Skookumchuck Narrows

Skookumchuck is Chinook Jargon for strong water, and the name is literal: Sechelt Inlet drains through a narrow gap, and because the inlet fills and empties slowly the level inside can differ from the outside by up to about two metres, driving water through at speeds around thirty kilometres an hour. On big tides this makes standing waves and whirlpools at Roland Point, and whitewater kayakers come to surf a wave that does not move. Viewing is from rock ledges reached by a flat four-kilometre walk from Egmont. Tide tables decide everything: at slack water the narrows are almost still.

The landscape

• The standing waves - a fixed wave train formed by tidal flow.
• The whirlpools - large eddies at the edges of the main current.
• The surf kayakers - paddlers riding the wave on the biggest tides.
• The viewing ledges - rock platforms above the narrows at Roland Point.

When to go

Check a tide table and go for the largest flood or ebb; the difference between a big tide and slack water is total. May to September for the walk in good conditions.

Things to know

Arriving at the wrong tide means seeing nothing, and the walk is eight kilometres return regardless. The ledges are slippery and unfenced above fast cold water. There are no facilities at the point.

Nearby

Egmont is the trailhead village; Princess Louisa Inlet is north by boat.

Key facts