Khutze Inlet

Another excellent choice for anchoring along the primary Inside Passage cruising route. Khutze Inlet offers good place to stop and enjoy the wilderness that you have come to see. A short detour from Princess Royal Channel brings you to the top of the inlet where a sizable river enters with extensive tidal flats. The inlet is about 4 miles (7km) long.

The Nordic Quest in Khutze Inlet

The Nordic Quest anchored in the calm waters of Khutze Inlet

The Khutze River drains a large area of the coast here, much larger than the usual streams found along the coast here. At high tide the Khutze river is navigable up to two miles past the mouth, depending on tide. This defines navigable as using a craft drawing less than two feet. Go slow and keep a sharp watch for the rocks and snags that litter the river.

We took our launch up the river looking for bear. There were salmon in the stream and dozens of seals hunting them. There was plenty of bear sign, crushed grass and salmon carcasses on the bank, but we saw no bears. Knowing that the sound of the outboard would scare off any furry fishermen, we went as far as we could up the river and drifted back down with the motor off, letting the swift current push us back to the bay.

Khutze Inlet

Looking upriver in Khutze Inlet

Up the river the scenery is simply stunning, sheer cliffs and high peaks surround the inlet. Waterfalls tumble down those high valley walls. This is a place that has everything you expect in a British Colombian wilderness.

Anchoring offers only one slight concern, the stream delta at the rear of the inlet drops off quickly. Holding seems decent, but there are no currents and at worst you would drift into deep water. We simply set the anchor alarm and went to sleep. Crabbing here is quite good, we caught our limit and more with four pots deployed across the shallows at the top of the bay. It was annoying to have to return quite a few great crab back into the bay, we did keep the biggest ones.

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About Andrew Cooper

An electrical engineer living and working on Mauna Kea, Hawai'i. Webmaster for the NordicQuest.com website. Sometimes the first mate/deckhand/launch driver/anchor detail/cook/dishwasher and mechanic aboard the Nordic Quest.
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