunities. The remoteness of this park, along with good waves, makes it a great place to surf without a lot of other people.

Location

Raft Cove Provincial Park is located on the northwest coast of Vancouver Island, 65 kilometres southwest of Port Hardy, British Columbia

Port Hardy, British Columbia

Port Hardy is a district municipality in British Columbia, Canada located on the north-eastern coast of Vancouver Island. Port Hardy has a population of 3822 at last census...

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