Bishop Bay Hot Springs were the very first hot springs I
visited on the coast, and they’re still one of my favorites. We skipped Bishop
Bay on the trip north this year—we needed to hit a weather window at Dixon
Entrance and the group was too big—so I made it a point to visit on the way
south.
The trip to Bishop Bay is particularly scenic. Both Verney
Passage and Ursula Channel are stunning, with huge rock walls rising from the
ocean. Glacier carved alpine bowls abound.
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| Scenery along Verney Passage |
We arrived at Bishop Bay mid-afternoon and it was
surprisingly empty. One sailboat on one of a mooring buoy (there are currently
three buoys), a group of canoeists camped ashore, and a barge. The barge is
notable since it carried—and its crew installed—the replacement ramp connecting
the dock to shore. For the last couple years, the dock was really just a float,
the old ramp having mysteriously disappeared. At long last, BC Parks installed
a new ramp, and dinghiless boaters once again have easy access to the hot
springs.
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| New ramp being installed at Bishop Bay |
As soon as we tied to a buoy we headed for a soak. The
soaking tubs are concrete, covered by a roof. While this might sound “built
up,” it doesn’t feel that way. Over the years boaters have hung homemade signs
with their boat name and year of visit. They’ve added handholds and rocks to
use as seats. The water temperature is warm but not hot, just right for hours
of soaking. And the best part: a PVC pipe juts out of one wall, shooting fresh,
hot water into the tub just over head height. It’s a perfect shower.
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| The bath house |
Throughout our soak more boat showed up. A couple of
20-something foot aluminum boats, a sailboat, another trawler. By the time we
finished, our bodies resembled prunes and the bay was full.
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| Aerial of Bishop Bay |
Tomorrow we’ll head for Butedale.
44.07 nm today
2665.41 nm total
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