In Zeballos, salmon fishing, kayaking, rock-climbing, caving, scuba-diving and fly fishing adventures attract visitors from around the world. Far from the noisy sprawl of the urban landscape, they come to explore the adventurous and wild west coast of Vancouver Island.

Zeballos has become a hot spot for kayakers with its access to Catala and Nuchatlitz Provincial Parks, the islands within Kyuquot Sound and the rest of the spectacular north western coast of Vancouver Island. A Forestry Recreation site at Fair Harbour allows kayakers to extend their foray to the other inlets of Rugged Point Marine Park. Though kayaking outside of the protected inlets is not for the faint of heart, as this is a sea-sprayed and windswept section of Vancouver Island, the rewards for making the journey are the solitude provided by the surroundings and the sight of magnificent stands of Sitka spruce, the only species of tree able to thrive under the constant salt and magnesium loaded spindrift that the winds whip from the tops of the swells and carries ashore in the breeze.

The Zeballos River estuary has been designated as a Wetland Reserve by the Ministry of the Environment and the Nature Trust of BC. Visitors taking a stroll along the trails or on the boardwalk easily spot kingfishers, woodpeckers, great blue herons and the occasional red-tailed hawk.

During the fall spawning season, the river teems with salmon. The bears and eagles, which arrive to partake in the annual feast, can be watched from the safety of Sugarloaf Bridge. The river also boasts a run of steelhead which lures many a fly-fisherman to the village.