basskisser wrote:
Chuck Gould wrote:
basskisser wrote:


Nice place! What's the population of the island? Is it a large town, or
small? How big is the island?

Saltspring is the largest island in the Gulf Islands, and is served by
BC ferries to the town of Vesuvius as well as Fulford Harbour and
another terminal near the head of Ganges Harbour. Population of the
entire island is said to be about 10,000- with 6,000 living in the town
of Ganges itself and the balance in Fulford, Vesuvius, and on the
multitude of small farms and homesteads scattered around.

It would take several hours to circumnavigate the island at 8 knots,
and a bicyclist in decent shape could devote an entire day to riding
along the network of roads that generally radiate from a roughly
centralized Ganges. The tallest point on the island is Mt. Maxwell, but
I don't know offhand what the elevation is.

Cool, thanks, Chuck. When we go to S.F. bay area this summer, we are
planning on flying to Victoria for a week. My wife has spent a lot of
time there, and wants to go back. She has an affinity for Butchart
Gardens and The Empress for tea. I want to do some exploring.


It's easy to get to Saltspring from Victoria. A short drive up
Vancouver Island to Swartz Bay (at Sidney) will put you on a BC Ferry
to Fulford. Fulford is very near Ganges.

High Tea at the Empress is fine, I guess, but you might suggest that
your wife look into taking tea out at Butchart Gardens. Having done
both, I'd say don't miss tea at Butchart's.
If you're spending a week in Victoria, you can easily do tea a couple
of times.

There's a two-day land based excursion you might consider from
Victoria, or a one-day round trip sightseeing deal. There's a train
that leaves Vancouver every morning called the Malahat. It runs up to
Comox then turns around and heads back. Very scenic! We left the boat
in Comox for a month one year and went back to Seattle for a few weeks
to do some work. Took the Malahat between Comox and Victoria each way.
You could stay in Comox overnight, or get off in Nanaimo (partway
there) if you'd prefer a fun and busier destination.