Today, we traded Vancouver Island for Salt Spring Island, at least for part of the day. This morning we drove five miles south to the community of Crofton to catch the 10:10 ferry for the 20 minute ride to Salt Spring Island.
Catching the ferry was super easy, as we just paid from the car and then drove into line to await the arrival andthe loading. It was a beautiful day (mid 60s F) for the excursion.
The one we caught coming back this afternoon
was completely full of cars and trucks.
one of three on Salt Spring Island.
Salt Spring Island lies between mainland British Columbia and Vancouver Island. It is 70.5 square miles and has a population of about 11,500 people. It is known for its artisan community, numerous parks for hiking, and its agriculture, including produce, cheese, and grapes/wineries.
We started at Mount Maxwell Provincial Park for a hike to Baynes Peak.
which took us into the park.
After the hike, we thought we’d check out one of the local wineries. Mostly, we wanted to see what was on offer and to check out views from there. We had a very brief and somewhat disappointing stop at Salt Spring Winery, limited parking, very few wines, and not terribly friendly staff.
From there, we drove to Fulford Harbor, another ferry terminal on the island, and a cute community with a few shops. We popped into a local grocery for some sodas before heading on.
One of the big draws for us was the Salt Spring Cheese store. Salt Spring Cheese makes artisan handmade goat cheeses. They are sold in round packaging, which shows off the herbs or other flavorings added to the cheese. We ended up having lunch at the farm with some unexpected guests.
so that you could watch the process
(not much happening while we were there)
with these helpful posters describing the different steps.
Finally, we headed to Ganges, the main community on the island. It was cute, but very busy with limited parking. Neither of us were sure how they deal with bigger crowds during the summer.
Peckish Travels 