Sidney Spit (Gulf Islands National Park Reserve)

 park, campsite / caravan site, boating, interesting place

Part of Gulf Islands National Park Reserve, formerly a Provincial Marine Park. This popular island is accessible by a seasonal walk-on ferry service and by boat and kayak. Sheltered anchorage is available on the west side of the spit. Mooring and docking is also available. Camping (26 walk-in sites – approximately 1 km from ferry dock), group camping and picnicking are available. Visitors camping on the island must be registered at a designated campsite before the last ferry leaves for the day. There are thousands of metres of beach for sunbathing and beach walking. (Note: Drinking water is available, but may have a high sodium content and should not be consumed by persons with kidney or heart ailments.)

Backed by towering bluffs, its tidal flats and salt marshes teem with birds and marine life. Located on the edge of the Pacific flyway, the island attracts large numbers of shorebirds during the spring and fall migrations. The inner lagoon, hook spit and the vegetated centre of the main spit are particularly sensitive ecosystems. To protect them, land access is limited to a narrow strip along the outer edge of the hook spit, and visitors should keep to the sand edges of the main spit. Boats (including kayaks) are prohibited from the lagoon. On the northwest side of the island was a large First Nations settlement as well as campsites and places of cultural and spiritual significance. They fished in this entire area year-round, and shellfish, medicines, berries and plants were harvested on the island.

In years past, the island has been farmed and also seen industrial development: between 1906 and 1915, the Sidney Tile and Brick Company operated on the island. Broken red bricks abound on the shoreline and in the underbrush, and remnant works can be seen in the camping area.