Given the substantial private and commercial boat traffic (including BC Ferries’ vessels), open-water distances, and wind exposure, undertake these paddling routes only with comprehensive planning that indicates minimal current and wind. ​​ ​​

Around Portland Island/SXEĆOŦEN  (GINPR)  • Last paddled by RP: July 2026 • Circle Tour • EXPERIENCED • Launch/Landing Coordinates/Route from Drummond Park, Salt Spring Island and Thieves Bay, North Pender Island • Tide Stations: Bedwell Harbour, Fulford Harbour, Sidney • CHS Nautical Chart: 3441 • 4.5 nmi (approx. 8.3 km) • 2 hrs • Route: Let the current dictate your direction; whichever your choice, stops at Arbutus Point, Princess Bay, and Shell Beach are a must; slip between the offshore islets (like the Pellow Islets) and the Portland shoreline to give yourself a better look at the intertidal life near or below the water level; give the Pacific harbour seals hauled out on the rocks near Turnbull Reef a wide berth so as not to disturb them; across the narrow channel from Shell Beach is never-inhabited, grazed, or logged Brackman Island, now a protected ecological reserve (no access is permitted) • Services: Information/educational signs, GINPR docks, hiking, three camping areas, beaches, picnic tables, heritage orchard, pit toilets • NO potable water • Birders: 134 species since 2002 (eBird) • Highlights/Notes: Shoreline paddle or hike (or both), sand beach at Shell Beach, intertidal life, wildflowers, and fascinating history • Best time of year: Spring for the wildflowers; summer for the low tides and intertidal life (finest in the SGI); fall for the quiet. Camping areas are generally quieter on weekdays (the exception is in June and September, when school groups may assemble at Shell Beach or Arbutus Point) • BULLETIN (PROHIBITED ACTIVITY ORDER): The Shell Beach camping area and stretch of the Portland Island Shoreline Trail between Princess Bay, Shell Beach, and the Kanaka Bluff trailhead are closed from September 8-30, 2026 “to complete mitigation work.”

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Mandarte Island & Isle-de-Lis/Rum Island (Tseycum/Tswaout Bands and GINPR)  • Last paddled by RP: August 2025 • Circle Tour • EXPERIENCED • Launch/Landing Coordinates: Tulista Park Boat Launch—48.64296, -123.39796 • Tide Station: Sidney • CHS Nautical Chart: 3441 • 12.5 nmi (approx. 23 km) • Day One: 2.5 hrs; Day Two: 1.25 hrs • Route: Day One—Cross Sidney Channel (2.2 nmi/approx. 4 km) to the red and white Sidney Spit beacon, then follow the east-side shoreline to the beach opposite the Sidney Island GINPR dock/Welcome area; take aim across Miners Channel at the northwest end of Mandarte Island, follow the south side counterclockwise to the trio of bird researcher cabins on the north-side shoreline; cross the old Sidney-Anacortes ferry route to Isle-de-Lis/Rum Island (the “official” landing spot is a narrow isthmus joining Isle-de-Lis to Gooch Island (private); overnight on Isle-de-Lis; Day Two—Follow the Gooch Island shoreline to the west end, then cross to the southern tip of Forrest Island (private) and onward to the Sidney Spit beacon before returning to the Tulista Park Boat Launch • Services: Tulista Park—boat launch (parking options), beach, water fountain, picnic tables, and washrooms; Isle-de-Lis/Rum Island (one of the least visited parts of the SGI)—GINPR signage, beaches, pit toilets, 1.3 km hiking trail (Trailhead/GPS Coordinates: 48.66276, -123.28027), camping area, picnic tables • NO potable water • Birders: Sidney Spit—206 species since 1983 (eBird), Isle-de-Lis—67 species since 2015 (eBird), Mandarte Island—107 species since 1960 (eBird) • Highlights/Notes: Sandy beach/bird life on Sidney Spit, Mandarte Island bird research station is a IBA Canada site, 12-acre Isle-de-Lis/Rum Island is very secluded with plentiful wildflowers, whale sightings are common in Haro Strait, beware of boat traffic in Sidney Channel • Best time of year: Spring and summer during wildflower season and Southern Resident orca habitancy.