The Colonial Creek Estuary flows into the Neroutsos inlet at its southern end, just past the town of Port Alice. An estuary is a great place for wildlife viewing. You have a good chance of seeing deer, elk, black bears, and cougars along with incredible bird-watching opportunities. The eagles here are an incredible sight and the herring runs in the last days of winter is the best time to view them.
In late September, or early October the salmon return to the Creeks, and you can see them along with the black bears then, an awesome experience. The drive through this estuary is pretty amazing, lots of birds visit here and many more are residents, there is great fishing in the creeks when the sea runs head up and the chance to see black bears here is awesome.
The town of Port Alice has accommodations, restaurants, a golf course you won’t believe, and some of the best fishing on the west coast, both salt and freshwater fishing.
The inlet is a great place to explore by kayak and the sights you will see will simply amaze you. There are so many areas to head off to from Port Alice, places like the Marble River Marine Park, only accessible by boat and is incredibly beautiful. Be sure to stop at Quotsino for lunch, the hotel here has been in operation for more than 100 years and still is going strong.
The salmon fishing out in the waters in front of the estuary can be very productive, and if it’s lake fishing you like, there are some very well-stocked lakes to drop a line in that are not very far from the estuary. All in all, this is a great place to visit.