Hiking
Two hikers admiring the views (Picture BC photo)
An extensive series of mostly easy trails are maintained by BC Parks, the Capital Regional District, the Galiano Club, and the Galiano Conservancy Association.
Good news: The trail network will only grow more extensive as initiatives like the North Galiano Parkland Corridor open up private lands and turn the island into a superior hiking destination.
Difficulty levels range from an all-access two-minute stroll to Bluff Park's viewpoint to the challenging climb to the top of Mount Galiano. Galiano Island Books carries Charles Kahn's Hiking The Gulf Islands, the consensus first choice in regional hiking guidebooks.
South End Parks
Family groups can keep watch for killer whales and cruise-ship sized ferries in Active Pass from the picnic table at Bellhouse Provincial Park. There's an easy forest trail at nearby Matthews Point Regional Park, but caution is advised on a final descent to the beach.
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Or take a short drive along Bluff Road for great views from the edge of Bluffs Park. Donated to the island by residents Max and Marion Enke, this green space is notable for its old-growth forested loop trails and a lovely panoramic vista just a few hundred meters from its parking lot.
Mount Galiano
Islanders rallied in the early 1990s to purchase the lands surrounding the 341m/1119ft Mount Galiano from forestry interests. The well-marked serpentine trail to the island's highest peak begins at the end of Active Pass Drive (off Georgeson Bay Road) and winds upwards for an hour through second-growth forest. The reward at the top is a breathtaking view east to Mayne Island and Mount Baker, and south towards Salt Spring Island and (on a clear day) the US Olympic mountain range.
Montague Harbour Provincial Marine Park
Shell midden beaches dating back at least to 1,000 BCE are one highlight of the 3km/1.9mi trail system at Galiano's Montague Harbour Provincial Park. Watch for great blue herons, many varieties of seabird, and kingfishers when following the trail as it skirts a saltmarsh and circles around Gray Peninsula.
Pebble Beach Reserve
Just when the forest feels like it is closing in along the darkest stretches of Porlier Pass Road heading north, turn onto McCoskie Road, park at its end and enjoy a pleasant 3km/1.7mi loop trail to Cable Bay and Pebble Beach on the central east coast. Tip: The ocean swimming is a wee bit warmer here than elsewhere on the west coast thanks to the outflow from the BC mainland's Fraser River.
North Galiano
Eye-filling views west towards Vancouver Island along with sightings of the endangered peregrine falcon who nest here are highlights of the 4km/2.5mi trail at Bodega Ridge Provincial Park (accessible from the end of Cottage Way).
Dionisio Point Provincial Park at the island's extreme northeast tip is widely cited as one of the loveliest waterfront wilderness parks in BC. In early 2010, it was still officially accessible only by boat or kayak, but expansion of the park and the creation of a North Galiano Parkland Corridor may one day provide a sanctioned overland route.
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