Swimming with salmon in the Puntledge River- Comox Valley BC

by Keith and Heather Nicol

On Thursday Sept 2 with a temperatures forecast to be in the low 20 C we headed to Puntledge Park in Courtenay to see if there were any salmon were in the river. We headed for the area where Morrison Creek enters the Puntledge River and were not disappointed! We quickly saw 100’s of  salmon. We usually see pink salmon at this time of year in the river and they seem to have a 2 year cycle with every odd year being the biggest run of fish. And this is certainly the case in 2021.  They seem to be very abundant (see photo below) and there are also some larger Spring salmon in the river as well.    

  The Puntledge River location near Morrison Creek has a strong current in places and the rocks are slippery so you need to pay attention. We wear water shoes to protect our feet from the rocks and wade out several meters before diving in and snorkeling  over the salmon. The current will take you down near Morrison Creek and then you need to swim hard to get to shore. You can also swim to the other side of the river where the current is slower and you can more easily stay in one place. If you want to see one of nature’s wonders you should check this out. There is a gravel bar at this location so you can easily bring a lawn chair, towels etc for spending some time along the river. Although we just used swimsuits we saw some people with wet suits since the water is getting cooler. The video below reveals just how many fish are below the surface. Puntledge Park in located just off of 1^st Street in Courtenay, BC.