Mayne Island

Mayne Island

Mayne Island (population: 1,112) lies about midway between Vancouver Island and the BC mainland. Its location made it a natural rest-stop for miners on their way from Victoria to the Cariboo gold fields in the late 1850s and early 1860s. Significant settlement of the island began during that era and many of the community’s most interesting buildings and historic sites date back to the late 1800s. Today, Mayne has a distinctly rural character. Developed areas are small, dispersed and laid out along narrow country roads. Much of it is still thickly forested. The island is best known for the collection of turn-of-the-century buildings at Miners Bay and the superb kayaking conditions afforded by its many sheltered bays and nearby islands and islets.