Bald Eagles are common in the Queen Charlottes

View a Map of Haida Gwaii (Queen Charlotte Islands).

• A legendary Golden Sitka Spruce grew on the west bank of the Yakoun River, between Juskatla and Port Clements. The most famous tree on Haida Gwaii put Port Clements on the map, until an act of insane vandalism felled the sacred tree in 1997. The Haida believe the tree held the spirit of a boy named Kiidkayyaas, who was transformed into the Golden Spruce when fleeing his village after a snowstorm came as punishment to his people. The ten-minute trail to the river still makes for a lovely walk.

• On the east side of Juskatla Road, a few kilometres south of the Golden Spruce site, watch for the signs to a partly carved Haida cedar canoe, abandoned more than a century ago. The bow of the canoe points toward the stump of the cedar from which it was cut, with the stump clearly showing the adze marks of the Haida canoe builders. Many unfinished Haida canoes lie in the forests on the islands, but this 15-metre (50-ft) canoe is the most accessible of them, with a boardwalk and trail into the canoe site.

• Fishing: Fishermen can test their skills on the Yakoun River, famous for its steelhead, as well as the Mamin River. The Yakoun and Mamin River systems together include all 5 species of Pacific salmon (chinook, coho, chum, pink and sockeye), as well as rainbow trout, cutthroat trout and Dolly Varden char.

• The Yakoun River is the only stream system on the Queen Charlotte Islands that naturally supports a chinook salmon stock. This wild stock is enhanced by the efforts of the Yakoun River (Marie Lake) Fish Hatchery. The Yakoun River is also a major producer of steelhead in the Haida Gwaii islands, offering great salmon and steelhead fishing.

• The Mamin River, which flows into Juskatla Inlet, supports a good run of coho salmon from mid September to mid October, and a good steelhead run from January to March. The Port Clements Salmon Enhancement Club works on the Mamin River and provides Yakoun River chinook to the Port Clements school feeding and release program.

• Kayaking: Paddlers can launch their kayaks in Juskatla to explore the many bays and islets in Juskatla Inlet. Canoeing and Kayaking in Haida Gwaii (Queen Charlotte Islands).

• Logging Roads: The network of logging backroads south to Queen Charlotte City is open to the public after working hours only. A logging road map and clearance are available from Juskatla.

• Masset Sound (25 miles/40 km long) is a fast-flowing connection between Dixon Entrance, the body of water between Haida Gwaii and the Prince of Wales Island in Alaska, and the ecologically unique Masset Inlet. The village of Masset is located at the mouth of Masset Sound, and Port Clements sits on the eastern shore of Masset Inlet, which leads into Juskatla Inlet, and the logging camp of Juskatla on the eastern shore.

• To the north of Juskatla, at the estuary of the Yakoun River, is the logging and fishing village of Port Clements, a wonderful place to observe the giant trees of the temperate rainforest.

• The network of logging roads south of Juskatla run to the laid-back fishing village of Queen Charlotte City, the administrative centre for Haida Gwaii, formerly know as the Queen Charlotte Islands.