Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve and Haida Heritage site is a unique canadian national park for many reasons.  Perhaps the most exciting and unique aspect of Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve is its location.  While many parks are parcels of land set aside for preservation, such as a large forest or a valley, Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve has a bit more of a complicated footprint.  The land that makes up Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve is located on a sum total of one hundred and thirty eight islands.

Another interesting aspect of the park is that is was so recently set aside by the government for preservation.  While many national parks and national park reserves have been protected for nearly a century, the island based Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve was established quite recently, in nineteen eighty eight, merely a few decades ago.  The Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve, located on the southern part of what are commonly known as the Queen Charlotte Islands, was created to stop the environmentally devastating logging which was destroying the ecological structure of the islands.  The native peoples who make their home on the islands, who are known as "the Haida," became the leaders of an anti-logging, pro-preservation movement which found massive support across the nation.

The island range where Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve is located only contains about six thousand permanent residents, but a petition to stop the logging showed a total of several million signatures from residents of other parts of the country who felt strongly about the preservation of the islands.  The government was slow to respond to this massive uproar, and even went so far as to arrest seventy-odd residents of the islands who dared to interfere with logging practices on the island by protesting.  The local and international community was shocked by these arrests, so as a gesture of apology and good will the Canadian government finally created the Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve as a way to protect the natural wonders and invaluable historical sites these brave Haida people stood up for.  The Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve is home to a large amount of Haida longhouses and totem poles, making it a wonderful place to get in touch with the realities of these first peoples' ancestral villages.

The Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve is not a developed park, like Yellowstone or Yosemite which offer paved roads, visitor bathrooms, gift shops, and other such luxuries for tourists.  Instead, the Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve is a breathtaking spread of untouched wilderness, reachable by water or by air but not open to exploration by car.  This makes the park quite inaccessible for many people who travel to the area, but those who are able to enter the park through a tour group or independently are sure to have a unique wilderness experience in Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve which they will remember for the rest of their lives. 

If you are planning a trip to Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve, be aware that there is a mandatory orientation session which all visitors to the park must attend before they visit.  The session lasts about an hour and a half, and will help you prepare for a smart and respectful visit to Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve.