The following paddling routes are only two of many options originating from Salt Spring Island (SSI) launch/landing sites, following the shoreline or crossing to other islands. Longtime SSI resident and knowledgeable paddler/hiker, Charles Kahn, outlines selected routes in the Salt Spring Island/AND IF YOU PADDLE section of his book​ Hiking the Gulf Islands of British Columbia: 4th Edition (Harbour Publishing). 

Russell Island (GINPR) • There & Back • INTERMEDIATE • Launch/Landing Coordinates: Drummond Park, off Isabella Point Rd: 48.76978, -123.46086 • Launch/Landing Coordinates (Russll Island’s northwest midden): 48.74776, -123.41261 • Tide Stations: Fulford Harbour, Sidney • CHS Nautical Chart: 3441 • 2.4 nmi (approx. 4.4 km) • 60 mins • Parking at Drummond Park/Fulford Harbour • Route: Cross Fulford Harbour (BC Ferries route) early and follow the east side of Fulford Harbour to the southern-most point of the W̱EN,NÁ,NEĆ Tsawout First Nations Trail then make a one km straight shot for the midden/shell beach at the northwest point of historic Russell Island • Services: Drummond Park—benches, picnic tables, pit toilets; Russell Island—hiking, GINPR dock, midden/beaches, pit toilet, heritage building and orchard, and seasonal park host program • Protected anchorage • NO potable water or camping • Birders: 80 species since 2009 (eBird) • Highlights/Notes: Shoreline paddle along the W̱EN,NÁ,NEĆ Tsawout First Nations Trail, high sandstone bluff on the Russell Island’s south side, 2.3 km Haumea Trail with offshot paths to great south-facing views and Out & Back extension to historic homestead/Mahoi Orchard (allow 45-60 mins), orchard apple picking • NO potable water or camping • Best time of year: Anytime; fall for peace and quiet and apple picking.

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Portland Island/SXEĆOŦEN (GINPR) • There & Back • EXPERIENCED (due to the 1.6 nmi open-water crossing with ferry/commercial vessel traffic present) • Launch/Landing Coordinates: Drummond Park: 48.76978, -123.46086 • Launch/Landing Coordinates (Portland Island): Shell Beach—48.72195, -123.38461; Princess Bay—48.72070, -123.36976 • Tide Stations: Bedwell Harbour, Fulford Harbour, Sidney • CHS Nautical Chart: 3441 • 4.3 nmi (approx. 8 km) to Shell Beach; 5.3 nmi (approx. 9.8 km) to Princess Bay (west-side route) • Parking at Drummond Park/Fulford Harbour • Route: Cross Fulford Harbour (BC Ferries route) early and follow the east side of Fulford Harbour to the southern-most point of the W̱EN,NÁ,NEĆ Tsawout First Nations Trail, then cross one km to the midden/shell beach at the northwest point of historic Russell Island (good resting spot); from Russell Island, point to Kanaka Bluff at the northwest end of Portland Island for the 1.6 nmi/3 km open-water crossing • Services: Drummond Park—benches, picnic tables, pit toilets; Portland Island (SXEĆOŦEN)—information/education signs, hiking, three camping areas, beaches, picnic tables, pit toilets • NO potable water • Birders (Portland Island): 134 species since 2002 (eBird) • Highlights/Notes: Shoreline paddle along the W̱EN,NÁ,NEĆ Tsawout First Nations Trail; Russell Island’s Haumea Trail, historic homestead and Mahoi Orchard, and south side sandstone bluff; fascinating Hawaiian history on Russell and Portland islands; shoreline paddle Around Portland Island, and the island’s intertidal life and wildflower array; study BC Ferries’ Swartz Bay and Tsawwassen Ferry Terminal departure and arrival schedules to safely time your crossing • Best time of year: Spring for the wildflowers; summer for the low tides and Portland Island intertidal life (finest in the SGI); late-fall/winter for the quiet • BULLETIN (PROHIBITED ACTIVITY ORDER): The stretch of the Portland Island Shoreline Trail between Princess Bay, Shell Beach, and the Kanaka Bluff trailhead and the Shell Beach camping area are closed from September 8-30, 2026 “to complete mitigation work.”

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Wallace Island Marine Park (BC Parks) • There & Back with Circle Tour option • INTERMEDIATE • Launch/Landing Coordinates (Salt Spring Island—Hudson Point/North Beach Road boat launch, 3/4 km/approx. 1/2 mi north of Fernwood Road): 48.917522, -123.543231 • Parking along North Beach Road • Launch/Landing (Wallace Island’s Conover Cove): 48.937018, -123.543865 • Tide Stations: Montague Harbour, Porlier Pass, Chemainus • CHS Nautical Chart: 3442 • Hudson Point to Conover Cove—1.2 nmi (approx. 2.2 km)/30 mins; Wallace Island circumnavigation—4.5-6 nmi (approx. 8.5-11 km)/2-3 hrs (distance/time will depend on tide heights and the number of coves and islets/rock outcrops explored) • Route: Cross Houston Passage to Conover Cove—just 1.2 nmi; the biggest challenge can be wind (on both sides of the island) • Services: SSI/Fernwood—Store (drinking water), restaurants, bathrooms, 400-foot-long Fernwood Dock, beach; Wallance Island—Conover Cove dock, information shelter, walk-in/self-registration camping, hiking trails, picnic tables, midden/beaches, pit toilets, heritage buildings/structures and orchard, protected anchorages in Conover Cove and Princess Cove; no garbage/recycling facilities • Park Brochure • Birders: 98 species since 1971 (eBird) • Highlights/Notes: Wonderful shoreline paddling with numerous beaches, coves, offshore islets, and rocky outcrops providing varied intertidal life in rock-garden tide pools, Pacific Harbour seals sleeping/sunning, eroded sandstone cutouts, and plentiful bird life; on land there’s a “signed-driftwood” picnic shelter, heritage orchard, remnants of a former resort, Wallace Island trail system/Map (EASY trails to both ends of the island that connect three camping areas); Conover Cove gravel landing beach near a former resort cabin/now camping area can be mucky at tides below 2.3 metres, low tides make putting paddle craft in at Hudson Point as bit of a chore • Best time of year: Anytime, although we prefer fall and winter when there’s less boat traffic and a better chance of seeing sea lions; a paddle around the island anytime will all but assure Bald Eagle, Great Blue Heron, River Otter and seal sightings. Wallace Island is a gem.