New hotels in Campbell River

As of September 2026, New Hotels tracks one confirmed hotel project in Campbell River: Four Points by Sheraton Campbell River, a 102-room, new-build property under development at Quinsam Crossing on We Wai Kai Nation land, targeted for spring 2028. Campbell River is a city of roughly 37,000 people on the east coast of central Vancouver Island, self-styled the "Salmon Capital of the World" for the Chinook, coho and pink salmon runs through Discovery Passage in front of it, and functions as the main gateway to Strathcona Provincial Park and the more remote Discovery Islands to the north.

A fishing town before it was anything else

Long before any branded hotel considered Campbell River, the city's identity was built on Discovery Passage's salmon runs. The Tyee Club of British Columbia, founded in 1924 by a handful of anglers gathered at the old Willows Hotel, formalized the sport into one of the coast's stranger and more enduring traditions: to become a member, an angler must land a Chinook salmon of at least 30 pounds — a "tyee," from the Chinook Jargon word for chief — from a motorless rowboat at the designated Tyee Pool near the river's mouth, using a single-hook lure, a rod no longer than six feet and line testing no more than 20 pounds. Painter's Lodge, an oceanfront fishing resort founded in the 1920s by Ned and June Painter — Ned also helped found the Tyee Club and built its wooden rowboats — hosted Hollywood names from John Wayne to Bing Crosby and Bob Hope over the following decades and still operates today, rebuilt after a 1985 fire. Both are a useful reminder that Campbell River's tourism economy, and its existing hospitality landscape of fishing lodges and highway motels, predates any internationally branded hotel chain by a century.

What to do in Campbell River

For a weekend

Discovery Passage, the tidal channel running past downtown, is the reason most visitors come here in the first place: it's one of the most productive salmon fishing grounds on the coast, with charter operators running trips out of the city's waterfront marinas through spring and summer, and it's also a well-known spot for watching orcas and other whales pass through on seasonal migrations. Discovery Pier, a 600-foot public fishing pier beside the downtown Government Wharf, calls itself Canada's first saltwater fishing pier — open 24 hours and lit at night, with built-in rod holders, bait stands, fish-cleaning tables and a small concession stand, it's a low-key way to fish without a boat or a guide. A short drive out of town, Elk Falls Provincial Park holds a waterfall, a suspension bridge strung above the Campbell River canyon, and a small museum at the entrance where a curator explains the area's logging and hydroelectric history; the trails make for an easy half-day and don't require any special gear. The Quinsam River Hatchery, a free, federally run salmon hatchery a short drive from downtown — and from the We Wai Kai Nation's Quinsam community, where Quinsam Crossing and the future Four Points both sit — runs self-guided tours year-round and draws crowds every fall, when the spawning run brings both fish and the black bears that come to feed on them. For a quieter, closer-in stop, the Museum at Campbell River covers the region's history and First Nations arts and culture. If you have a spare few hours, BC Ferries runs a 10-minute crossing to Quadra Island roughly every hour, a straightforward way to see one of the Discovery Islands without committing to an overnight stay.

For a longer stay

With more time, Strathcona Provincial Park — designated in 1911, the oldest provincial park in British Columbia, and a rugged, roughly 250,000-hectare stretch of mountains, lakes and old-growth forest at the center of Vancouver Island — is worth a full day or more for hiking, and it's the obvious next stop for anyone drawn here by the outdoors rather than the fishing. Continuing north on Highway 19 leads toward the more remote Discovery Islands and, eventually, Port Hardy, the departure point for BC Ferries' Inside Passage route to Prince Rupert — a genuine wilderness corridor rather than a day trip. Closer to town, Seymour Narrows, just north of the city, is worth knowing about even if you never set foot on a boat there: it was the site of Ripple Rock, a twin-peaked underwater mountain that sank or damaged more than 100 vessels and claimed at least 114 lives before it was destroyed on April 5, 1958, in what was then the largest non-nuclear explosion ever set off deliberately — a genuinely remarkable piece of engineering history for a channel that still carries strong tidal currents today. Quadra and Cortes Islands, reachable by a combined ferry run of under an hour (a 10-minute hop to Quadra, then roughly another 45 minutes on to Cortes via Heriot Bay and Whaletown), add a slower, more rural counterpoint if your trip has room for an overnight away from the highway corridor; Quadra is also home to the We Wai Kai Nation's Cape Mudge community, one of its two main communities alongside Quinsam on the mainland side.

Where to stay in Campbell River

Four Points by Sheraton Campbell River is the only project we track here, and its backstory says as much about the town as the hotel itself. Hotel Equities and the We Wai Kai Nation broke ground on the 102-room property in August 2026, six years after it was first announced in 2020 — a gap the Nation marked with a traditional Kwakwaka'wakw eagle-down blessing ceremony (K'amk'amxwaliła), led by Hereditary Chief Yakawidi, rather than a routine ribbon-cutting. The Nation owns the underlying site outright: a 60-acre commercial development called Quinsam Crossing, built on We Wai Kai land beside Highway 19, a few minutes from both downtown Campbell River and the airport. Hotel Equities, a US-based operator with a growing Canadian portfolio, will run the property under Marriott's upper-midscale Four Points flag — a limited-service model, with a lobby bar and grab-and-go breakfast rather than a full restaurant, spa or conference center. No architect or interior designer has been named publicly as of this pass, and Quinsam Crossing's other tenants are standard highway-commercial retail rather than a design-led complex, which fits the project's real purpose: a practical, brand-flagged base for the drive-through and business travelers already passing along Highway 19, not a destination in its own right.

Painter's Lodge and the handful of other fishing-focused resorts along the waterfront represent Campbell River's older hospitality tradition — built around direct access to Discovery Passage's fishing grounds rather than a highway location — a genuinely different market from the practical, drive-to positioning of the Four Points. Between the two, the city already covers both a resort-style fishing stay and, once construction finishes, a straightforward branded option for anyone just passing through; what it hasn't had in years is a new-build, internationally flagged hotel of any kind, which is the specific gap this project fills.

Which hotel for your trip

With only one project on our list and no other branded openings on the horizon, the practical question for Campbell River isn't which hotel to pick but who this one is built for. Four Points by Sheraton's highway-adjacent, limited-service format suits business travelers, tradespeople working the North Island, and anyone using Campbell River as a fishing, kayaking or whale-watching base rather than a resort stay — its 102 rooms and straightforward amenities are sized for a night or two before or after time on the water, not a week-long retreat. Anyone chasing a full-service resort experience, a spa stay or a waterfront address should look toward Painter's Lodge or one of the town's other established fishing resorts instead; that isn't this project's role, and nothing in Hotel Equities' public plans suggests it's aiming to be.

Getting to Campbell River

Campbell River sits about 266 km (165 miles) north of Victoria, BC's capital and the southern tip of Vancouver Island — roughly a three-hour drive up Highway 19, mostly along the Inland Island Highway that bypasses the string of smaller communities on the old coastal route. Getting to Vancouver Island itself from the mainland means a BC Ferries crossing: the Tsawwassen-to-Duke Point run takes about two hours and lands a short drive south of Nanaimo, while the Horseshoe Bay-to-Departure Bay crossing takes roughly an hour and 40 minutes and lands within five minutes of downtown Nanaimo — either way, Campbell River is then another hour to hour and a half further north on Highway 19. Campbell River Airport (YBL), a few minutes from the Quinsam Crossing site, has scheduled flights to Vancouver, cutting the trip to well under an hour in the air for travelers not driving the length of the island. There's no passenger rail service to Campbell River; a car, whether brought over on the ferry or rented on the island, is the practical way to get around once you arrive, particularly for reaching Strathcona Provincial Park, Elk Falls or the ferry terminals for Quadra and Cortes Islands.

Frequently asked questions

Is there a new hotel opening in Campbell River?

Yes — Four Points by Sheraton Campbell River, a 102-room hotel at the Quinsam Crossing development on We Wai Kai Nation land, broke ground in August 2026 after a six-year gap since the project was first announced, and is targeted for spring 2028.

What is Campbell River known for?

Known as the "Salmon Capital of the World" for its Chinook, coho and pink salmon runs through Discovery Passage, home to the century-old Tyee Club's rowboat fishing tradition, and the main gateway to Strathcona Provincial Park, British Columbia's oldest provincial park, and the more remote Discovery Islands.

Who owns the new Four Points by Sheraton?

The We Wai Kai Nation, which owns the Quinsam Crossing site outright and has framed the hotel as part of a push toward economic self-sufficiency; Hotel Equities operates the property under Marriott's Four Points by Sheraton brand.

How do you get to Campbell River?

By car, Highway 19 (the Inland Island Highway) connects Campbell River to Nanaimo and its BC Ferries terminals to the mainland, roughly two hours south; Campbell River Airport also has scheduled flights to Vancouver.

What is Ripple Rock?

A twin-peaked underwater mountain in Seymour Narrows, just north of Campbell River, that sank or damaged more than 100 vessels before it was destroyed in a controlled explosion on April 5, 1958 — at the time, the largest non-nuclear blast ever set off deliberately.

What is the Tyee Club?

A fishing club founded in Campbell River in 1924, requiring members to land a 30-pound-plus Chinook salmon from a motorless rowboat at the Tyee Pool, using only light tackle and a barbless hook — one of the coast's oldest organized sportfishing traditions, still active today.

Is Campbell River a good base for outdoor activities?

Yes — it's the main gateway to Strathcona Provincial Park's hiking and old-growth forest, sits directly on Discovery Passage's salmon runs and whale-watching routes, and connects by a short BC Ferries hop to Quadra and Cortes Islands for a quieter, more rural side trip.

Can you visit Quadra or Cortes Island from Campbell River?

Yes — BC Ferries runs a 10-minute crossing from downtown Campbell River to Quadra Island roughly every hour, easily done as a half-day trip. Continuing on to Cortes Island adds a further 45-minute ferry run via Heriot Bay and Whaletown, making it more of an overnight than a same-day add-on.