Weekend Getaway in BC’s Gulf Islands: Your Guide to Salt Spring Island 

In Gulf Islands/Latest on the blog13 min read

Salt Spring Island makes for the perfect weekend getaway destination from Vancouver and Vancouver Island. 

Known for its Saturday Market, laid-back vibe, stunning scenery and seriously good goat cheese, you could easily hang out here an entire weekend and still have a lot more to see. Even so, one weekend is just enough time to see what Salt Spring Island has to offer. 

After visiting twice, Salt Spring Island earned a spot as one of our favourite places to have a relaxed weekend away from the city.

The Gulf Islands and surrounding waters are part of unceded traditional territories of the Coast Salish First Nations, including the SENĆOŦEN and Hul’qumi’num speaking people. 

A Little Introduction to Gulf Islands and the Salt Spring Island

Many tourists wanting to see the BC coast set their sights on Vancouver Island by default. But few know there are over 200 small islands scattered between Vancouver Island and mainland BC. Most of them are tiny and uninhabited, but a handful are proper destinations and together they’re known as the Southern Gulf Islands. These include Galiano, Mayne, Saturna, Pender and Salt Spring Island. Many people visit these islands, but they’re mainly from Vancouver, Vancouver Island or other Gulf Islands. 

Each island has its own vibe, but they share the same quiet charm. That’s what makes them such popular weekend destinations. Think farmers markets, independent boutiques, local breweries and small coastal towns. For nature lovers there are forest and coastal trails, opportunities to see wildlife and sealife and a chance to wash away the stress from the mainland. It’s a pretty convincing case for coming here if you ask us. 

Salt Spring Island is the largest and most visited of all the Gulf Islands. It got its name from the saltwater springs on the north end of the island, which the local Hul’q’umi’num’ speaking First Nations called Hwtl’elhum, meaning “place of salt”. Sadly, they’re not accessible to the public as they’re on private land. 

How to Get to Salt Spring Island

Salt Spring Island is only accessible by water or air. If you have your own boat there are plenty of moorage options, but most people get there by BC Ferries:

• from Tsawwassen (near Vancouver) to Long Harbour (Salt Spring Island): 1.5 – 3 hours
• from Crofton (between Nanaimo and Victoria on Vancouver Island) to Vesuvius (Salt Spring Island): 25 minutes – this route is first-come first-served (non-reservable)
• from Swartz Bay (near Victoria on Vancouver Island) to Fulford (Salt Spring Island): 35 minutes
• from other Gulf Islands (Galiano, Pender, Mayne or Saturna) to Long Harbour (Salt Spring Island): variable

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We’ve only ever done the Tsawwassen route and it took 3 hours, because the ferry stopped at Galiano, Pender and Mayne along the way. What we didn’t know at the time of booking is that there are direct sailings that skip Pender and Mayne and cut the journey by 1/3, so look for those when you book yours. That said, traveling by BC Ferries is always a treat. The views are hard not to love so the extra time it takes may not be so bad after all, especially if it’s your first time. 

If you want to skip the ferry, you can fly in by float plane with Harbour Air or SeaAir, both out of the main Vancouver airport (YVR) in Richmond. We met someone on the island who did exactly that on her way back to Vancouver before flying home to Australia. We dropped her off at the Ganges Harbour 30 mins before departure and the check-in was only 10 minutes. She sat next to the pilot and sent us photos to prove it. Needless to say, she loved it! 

How to Travel around Salt Spring Island

Ideally, with your own car, though one of the first things we noticed after coming off the ferry was how many cars there were around Ganges (the main town). We even struggled to find parking despite not being there in high season. Past Ganges though, the roads are quiet and it’s really nice to drive around. Take it easy, mind the cyclists and watch out for deer, especially in the evenings as they have a habit of appearing out of nowhere at the last second. 

If you don’t have a car, BC Transit does run buses on the island. We haven’t used them ourselves so we can’t really comment on how reliable they are or whether they’ll get you to all the spots you want, but you can check routes and schedules on the BC Transit website.

We also saw plenty of cyclists out there on serious bikes, so it’s clearly popular. But Salt Spring Island is not small and definitely not flat. The roads are hilly and most don’t have a shoulder. Fun if cycling is your thing, but as casual cyclists ourselves we’d rather stick to the car. 

Where to Stay on Salt Spring Island

Accommodation is spread throughout the island and there are plenty of options depending on what experience you’re after.

To start with, there are lots of great B&Bs like Quarrystone House B&B, The Sanctuary Retreat and Sungate.

For something more fancy, Hastings House has beautiful rooms and grounds, plus an on site spa.

If you’re looking for peace and quiet, we recently went on a personal retreat at the Salt Spring Centre of Yoga. The rooms are very simple, but you get free vegetarian meals, access to the grounds and it also includes yoga classes which you can do or skip since it’s all self guided. It’s spiritual yoga though, not modern yoga with fitness elements and the same goes for the atmosphere and decor.

Things To Do on Salt Spring Island For One Weekend

Now let’s get to the fun part! Here’s what you can realistically fit into a weekend on Salt Spring Island.

Walk around Ganges 

Ganges is small enough to call a village, but it’s the beating heart of Salt Spring Island. It’s dense with shops, boutiques and galleries and very pleasant to walk through. It’s also a great place to base yourself for the trip. Everything else is a drive from here.

When we arrived on the island it was still early morning. On the way to Ganges, we stopped on Upper Ganges Road to check out a couple of shops and bakeries. Andy can’t be trusted near baked goods, so he caved the second we got there and bought pastries from Francis Bread and Woodshed Provisions. All we needed now was coffee. We got it from The Coffee Can in Ganges, then made our way to the waterfront to eat. 

There were boats and yachts in the marina, sea planes taking off and landing and a couple of seals poking their heads out of the water. The pastries were excellent too, flaky and still warm, no wonder Andy couldn’t resist.

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We then went to check out the shops. We love poking around small boutiques full of candles, knick knacks and jewellery with no intention of buying anything. Andy has a rule that he needs a sticker from every place we visit, so we went store to store on this deeply important mission until he found one. On the way back to the car, we got sidetracked by a bear sculpture inside one of the galleries, which led us upstairs to a photo exhibition from a local photography group. It was worth the stop to see the island through the lenses of people who live here and know the place better than we ever will. 

We ended the walk at Glad’s Ice Cream & Candy. They had Douglas Fir flavour on the menu so we got a scoop out of curiosity. It was surprisingly good, but if you’re suspicious of a tree-flavoured scoop, ask if you can sample it first. 

Visit the Saturday Market

If you make it to Salt Spring Island on the weekend, there’s no excuse to skip the Saturday Market as this is what the island is mostly known for. Locals sell their produce, art and handcrafted goods and the whole town shows up to enjoy. 

We were based at the Salt Spring Centre of Yoga, so we had to drive into Ganges. The catch is there are way too many cars in Ganges for the size of the place and there’s barely any parking available in the main part of town, especially on Saturdays. Our hosts told us to park on Seaview Avenue, which was great advice as we had no trouble finding a spot. 

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We tried hard not to buy anything for home because we already have too much of everything, though the market made this rule hard to keep. 

Food on the other hand was a different story and we ate well. My favourite find was the samosas from Vital Kitchen. Quite possibly the best I’ve ever had (I know it’s quite a statement). Andy’s favourite was Tony’s Tarts. And we both enjoyed the bitter orange and rosemary cider from Wild Cider. But take our choices with a grain of salt as there were so many other stalls with delicious foods and produce we simply didn’t get to.

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Hike to Mount Erskine

Whenever we visit somewhere new, we do at least one hike as a rule. Salt Spring doesn’t offer many options, but Mount Erskine was always going to be the one.

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The hike is reasonably short and not too strenuous so we did it at sunset, which thinned out the crowd to nobody, our preferred number of people on the trail. You can see Vancouver Island to the north, as well as Galiano Island and the Lower Mainland to the east, so we’re sure the view is great at any time of the day.

The trail is a loop so you can go clockwise or counterclockwise. If you go counterclockwise, you’ll do the steeper part on the way up so definitely take that into consideration. All in, it’s around 4.6 km with 209 m of elevation gain and it took us just under 1.5h, plus another 30 minutes at the summit watching the sunset. 

Swim in Blackburn Lake

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Have you ever swam naked?

Because at Blackburn Lake you’ll be in the minority if you haven’t. Clothes are very much optional here and let’s just say you’ll see more than the lily pads. 

When we came, the only other people there were locals and everyone seemed to know each other. They pulled us into conversation immediately, curious about where we were visiting from and completely unbothered by the fact they were naked and we weren’t. It’s good to know these things in advance so you know what you’re getting yourself into. We definitely felt welcome, stayed 1.5 hours and even went for a swim which was super nice. 

You can only access the lake from Fulford-Ganges Road and parking is limited. There’s only a small wooden dock so it can get crowded quickly. Bring a towel to sit on and a book if you need somewhere to look.

Swim in Cusheon Lake

Another lake worth knowing about is Cusheon Lake. You’ll find it in many guides as a swimming recommendation, though it wasn’t our favourite. The parking is tight and the dock is very small so it feels busy with everyone crammed into the same small space. It’s popular with families and being surrounded by private properties means you’re very aware of the houses overlooking you, which takes away from the experience. If you’re choosing between the two, we’d go back to Blackburn Lake every time, but they’re close enough that you could always check out both. 

From what our host told us, people often swim in St Mary’s Lake too, as well as Beddis Beach and Vesuvius Beach, though we haven’t been able to try them ourselves. 

Hike Mount Maxwell (also called Baynes Peak)  

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Whatever you do, you can’t miss Mount Maxwell. I lost my favourite pair of sunglasses there so I’ll always remember it for that, but I promise you that the reason you’ll remember it is the incredible view from the summit. 

Technically, you don’t even need to hike to get there. There’s an unpaved road through the forest that will take you all the way to the top, though you’ll want a car with high clearance for the potholes on the last stretch. We drive a Ford Bronco so it was a breeze for us, but if your car sits low, you might bottom out.

If you’d rather hike up, you can start from the end of Armand Way or from the parking lot at Burgoyne Bay if you want more elevation gain.

A stunning bluff awaits you at the top with panoramic views stretching from Cowichan Bay all the way to the San Juan Islands in Washington State. Unfortunately the bluff is completely fenced off, and it’s not a small or subtle fence either, so not the best place for pictures. But the views are mindblowing. 

Hike in Ruckle Provincial Park

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You cannot visit Salt Spring Island and not spend time in Ruckle Provincial Park. It’s just not allowed as you’ll be missing out.

This is a big provincial park, with over 15km of trails and 7km of shoreline according to BC Parks. On the way in you’ll pass some of the original farm buildings, still in use today, which is a nice little detour before you hit the trails.

There are several coastal and forest walks you can do. You won’t be climbing any mountains, but the terrain isn’t even, there are roots and rocks and a few steep sections depending which route you take, so shoes with decent grip are a good idea. It’s beautiful though, with old growth hemlock and cedar trees, ocean views, pretty coves and BC Ferries passing by in the distance.

One of the most popular trails leads to Yeo Point, a rocky outcrop with arbutus trees overlooking the water. If you want something shorter, the walks to Beaver Point and the Marine Light viewpoint are pleasant too and make for a nice little loop if you’re short on time. BC Parks has a great map with all the trails on it, so check that out and pick what works for you.

Dogs need to be on leash and some parts of the park are not open to dogs entirely, probably because of the farm livestock within the park.

There’s also a meadow campsite here as well for campers among us and it’s right along the shoreline. It’s an open meadow so there’s not a lot of privacy, but it’s on our list of places we want to sleep at some point, as some of the sites are right by the water and that’s hard to find.

Walk the Forest Trail behind the Salt Spring Centre of Yoga

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If you’re looking for a short and easy trail and you already explored Ruckle Provincial Park, the forest trail behind the Salt Spring Centre of Yoga is a nice option. Although it’s technically on private property, it’s open to the public during the day. The easiest way to get on it is from the Centre of Yoga.

You can also access the trail from Blackburn Lake, where the gate to the public path sits on your left along Fulford-Ganges Road (if you’re facing the lake). The section between Blackburn Lake and the trailhead is part of the Blackburn Lake Nature Reserve and it’s mostly an open meadow with trees lining both sides. The reserve is home to over 100 species of birds and other animals. Our highlight was three young bald eagles circling low above our heads.

The forest trail is a loop but the trail through the reserve is out and back and dogs are not allowed.  

Enjoy Cider 

There are a few ciderworks on the island. We only had a chance to sample Salt Spring Wild Cider House which I highly recommend , but there are plenty of other options to try!

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Pick up goats cheese from Salt Spring Island Cheese

If you enjoy cheese, particularly goats cheese, make sure to visit Salt Spring Island Cheese. We’re not normally fond of goats cheese, as the supermarket kind has a strong ‘goaty’ flavour, but not here, so we definitely recommend. You can sample at the shop before you purchase, so you can find the flavour you like. We particularly enjoyed the combination of truffle cheese with raspberry and rose jam, and their Romelia cheese. They also have baby goats on site but they were hiding inside when we visited so we missed them. I’m sure seeing them would be charming.

Eat and drink

There are so many fantastic places to eat and drink on Salt Spring Island that we could easily do a separate post on it. For now, here are a few of our favourites:

Ox Eats Grass – vegan food truck with some of the best vegan breakfast burritos we’ve ever had! It’s definitely worth visiting even if you’re not vegan.

Francis Bread – bakery with a good selection of really tasty pastries, sandwiches and breads. They’re very flakey, definitely above par.

The Woodshed – deli located just next door from Francis Bread. Everything looked so tasty that we got some more stuff there even though we already had pastries from Francis Bread. The Spanish omelet and meringue cake were particularly delicious.

Salt Spring Vital Kitchen – delicious samosas we found at the Farmers Market. If we had more space in our bellies we’d try the curry too.

Tony’s Tarts – another good find at the farmers market.

There are of course many other options and plenty of places to get a great coffee – our favourites were The Coffee Can and Switchboard Cafe.

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Things To Do on Salt Spring Island Wrap Up

As you can see there are lots of great ways to spend time on Salt Spring Island. We hope this guide is helpful for planning your trip!

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