Miltes Bay Campsite

Miltes Bay is a broad sandy beach tucked on the northeast tip of Vargas Island. Dick and Jane's Beach a couple kilometers to the west is by far the more popular and well-known location. Miltes is quieter and close to town but fairly sheltered. Seeing as inattentive paddlers might not even notice it as they paddle westward, it's a more subtle spot and great for families. You'll have plenty of boats going past, but they tend to not come too close to shore.

The campsite amenities are gathered mostly on the northern shore of the beach hidden in the salal bushes. A small sign and an overgrown trail are all that is visible when you're standing by the water. There is a food cache and a drop toilet. A couple trees form excellent shelter in bad weather, as does the salal.

The campsites are dispersed with a cluster near the toilets and two separate, small spots located on tiny trails off into the bushes. This means this spot has better privacy than many other tent campsites. There are also plenty of small spots that can be found on the beach or up the berm in the trees.

There are incredibly crafty Vargas wolves on the island. When they started getting into kayak hatches for food, local guiding companies installed steel boxes to store food and avoid the wolves damaging more boats. Since then, sightings have dropped, but it's not uncommon to see them loping along the shore looking for an easy meal.

Getting to Miltes is mainly by kayak. Canoes and similar watercraft can get there, but they lack the efficiency of a kayak or the stability in heavier seas. There is an overgrown trail that connects to the Vargas trail network, but it is in a state of disrepair as of 2019, so this is not recommended for all but experienced compass navigators with a taste for bushwhacking.