Day Trip: Bowen Island

If you do not live on the West (Wet) coast of British Columbia you may not know that there are a bunch of smaller islands between the mainland and Vancouver Island and these smaller islands are great for exploring as a day trip. This brings us to one of the more popular islands that is serviced by BC Ferries: Bowen Island.

To get to Bowen Island is fairly simple for both foot traffic and vehicles. Take the Bowen Island ferry from Horseshoe Bay (West Vancouver) which sails roughly every hour. One thing I have learnt on this trip was that you purchase a round trip ticket ($8.70 for foot traffic) instead of a one-way like the other ferry runs. This is similar to the way the other inner islands (Sunshine Coast) ferries operate.

The Horseshoe Ferry (Bowen Queen) will take you into Snug Cove which is approximately a 30 minute trek across the Howe Sound and the beginning of the Bowen Island experience.

Snug Cove

We found that if you are on foot there is not a whole lot of places for you to explore, though there are some nice small shops and restaurants in Snug Cove that can keep you busy for a couple of hours. Though we didn’t look much into it during this small trip, you can rent Kayaks and paddle along the shores of Bowen Island at your own pace, exploring the various nooks and crannies that are hidden up and down the shoreline.

Upon disembarking the Bowen Queen it was in agreement to grab some food and just hang out in the warm breeze and sun. Robyn suggested we hit up Doc Morgan’s for some food and a nice cold beverage. According to the history (on their menu) of the establishment the restaurant was previously home to the popular barber named Doc Morgan and was converted to its present day operation during the late eighties and opened for business in August of 1990.

Chickpea Soup

Fish and Chips

The prices are not the best for what they serve, but what do you expect for a tourist island? I mean I paid $12.50 for 2-piece Fish and Chips where as Robyn paid $6.00 for her Chickpea soup. I would of looked at trying their Halibut fish and chips but at $22.50 I couldn’t justify spending an extra $10 on halibut.

Doc Morgan’s does offer some great outside eating areas with either the outside patio on the ground or take to the stairs to sit out in the sun on the balcony which overlooks the marina.

Bowen Island Library

Purple Door Gallery

After enjoying our sunny lunch we walked up the street a bit and stuck our heads into the various small shops to see what sort of goods they have to offer. We also went into an art gallery (The Purple Door Gallery) that was previously a gas station which had some interesting (but expensive) items for sale. According to the curator there Bowen Island has an artistry guild and gallery further up the street as well as a great chocolatier that she recommended us to try, though we didn’t have time to check any of it out.

Bowen Island does offer a number of swimming beaches and various hikes for those who are looking for a bit of an adventure. If you do take a vehicle over you will be able to explore much more of the island within a day as well. I would actually recommend taking a vehicle over since you will be able to access the various sandy beaches Bowen Island has to offer whereas you cannot if you visit the island on foot.