At this Desolation Sound retreat, wildlife provides the soundtrack while Indigenous guides recount tales of old
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We’d come to remote Klahoose Wilderness Resort for a much-needed escape from city life.
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The quiet was what surprised me the most. Such stillness that, reading in bed one morning, the sound of waves lapping at the shoreline below made me look out, expecting a boat. Instead, a mother orca and her calf cruised past, the little one breaching in joyful bursts. Over four days, I unwound on the water and in the rainforests, taking in the breathtaking wildlife and natural beauty of British Columbia’s southwest coast. I finished a book, decompressed in the sauna and napped without guilt. My phone only came out when I wanted to take a picture.
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As Klahoose Wilderness Resort is accessible only by air or water, the resort collected us by boat in Lund, B.C., a small coastal town on the Sunshine Coast at the end of Highway 101. After a scenic hour-long cruise into Desolation Sound, gliding past lush coastal islands on glassy, glacier-fed waters, we rounded into a bay. A cedar lodge, cabins, a dock bright with colourful kayaks and a cedar sauna were the only human structures in sight.
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The West Coast wilderness resort sits on the shores of Desolation Sound’s Homfray Channel. Bordering the southern edge of the Great Bear Rainforest ecosystem, it’s deep within the traditional territory of the Klahoose First Nation, who’ve fished and traversed these waters for thousands of years. The Klahoose are closely connected to the neighbouring Tla’amin and Homalco “sister nations,” sharing an ancestral language and cultural heritage.
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The Klahoose acquired this former fishing lodge and opened it as a reimagined resort in 2021. It has collected a string of accolades — sustainability awards and coveted spots on best-of eco-lodge lists — recognition that reflects both the resort’s off-grid sustainability efforts and its deep commitment to Indigenous programming.
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Our room — one of four in the main lodge, each with water views and a private deck — was comfortably furnished and featured contemporary Indigenous art on the walls and accent pieces. Three cedar cabins, a short stroll from the main lodge, sleep larger groups. Room amenities include Wi-Fi, robes, Nespresso machines and soap made locally by Indigenous-owned RavenSong Soap. Three daily meals are prepared from fresh, local ingredients and taken communally around a long table.
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We gathered in the main lodge on our first morning for a safety briefing (bear bells encouraged while hiking!), a welcome song and a sit-down with the resort’s 23-year-old cultural interpreter and Klahoose First Nation member, Coral Delorme.
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Nearby Cortes Island’s Squirrel Cove is home base for the Klahoose community and where Delorme resides when not working at the resort. She left Cortes at seven to live with her father in Saskatoon, returning at 18. “I wanted to see my family here, and learn my culture,” she said quietly, hands moving with practiced ease as she braided two long pieces of red and yellow cedar bark.
