Moutcha Bay Resort
by Jim Lamb
Overall impression: Great place to visit, clean comfortable accommodations, good upscale-pub food, interesting paddling opportunities, nice people. Recommend it highly with a couple of cautions as noted below.
Challenges: Access is via well-maintained gravel road from Gold River. It’s primarily a fishing lodge, so people and vehicles are moving around and making noise very early in the morning. The “Mini Yurts” are right next to the gravel road and across the parking lot from the main lodge, so they’re very close to much of the activity. We noticed that the larger yurts are out on the point further away from the lodge, so it may be quieter there. WiFi was spotty at best.
On the first of our three days of paddling we headed NE from the lodge and noodled the shore of Moutcha Bay and up Conuma River a short distance until it was too shallow to proceed. We continued around the shore of Quadra Saddle and along Perpendicular Bluff to a small beach just around the point heading into Nesook Bay. The winds were very strong and water very choppy, so we didn’t get very far before stopping for lunch. The winds were with us going back, and we cut straight across the mouth of Moutcha Bay to the lodge.
On the day in between paddles we drove into Tahsis, took a short hike en route, had a dip in an icy stream, another short hike on Bull of the Woods trail on the other side of Tahsis, had a so-so but interesting lunch there on the dock at Westview Marina, where you can watch the sport fisherman weighing and cleaning their catch and the eagles flying overhead waiting for leftovers.
The second paddle day we headed west from the lodge and up Tlupana Inlet. We explored the shore and paddled up Canton Creek up a bit, then into Head Bay and up the Sucwoa River as far as we could. On the way south again we passed a floating fishing camp, log dump, booms and turned around after island (#44 on chart), before letting the afternoon wind blow us back across Tlupana Inlet to the lodge.
On the third paddle day, finally getting used to the conditions, we got an earlier start and headed south down Tlupana Inlet along the west shore, then further west into Hisnit Inlet to nearby Valdez Bay on the north side. We had lunch, paddled around the float homes in the bay, then headed back with the wind pushing us.
NB: As we were told, and experienced, afternoon winds coming up Tlupana Inlet and into Moutcha Bay are typically strong, so it’s good to paddle out in the morning and let the wind blow you back in the afternoon.
