Find Marine Parks
On this page, you’ll find a complete list of ALL of BC’s Marine Parks with link to each BC Parks page for further information. Below that you’ll find chartlets showing the location of each stern tie for any of the parks with an symbol. And, you’ll find the details of all the land acquisitions completed by the Society over the years.
Find Marine Park Details
= Stern ties
= $ donation
Desolation Sound
Hakai Conservation Study Area
Ugʷiwa’/Cape Caution Conservancy
North Coast
West Coast
Stern Ties
The Stern Tie Program provides safe and secure anchoring which significantly reduces the impact of anchor chains scouring sensitive bottom habitat areas, including eelgrass beds that are slowly recovering through natural regeneration or are being replanted to encourage regeneration. Likewise, shoreline trees are protected from the ravages of conventional stern-tying techniques. This also increases the number of boats that can anchor overnight in some of these very popular anchorages.
The first shore-tie pins, chain and identifying plaques were installed in Melanie Cove on July 10, 2015. To date 186 shore tie pins / chains and ID plates have been installed, and more locations are being considered. The exact location of each stern tie line within each park was determined by BC Parks. Do not use the following chartlets for navigation.
BC Parks has no way of knowing how often the stern ties are used and the frequency of use in each park. This is one way to let them know. If you have had the opportunity to use any of our stern ties and would like to see more installed, let BC Parks know at http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/bcparks/info/feedback/.
Click here for helpful tips on how to stern tie.
Click on the images below to bring up a larger version. In some cases you will see more detailed North, South and Middle images in the gallery that appears.
Click on the videos below to learn more about the Stern Tie Project in Prideaux Haven.
Copeland Islands
19 installed. The Copeland Islands provide a small but popular anchorage for boaters on the doorway to Desolation Sound. These 19 stern ties have greatly expanded the number of boats that can safely anchor there.
Galley Bay
9 installed. This is a popular anchorage in the Broughtons. These stern ties enable more boaters to safely spend the night here.
Grace Harbour
16 installed. Grace Harbour is a popular destination in the Desolation Sound area. These stern ties not only enable more boaters to safely overnight there but by reducing the need to find something on shore to tie to it has helped limit damage to First Nation artifacts in the area.
Halkett Bay
INSTALLED 5 PINS/ CHAINS/ ID PLATES. These stern tie pins have increased the capacity of boats to overnight in this park.
Laura Cove
8 installed. These stern ties have increased the capacity in this very popular anchorage while reducing damage to trees previously used to tie to.
Melanie Cove
INSTALLED 16 PINS / CHAINS / ID PLATES. Melanie cove is a very popular and heavily used anchorage in Desolation Sound Park. These stern ties have increased the capacity of the anchorage while also reducing the environmental impact of continuous anchoring and damage to shore trees.
Pirates' Cove
Prideaux Haven
INSTALLED 25 Stern tie PINS / CHAINS/ ID PLATES Prideaux Haven is probably the most popular anchorage in Desolation Sound. These stern ties have increased the anchoring capacity and also reduce damage to the bottom due to the heavy anchoring usage here.
Roscoe Bay
22 installed. This is a popular anchorage in the Desolation Sound area. The addition of these stern ties has made it easier to anchor there as well as helping to protect the shoreline and bottom.
Scobell Island
Installed 3 stern tie pins to improve safe anchoring and protect the sensitive environment.
Smuggler Cove
INSTALLED / RESTORED 38 PINS / CHAINS / ID PLATES. This is a heavily used anchorage that can only fit a lot of boats if they stern tie. These pins have made that easier allowing more boaters to enjoy this lovely park. It also prevents damage to shore trees and the cove bottom.
Tenedos Bay
INSTALLED 14 PINS / CHAINS / ID PLATES. This is a popular anchorage in the Desolation Sound area. Most boaters do stern tie here to increase capacity. The stern ties installed here make this process much easier as the shores here are lined with oysters. These are very difficult to scramble over and can easily damage a boaters inflatable. This has increased the capacity of boats to anchor in this popular anchorage.
Walsh Cove
INSTALLED 15 PINS/ CHAINS / ID PLATES. These stern ties have improved the capacity of this anchorage as well as the ease of anchoring. These are very handy when you need to wait for slack to occur in Gabriola Passage before transiting it.
Wallace Island
INSTALLED 3 CHAINS / ID PLATES CONOVER AND 18 to PRINCESS COVE + INTERPRETIVE SIGN. The plates and pins here mostly replaced old ones that were high above the water line. These new pins have chains that go to the low water mark making it much easier to tie on to. Stern ties are a must in the summer in this very popular anchorage.
Have a location where YOU’D find a stern tie handy? Submit it via email.
Land Acquisitions
Besides spending over 2 million dollars for this purpose since we were founded, we have also played a strong advocacy role in this area with BC Parks. Acquiring land to either establish or expand an existing marine park is very expensive and something that BC Parks on its own often has difficulty doing. They will look to partners in financing. Also, desirable land is scarce and mostly privately owned. When we hear of a piece of land that is up for sale that we see as an ideal acquisition for a new park or addition to an existing park, we contact BC Parks about it, commit our money to the project, and get to work trying to line up other interested parties to make it happen. What you see below are our successes in establishing or expanding BC Marine Parks. With your help we can continue this success.
DONATED $200,000 (2007) This donation provided almost half of the funding necessary to acquire the land to establish this park. This is the last all weather anchorage for boaters heading around Cape Caution.
Hardy Island (Musket)
DONATED $45,000 (1991) $75,000 (2008) These two donations helped to significantly expand this park. In both cases MPF donated half of the required money for the additions. The original acquisition was for Musket Island then in 2008 with our assistance, BC Parks was able to purchase and add Hardy Island to the park. As a result of a request by the Council of BC Yacht Clubs, on October 21, 2004 the name of the park was changed from Musket Island to Hardy Island Marine Park.
In 2018, we donated $749,310, the largest donation in our 28-year history, to the BC Government to purchase a 6.2 acre island of the Harmony Island Group which will become part of the existing Harmony Islands Marine Park. This was the entire purchase price. This also secured the only possible anchorage within Harmony Islands Marine Park. We hope to install some stern ties there in the near future. The donation was made possible by donations from thousands of boaters and a large bequest.
DONATED $100,000 ( 2002) This donation was used to help expand this park and increase available anchoring area within the park.
DONATED $250,000 (2004), $433,000 (2014), $100,000 (2019 – to add South Octopus island to the park). Total contributions for this park now total $783,000. This was the first major contribution by Marine Parks Forever to the expansion of this park. This expansion added a huge amount of land to BC Parks that stretched from the Octopus Islands to Waiatt Bay, connecting to the existing Small Bay Provincial Park. Marine Parks Forever was a major donor to this important acquisition. As a result, in 2014 we were given the , “Community Partner of the Year Award”.
DONATED $13,000 (1962) This donation actually was made by the Council of BC Yacht Clubs, before MPF was formed. The success and popularity of this donation in acquiring the land for Pirates Cove Marine Park eventually inspired the Council to establish us, The BC Marine Parks Forever Society.
DONATED $50,000 (2019) to add 1,800 acres of land on the South shore of Princess Louisa Inlet. This purchase will expand and protect the wilderness, which is an essential attraction of this marine park.
DONATED $18,000 (2009)This small donation by Marine Parks Forever was part of a significant expansion to this park on Lasqueti Island.
DONATED $100,000 (2002). This donation assisted BC Parks in purchasing the lands necessary to establish Wakes Cove Marine Park.
Do you know of available land that provides good, safe anchorage and nice boat landing areas for kayaks and dinghies and would make a great marine park?
Submit it via email.