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Agate Beach Campground offers a truly unique and unforgettable camping experience. Located right on the edge of the ocean, the views of the waves crashing against the shore are breathtaking, especially during sunrise and sunset. The sound of the ocean at night makes for the perfect natural soundtrack to fall asleep to.
The sites are well-maintained, with enough space and privacy for a peaceful stay. While the campground is somewhat rustic, the amenities are sufficient—basic toilets and water access—but the incredible natural beauty more than makes up for it.
One of the highlights was exploring the nearby Tow Hill trail and walking along the stunning beach, where you can find agates and other unique stones. Wildlife is abundant, so keep an eye out for eagles, seals, and even whales!
If you're visiting Haida Gwaii and looking for a place to immerse yourself in nature, Agate Beach is a must. It’s a perfect mix of tranquility, adventure, and awe-inspiring scenery. Highly recommend for anyone looking for a camping spot with unmatched views and a connection to the natural world.
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Date of stay: April 2024
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Trip type: Travelled with friends
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
The Agate Beach Campground is located in Naikoon Provincial Park, just a stone’s throw away from Tow Hill. It is open year-round and features pit toilets, picnic tables, fire pits, water source and a kitchen shelter. The sites, which all face the Pacific Ocean, are suitable for small campers and tents. Lonely Planet captures the essence of Agate Beach quite succinctly, I think: “This stunning, wind-whipped campground is right on the beach on the north shore.” In short, it’s both rugged and beautiful.
I remember the first time I camped at Agate Beach – that was all the way back in 1995. My friends and I were “tweens” back then. Admittedly, I don’t remember too much about the trip other than one of my friends violating a general food rule: Keep your food sealed and away from your tent! Well, he didn’t do that! Instead, he kept some leftover chicken in a plastic bag . . . in his tent! Thankfully he didn’t attract any bears that night! Ah, to be young (and foolish) again . . . though I guess one can also be old(er) and foolish, too . . .
Fast-forward to the current day. It was so nice to patronize the campsite. The weather was beautiful – clear, sunny skies – but quite windy, as is the norm at North Beach. Many of the sites appear to have received a minor re-fresh: A lot of the picnic tables look relatively new and the sites themselves nicely groomed. In brief, the site was perfect to pitch up a tent!
Beyond the world-class camping, the scenery in and around Agate Beach is, in my view, unmatched. First, you have beautiful North Beach at your doorstep (or tent flap). Walk the rocky beach and search for the campsite’s namesake agates. There’s no shortage of these rocks on the beach. To distinguish an agate from a standard rock, look for smooth irregular stones that are somewhat translucent with pock marks. The agates come in a variety of colours – though white is the most common – and represent a nice keepsake of your stay here. Second, at low tide, the sandy beach is exposed and presents a great opportunity to enjoy the sea and its bounty (hello Dungeness Crab!). Third, the whole campsite is accentuated by a backdrop of the rain forest. There are many deer trails you can follow that’ll bring you into Haida Gwaii’s unique bog ecosystem . . . but, if you follow these trails, make sure you’re properly equipped and comfortable walking an unmarked route! Finally, you can walk all the way to the Blow Hole and Tow Hill – along the beach – if you so choose. Indeed, there’s no shortage of recreational activities for one to enjoy, whether it’s hiking, beachcombing, or surfing the waves.
Oh! And there’s no Internet service out here, either, which is perfect if one wants to truly get away from it all on the edge of the world. . .
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Date of stay: June 2022
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Well finally after many years of dreamin 21d. We were there from July 13 -July 21 this year. We drove from Nanaimo through Highway 5 because of the terrible and biggest BC forest fires in history! Anyway, we arrived in Haida Gwaii around 6:35 in the morning and drove straight to Agate Beach Campground. There are no reservations there but we managed to get a spot luckily! We only got rained out for about 1.5 days during our entire stay. There were lots of eagles around! Tow Hill was just 20 minutes or so away. We just hiked our way there. It took us another 20 minutes to reach the top look-out. Anyway, I really enjoyed some crabbing there although the best place for that is about 10 minutes drive away to the North Beach where everybody goes for beach crabbing. I didn't mind crabbing in Agate, I watched a First Nation woman crabbing so I simply copied her style which was to go in the water up to her lower thigh with a bucket and a hand-held fish net for catching crabs! It was really easy! I got 5 in about 40 minutes! You need a wader to do this because the water was really cold! Unfortunately, me brand new wader had a small leak on the right leg so part of me was really cold! LOL! The campsite is facing the ocean and we stayed in our camperized van. Wow! The scenery was wonderful! Worth every penny we spent on the trip! So I already crossed it out from my bucket list and wouldn't mind visiting there again!
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Date of stay: July 2017
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Trip type: Travelled as a couple
Room Tip:Â All campsites are pretty good! All facing the ocean. Choose the ones with less trees for better...
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We headed here right off the ferry which docked before 7a.m., It is a first come, first served campground, the sites are all adjacent to the shore. The high tide came 15 metres from our campfire and the patterned waves lulled us to sleep at night. We watched eagles, crabbers and daring drive on the beach clammers. Talk to some of these locals and they'll sell you some fresh seafood for dinner. You'll find it hard to leave.
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Date of stay: June 2016Trip type: Travelled as a couple
Room Tip:Â sites 1-11 open for rv's and further down tenters have raised wood shelters protecting them...
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Absolutely fantastic! A must for any HG visitor. We arrived at Skidegate at 6am from the overnight ferry. We made a direct, fast drive to Agate beach because we figured it would be crowded and you can't make reservations. We got there and found campsites down the road. Over the next several hours, others arrived. It is beautiful and there are several nearby hikes. The only downside is that it is very windy (apparently year-around). We were there in August and it wasn't cold; however, it was windy and foggy w/ some mist.
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Date of stay: August 2018Trip type: Travelled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Haida Gwaii has several amazing campgrounds, and this is an exquisite one. We went in May, during a big storm, and walked this amazing landscape as Hecate Strait brought in the howling winds. The sites are right at the ocean, and there is a beautiful longhouse style structure with a wood stove for shelter. It is walking distance to Tow Hill, pristine, and a place of immensity and mystique. The spirits live here.
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Date of stay: May 2015Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
On the far north coast of Haida Gwaii, we camped on what I would call the edge of the world! This was North Beach situated in Naikoon Provincial Park. Access to North Beach is from Masset, was along scenic Tow Hill Road that cut through a rain forest with the trees draped in moss and gave the forest a fairy tale appearance. Note: Road is not paved! We camped near a long stretch of sand beach, dunes and surf, known as Agate Beach Campground. It was located near Tow Hill, has picnic tables, fire pits, outhouses, drinking water and a roofed kitchen shelter. Our son was adventurous and brave so he put on his wet suit and ventured into the frigid waters and pounding surf of the Pacific ocean.
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Date of stay: September 2019
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Room Tip:Â This campground is open year round. Bring your own drinking water. Water colour isn't ideal...
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
No. You may not make reservations. I suggest you make a direct drive to Agate right when you get off the ferry. We did the same when we went in August and was able to get a spot. Even though most campsites on HG do not accept reservations, we had very little problems finding sites as long as we were there before noon. It's a beautiful island and I'm sure you'll have a great time.
There are more places to choose from in the Masset area.
LOCATION
CanadaBritish ColumbiaHaida Gwaii (Queen Charlotte Islands)Graham IslandMasset
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