Qualla: Salt Spring Island

Salt Spring Island: Introduction

Sat, 10 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Realc, CC BY-SA 4.0. The seaplane splashes down in Ganges Harbour, and suddenly you're somewhere that feels nothing like the mainland cities visible across the water. This is Salt Spring Island - or Saltspring, the debate over spelling has raged since 1853 - the largest of the Southern Gulf Islands, home to artists and organic farmers, retirees from Alberta oil money and California dreamers, draft dodgers who arrived during Vietnam and never left. It's Canada's answer to an island commune that somehow grew up without losing its soul, a place where hitchhiking remains the accepted way to get around and studios outnumber fast food restaurants.

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Image: Realc | CC BY-SA 4.0

Salt Spring Island: The Back-to-the-Landers

Sat, 10 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Michal Klajban, CC BY-SA 4.0. Salt Spring's character was shaped in the 1960s and 1970s, when back-to-the-landers arrived seeking escape from urban convention. Many lived in informal communes or squatted on undeveloped land, establishing the bohemian atmosphere that persists today. During the Vietnam War, Ame...

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Image: Michal Klajban | CC BY-SA 4.0

Salt Spring Island: Artists and Farmers

Sat, 10 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit D. Gordon E. Robertson, CC BY-SA 3.0. Today Salt Spring is known for its arts scene - over 30 studios open their doors to visitors through the self-guided Studio Tour, a map of which is available on every ferry. Painters, sculptors, potters, and even specialty cheese makers welcome visitors to see their work and thei...

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Image: D. Gordon E. Robertson | CC BY-SA 3.0

Salt Spring Island: By Ferry and Seaplane

Sat, 10 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Bruno Gonzalez, CC BY-SA 3.0. Three ferry routes serve Salt Spring Island, each arriving at a different terminal. From Vancouver's Tsawwassen terminal, ferries dock at Long Harbour on the island's east side. From Vancouver Island, boats from Swartz Bay near Victoria arrive at Fulford Harbour in the south, whi...

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Image: Bruno Gonzalez | CC BY-SA 3.0

Salt Spring Island: Island Rhythm

Sat, 10 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Nopukkatukka at English Wikipedia, Public domain. Getting around Salt Spring often happens by thumb. Hitchhiking remains common and generally successful - wait five to ten minutes and someone will stop, except where traffic streams off the ferries and drivers are too focused on their own destinations. The roads wind through hill...

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Image: Nopukkatukka at English Wikipedia | Public domain