Vancouver Island North, Vancouver Island, BC, Canada

When former forestry engineer Phil Wainwright and his wife Pat, a school teacher, recently retired in Winter Harbour, they were able to focus on building their business, Cape Scott – Winter Harbour Cottages. The Wainwright’s cozy wood-frame waterfront cottages are the ideal home base for trips to Cape Scott hiking trails, Raft Cove surfing beaches and fishing or kayaking trips in Quatsino Sound. Winter Harbour’s year-round safe anchorage and stationary fuelling facility attracts pleasure boaters and fishing charters, while families visit to simply unwind, play on the local beaches, and take in the spectacular scenery and wildlife. People here co-exist peacefully with bears, sea otters, eagles, seals, dolphins and whales, and visitors marvel at their proximity. While the community bulks up to about 400 residents in the summer, catering to tourists in the high season, the Wainwrights encourage visitors to take advantage of the quieter shoulder seasons in spring and fall. And since Winter Harbour is accessible year-round by boat, floatplane and a well-travelled gravel road from Port Hardy, it has potential as a winter destination as well. Wind-swept Hecht Beach is an ideally remote and romantic spot for winter storm-watching. www.winterharbourcottages.com; www.winterharbour.ca