Salt Spring Island

Salt Spring Island is in the Southern Gulf Islands of British Columbia. Salt Spring (sometimes spelled "Saltspring", one word) is the largest both in area and population of the Southern Gulf Islands. The population has grown from about 10,000 to 13,000 in the past five years with the influx of baby boomer retirees (many Canadian-American from California) and Alberta oil patch money. There are many more seasonal and part-time residents.

Understand
Salt Spring Island was first called Saltspring (one word) Island by Governor James Douglas in 1853. He believed that the Salt Springs in the North of the Island would bring great wealth to the Island. It was also known by a few other names during the early years: Klaathem (Cowichan Indian word for Salt), Chuam, Tuam, and Admiral Island. Saltspring was the official name as recorded by the Geographic Board of Canada in 1905. However, Canada Post and many locals used (and still use) the name Salt Spring (2 words) Island. It is frequently abbreviated as SSI.

Salt Spring Island was first settled by non-First Nations people in 1859, primarily by farmers. In the early years it was settled by many different groups including a number of African-Americans and then a number of Hawaiians and settled on Salt Spring and a number of other gulf islands. In the 1960s and 1970s there was a large influx of back to the landers who lived either in informal communes or squatted. Many of these people have settled and have become a large part of the culture of Salt Spring. Since the 1970s Salt Spring has attracted a large number of artists, and has become more and more of a tourist destination and retirement spot for the wealthy. This dichotomy of large developments for the hordes of people who want to get away from the development of the city has created a certain amount of conflict. However the island is still primarily characterized by the artists and farmers.

The main town, in the centre of the island, is Ganges. In the south of the island is a small cluster of shops around Fulford Harbour. To the north-west is a cluster, Vesuvius. To the east is the ferry dock at Long Harbour.


 * Look for the Salt Spring Studio Tour brochure on the ferry you take to the island, or at the Tourist Information Centre, or download it from their web site. Quite apart from the list of studios and wineries which you can visit, it has a quite serviceable map of the island.
 * Look for the Salt Spring Studio Tour brochure on the ferry you take to the island, or at the Tourist Information Centre, or download it from their web site. Quite apart from the list of studios and wineries which you can visit, it has a quite serviceable map of the island.

By boat
BC Ferries is the most common way to get to Salt Spring Island. There are 3 routes that serve Salt Spring Island, each at a different terminal on the island:


 * BC Transit serves the ferry terminals at both ends of the ferry route. On Salt Spring Island, bus route #2 serves the ferry terminal.
 * Served by a vehicle ferry route from Crofton ferry terminal (near Duncan). 25 minutes crossing. Departures almost hourly from about 7:30AM to about 10PM. BC Transit serves the ferry terminals at both ends of the ferry route.  On Salt Spring Island, bus route #3 serves the ferry terminal.
 * BC Transit serves this Salt Spring Island ferry terminal and TransLink serves Vancouver (Tsawwassen) ferry terminal. On Salt Spring Island, bus route #4 serves the ferry terminal.
 * If traveling to or from Vancouver (Tsawwassen) ferry terminal, more trip options are available by traveling through Victoria (Swartz Bay) ferry terminal, both the Salt Spring Island (Fulford Habour) - Victoria (Swartz Bay) route and the Victoria (Swartz Bay) - Vancouver (Tsawwassen) route every 2 hour or more frequently, though keep in mind that this will be more expensive than traveling on a single ferry.

Private boats
Salt Spring Island is a popular destination for private boaters. There are public marinas at Ganges and Fulford (at the southern end of the island), with limited moorage, and two private marinas in Ganges Harbor that allow transient boaters.



By plane
There is no airport on Salt Spring Island, but seaplanes fly into Ganges Harbour, stopping at the, just over 200 m east of the Tourist Information Centre. This includes regular scheduled service from the Harbour in downtown Vancouver, from the seaplane terminal at the South Terminal of the Vancouver Airport, and from Seattle.


 * Flights to Salt Spring island from downtown Vancouver and Vancouver International Airport
 * .  Operates flights to Salt Spring Island Lake Union in Seattle to Ganges in the summer only.
 * Operates flights to Salt Spring Island from the Vancouver International Airport.

Most of these planes are pretty small, so it is not unreasonable to charter a plane to be on your schedule.

Get around
A car is usually the easiest way to get to the different parts of Salt Spring Island.

It is popular for visitors to get around Salt Spring on bicycle. The roads on the island tend to be narrow, hilly and quite twisty, so one needs to take care when riding a bicycle.

It is also quite common for people to hitch-hike around the island and you will probably be picked up in 5-10 minutes anywhere on the island (other than where traffic is exiting a ferry onto Salt Spring).

See

 * Artist Studio Tour, get the Salt Spring Studio Tour map on ferry. This is a self-guided tour of over 30 different artist studios. The hours and days vary from artist to artist. This is also a very good map of Salt Spring Island. Artists studios vary from painters, sculptures, potters to speciality cheese makers. Most artists studios are open May to September, some are available year around.

Do

 * Kayak to nearby, located in the mouth of Fulford Harbour. Russell Island is part of Gulf Islands National Park Reserve and features gorgeous examples of second-growth Douglas fir, arbutus and Garry oak trees. A gentle loop trail hugs the island's shore, and takes you to the historic Mahoi House. Here, descendants of Maria Mahoi — one of the island's original Hawaiian (Kanaka) settlers — host an interpretive program for visitors. The Russell Island Host Program runs from early June until early September.
 * Swim
 * Hike
 * Fall Fair a traditional country fair with a Salt Spring flavor. Held around the last weekend of summer or the first weekend of fall. It is held at a very nice fair grounds that has a number of buildings and a few show areas. There are judging of entries in everything from baking, and vegetables to equestrian and livestock. The food and craft stands are quite good. There is also music all day long
 * Climbing - Salt Spring Island offers British Columbia's only cobble rock climbing area; that is, climbing on walls made of a dense matrix of smooth pebbles. Other climbing opportunities are found near the top of Mount Maxwell Park.
 * Climbing - Salt Spring Island offers British Columbia's only cobble rock climbing area; that is, climbing on walls made of a dense matrix of smooth pebbles. Other climbing opportunities are found near the top of Mount Maxwell Park.

Buy

 * The majority of shops and restaurants on the island are located in Ganges within 300 m of the Tourist Information Centre.

Eat
Most of the eateries on the island are in Ganges.



However there are a few restaurants in other parts of the island:

Sleep
There are bed and breakfasts spread throughout the island. There are also a number of vacation homes and cottages.



Connect
The area code for Salt Spring is (250) -- same as Vancouver Island. Cell phone coverage is spotty on the island. Telus provides the best coverage on the island. Rogers provides some coverage on their network.

Go next

 * Hop aboard BC Ferries and travel to nearby Mayne, Pender or Saturna Islands to explore Gulf Islands National Park Reserve (GINPR). Gulf Islands National Park Reserve offers incredible opportunities for boating, kayaking, hiking, wildlife viewing and picnicking, as well as for exploring these rural island communities.