Sechelt Inlet

Geography

BC Geographical Names describes Sechelt Inlet as lying south of Jervis Inlet and east of the Sechelt Peninsula, with a centre point at about 49°37'45" N, 123°45'46" W ¹. The name was adopted as Seechelt Inlet in 1923 and changed to Sechelt Inlet in 1951; it comes from the shíshálh (Sechelt) Nation, and the inlet's shíshálh name is recorded as Álhtúlich ¹. The shíshálh Nation lists tewankw near alhtulich (Porpoise Bay) among its four main historical settlements ¹⁰.

BC Parks describes the marine park area as three protected inlets, Sechelt, Narrows and Salmon, surrounded by steep, forested hills with many small creeks ³⁴. Porpoise Bay Park is at the southern end of the inlet, about four kilometres north of Sechelt ⁶.

At a glance

Location

South of Jervis Inlet, east of the Sechelt Peninsula, Sunshine Coast, BC

Side inlets

Salmon Inlet and Narrows Inlet (inside Sechelt Inlets Marine Park)

Mouth

Skookumchuck Narrows (Sechelt Rapids), into Jervis Inlet

Public launch points

Porpoise Bay Park; Tillicum Bay Marina; Porpoise Bay Harbour boat launch (Sechelt)

Protected areas

Sechelt Inlets Marine Park; Porpoise Bay Park; Skookumchuck Narrows Park

Fishing rules

DFO tidal Area 16; BC Freshwater Synopsis and DFO freshwater salmon rules for streams

Drinking water at marine park sites

None (2002 BC Parks brochure)

Last reviewed

2026-10-09

Workplaces nearby

• Porpoise Bay Park Research lead BC Parks campground operated by Swens Contracting; operator-level staffing evidence only
• Skookumchuck Narrows Park BC Parks day-use park operated by Swens Contracting; no site-specific staffing evidence found
• Porpoise Bay Harbour District of Sechelt harbour; page mentions a nighttime caretaker; research lead

Shoreline, wildlife and ecology

Documented by BC Parks: Kunechin Islets are a seabird and shorebird nesting site and a seal haul-out; BC Parks asks visitors to stay away from nesting birds and keep their distance from seals and pups ³. At Porpoise Bay, BC Parks documents an estuary with waterfowl and shorebirds, and harbour seals and bald eagles seen year-round ⁶. Brown Lake, on the Skookumchuck trail, offers waterfowl viewing ⁵.

Historical record: the 1981 Porpoise Bay master plan described a tidal salt marsh at the mouth of Angus Creek used by common loon, western grebe, surf scoter and goldeneye ⁷.

Archaeological sites in the marine park are protected under the Heritage Conservation Act ⁴.

Skookumchuck Narrows and the Sechelt Rapids

The inlet connects with Jervis Inlet through Skookumchuck Narrows. BC Parks says that on a three-metre tide about 200 billion gallons of water flow through the narrows, water levels on either side can differ by more than two metres, and currents can exceed 30 km/h, with whirlpools and whitewater ⁵. BC Geographical Names records that the Sechelt Rapids, in Skookumchuck Narrows, can peak at about 14 knots ².

Skookumchuck Narrows Park (123 ha, established 1957) is reached on foot: from Egmont Road, about 6 km off Highway 101 near the Earls Cove ferry terminal, an easy 4 km trail runs past Brown Lake to the Roland Point viewing area, about an hour each way ⁵. At low tide, tide pools hold urchins, sea stars, small fish and small crabs ⁵. Check tide data at tides.gc.ca before going ⁵.

Sechelt Inlets Marine Park

Sechelt Inlets Marine Park has six sites: Halfway Beach, Kunechin Point, Piper Point, Tzoonie Narrows, Thornhill and Skaiakos, reached by boat or floatplane only ³. Protected anchorages at Kunechin Point and Tzoonie Narrows are shown on marine charts, and the former destroyer Chaudiere lies off Kunechin Point as an artificial reef for divers ³. The 2002 brochure listed pit toilets at Halfway, Kunechin Point, Piper Point, Tzoonie Narrows and Thornhill, no facilities at Skaiakos Point, and no potable water in the park, and noted that Nine Mile Point, Tuwanek and Oyster Beach had moved into Mount Richardson Provincial Park (1999) ⁴.

BC Parks says there are no designated swimming areas, and beaches are rocky, gravel or cobble with barnacles ³. Relevant charts are 3512 and 3514 ³.

Access points and paddling

• Porpoise Bay Park: named by BC Parks as a public access point to the marine park ³; the 2002 brochure describes inlet access for canoes, kayaks and cartop boats ⁴.
• Tillicum Bay Marina: about 1 km south of Tuwanek, also named as a public access point; kayak and canoe rentals are available nearby at Tillicum Bay and Sechelt ³.
• Porpoise Bay Harbour, Sechelt: the District of Sechelt lists a boat launch for small vessels, moorage and a government wharf at 5770 Wharf Avenue ¹².

BC Parks advises that coastal weather can change quickly even in sheltered bays, recommends morning and evening travel, and says to plan Skookumchuck Narrows crossings around high or low slack tide using local tide tables ⁴⁵. Only very experienced paddlers should attempt the rapids at high tide ⁵.

Fish and salmon

BC Parks documents Angus Creek, which enters the inlet at Porpoise Bay Park, as a spawning stream for chum and coho salmon ⁶. DFO's MacLean Bay hatchery page says the shíshálh (Sechelt) First Nation operates a hatchery in Sechelt Inlet about 8 km from Sechelt, rearing coho, chinook, chum and pink salmon and releasing smolts into the inlet; it lists production targets, not confirmed releases ¹¹.

The presence of fish does not mean fishing is open.

Fishing and harvesting rules

Sechelt Inlet is in DFO tidal Area 16 (Sechelt Inlet, Jervis Inlet, Texada Island). The Area 16 page lists subarea-specific salmon limits and shellfish closures, including closures that affect Porpoise Bay; read it and any fishery notices before fishing or harvesting ⁸. BC Parks reminds visitors that a valid licence is needed and points to the BC Centre for Disease Control for shellfish harvesting information ⁶.

For streams and lakes, BC's Freshwater Fishing Regulations Synopsis (2025-2027 edition) applies to non-salmon species, with in-season changes posted by region ⁹. Freshwater salmon limits are on DFO's regional pages; the Region 2 (Lower Mainland) page lists Chapman Creek, for example ¹³. Confirm which region covers a given Sunshine Coast stream in the Synopsis.

Connected guides

• On the shore of: Porpoise Bay Park Porpoise Bay Park is on the inlet's southern end
• Beside: Sechelt Sechelt is at the head of the inlet