Holberg Inlet is located at the north end of Quatsino Sound. At the end of the Inlet is the little town of Holberg. With a population of about 100 people, Holberg is within the traditional territory of the Quatsino First Nation.
Holberg was first settled in 1895 by homesteaders from Denmark. It was named for the Danish writer, Ludwig Holberg. A number of trails connected Holberg with San Josef Bay and Cape Scott. These trails were well-used, with settlers carving their homesteads along the trail. They built homes and planted gardens and fruit trees, you can still pick fruit from old apple trees in the area.
The M.V. Cape Scott plied the waters of Holberg Inlet in those days, bringing in supplies and settlers to the area. In 1913 the Dominion Government Telegraph Service line connected Shushartie, Fisherman’s Bay, Cape Scott, San Josef, Holberg, and Coal Harbor providing a link to the outside world. A new wharf was built in Holberg Inlet which was a half-mile in length, a big wharf for a small area.
Over the years, Holberg Inlet has had times of glory, for a time the town of Holberg was a north island army base, and the surrounding area was filled with logging companies, the floating camp in Holberg was known as the largest float camp in the world. There have been mines open and closed and fishing fleets were quite large, during these times there were many people working and living in the Inlet. Life has slowed down now and most of the employment now is in tourism or logging.
Holberg Inlet is still a very pretty place to visit, best seen from the water, it’s a great place to put in a sea-going kayak and head out on an adventure, so load up the truck and head on up to see it for yourself.