This small town of 3,600 lies on the north-eastern end of Vancouver Island. The town grew with the 1937 establishment of the Pioneer Timber Company, and was named for Captian William McNeill, who in 1852 was the captain of the HMS Beaver, the first steamship in the area, run by the Hudson’s Bay Company. Nearby attractions include the Vanishing River, which disappears into a series of caves and tunnels.

An inter-Island ferry operates a shuttle between port McNeill and Sointula and Alert Bay, which are home to some of the tallest totems on the West Coast, carved by the Kwakiutl First Nation’s Nimpkish tribe.

Town of Port McNeill

Port McNeill, British Columbia Area Map