Gregory Beach Features:
Easy access to Gregory Creek
Conehead view
NOTE: Rennell Sound is subject to variable weather conditions, heavy rainfall, and landslide risk, particularly from September thru May. Be prepared for emergencies and road closures during weather events.
ABOUT
Located within the Duu Guusd Conservancy, Gregory Beach offers a lovely sand and pebble beach for
those wishing to relax and experience the dynamic environment that is Haida Gwaii’s rugged west coast. At the beach’s north end you will find Gregory Creek, which is home to spawning salmon in August and September. The small Gregory Beach campsite is located opposite the creek.
As described by Haida Hereditary Chief Gidansda, Duu Guusd “stands as a testament to the power of the earth” and “maintains all of the elements that spawned the Haida cultural heritage.” Indeed, the conservancy is huge, clocking in at 229,107 hectares in size (144,934 terrestrial and 84,173 foreshore), and stretching from the western side of Naden Harbour to Langara Island, and south to Rennell Sound. It should come as no surprise that Duu Guusd is an area rich in cultural values. 39 village sites or seasonal camps have been identified; 88 registered archaeological sites have been noted, including CMts, shell middens, habitation caves, burial sites, and blank canoes; the area is rich in unique geological formations from antiquity; and it is home to some of the most productive marine habitat on all of Haida Gwaii. The intertidal pools – prominent at the Conehead Recreational camping site – provide a beautiful and vivid example of this latter point.
To reach Gregory Beach, and others in the area, one requires a good deal of patience and a high clearance vehicle because the old logging road out to Rennell is in poor shape and rife with large potholes. Once you make it, however, you will be rewarded with some of the most beautiful beaches anywhere in the world.
If traveling from Daajing Giids, drive approximately 22 kilometers along the QC Mainline (use appropriate caution as these are active logging roads). You will come upon a blue sign with white text pointing you WEST towards the Duu Guusd Conservancy and Rennell Sound. You are now on the Rennell Sound Forest Service Road. From here, it is a 15 kilometer drive towards the Sound. Along the way, you will drive through Rennell Pass, including Rennell Hill with its steep 25% grade. While there is no longer active logging in this area, it is strongly recommended that you still drive with caution because the Rennell FSR is narrow and filled with significant potholes. For this reason, a high clearance vehicle is suggested.
LOCATING THE TRAILHEAD
Once at the bottom of Rennell Hill, you will come upon the Rennell Sound Recreation Site. From here, drive north for approximately 13 kilometers along the Rennell FSR. You will pass the trailhead signs for Five Mile Beach and Riley Creek before finally coming upon the Gregory Beach trailhead marker. There is a small pullout with enough room for two or three vehicles to park. Welcome to the Gregory Beach Trail!
HIKING THE TRAIL
The trail to Gregory Beach is brief at only 300 meters one-way. It should take approxim?ately 5 minutes to reach the beach. As you hike this brief path, which takes you through some nice shoreline forest, be cognizant of some muddy sections; otherwise, the single-file trail is mostly clear and an easy walk. It is also the only trail within Rennell Sound to feature the Ben Davidson Haida trail marker. Once you reach the beach, enjoy the rugged beauty of Haida Gwaii’s west coast: Surf the waves, swim in the ocean, comb the beach, or have a picnic (please pick up after yourself). As you relax in this oasis of calm, it is easy to lose all sense of time . . . and that’s okay.
DIFFICULTY: Easy
TOTAL DISTANCE: 300 meters (one-way)
TIME: 5 minutes
TYPE: Out-and-Back
ELEVATION GAIN: None