We brought our kayaks to paddle the shoreline of Vancouver Island.   Since we were camping at Miracle Beach, we launched from that beach.   Miracle Beach has extensive shallows at low tide so launches and landings have to be at high tide.  Even then, we had to put the wheels on our kayak to get them to the beach and down to the water.  The tide table determined our paddling times, but once in the water, we enjoyed our paddling in the rolling waves of the Straight.

The paddle north from Miracle Beach to Salmon Point and back was our favorite.   On the way is Black Creek, Saratoga Beach, the Oyster River Estuary and then the Oyster River Nature Trails.   With the nutrients from the Oyster River, kelp beds were abundant and there was more sea life in the section north of the estuary.   We were pleased to spot fish jumping and two types of jellyfish.

For people who live on the Island, this would not be destination paddling, but we only get to the ocean once a year so we want to get our kayaks wet when we can.   Last year we did the Broken Islands and future trips will be to destinations like Desolation Sound, Nootka Sound, and the Gulf Islands.