Pronounced "Skid-uh-git" - this community's official name is Skidegate Mission, otherwise known as The Village by the locals. It was well-developed Haida village for many years prior to the European arrival in July of 1787.

A traditional longhouse is home to the Skidegate Band Council and special art pieces. In front of the longhouse stands a totem pole by artist Bill Reid. Another of his works is called Loo Taa or "Wave Eater" and is the authentic replica of a Haida cedar canoe that was commissioned for the 1986 World Fair in Vancouver, BC. When Expo 86 ended, the canoe was paddled north to the community.

Skidegate is a great place to spot the gray whales as they feed and calf in the inlet during their annual migration from Mexico Baja coast to Alaska. They are usually seen in late spring or early summer.

Skidegate Landing is the official BC Ferry Terminal site for the Queen Charlotte Islands. Docking is available for the small Ferry that travels between Graham and Moresby Island, as well as the Ferry that travels between the Charlottes and Prince Rupert.

Things To Do

Queen Charlotte Islands Museum - located next door to Loo Taa. This cedar and glass building contains centuries old artifacts, such as totem poles, argillite carvings and a pioneer gallery.

Balance Rock- located immediately north of Skidegate along a short path. This is one of the most photographed natural phenomena on the islands.

According to geologists, the rock is there because of a glacier. There is a local story about a resident who was determined to remove the rock. He had no particular reason for wanting to remove it but he tried everything including a team of horses. He was just about to dynamite it when he was persuaded not to.

St. Mary's Spring - located beside the highway near Lawn Hill (about half way between Skidegate and Tlell). A carved wooden Madonna stands beside the Spring. The Spring was named by Mrs. Annie Richardson of Tlell after a similar one she had known in England. The local residents say if you drink the pure water you will return to the islands again. Across the road, on the beach, are unusual geological forms: black basalt of old lava flows and some columnar basalt columns The hard basalt weathers slower than the softer rocks nearby and forms walls and projections on the beach.