The island less traveled

If you’re traveling to Vancouver, British Columbia, in warm weather, the default move is a side trip to Vancouver Island. But there’s a much closer, sleepier island with great hiking and kayaking, a family-friendly waterfront and a pleasant village filled with restaurants, shops and lodgings.

That’s Bowen Island, 14 miles northwest of downtown Vancouver, a 20-minute ferry ride from West Vancouver’s Horseshoe Bay. After a visit to the big city, my wife, daughter and I spent a weekend in early July hiking, paddling and unwinding on Bowen. The tab: about $250 per night, including taxes, for a two-story house near the water; about $150 for meals; about $65 each for kayak tours; and about $8 each for the ferry.

THE BED: We stayed at the Union Steamship Co. Marina Resort, a rustic refuge on Snug Cove about two blocks from the ferry landing. It’s neighbored by a marina, waterfront and 600-acre Crippen Regional Park. To the east, a few steps uphill, are a dozen shops and restaurants along the main drag, Bowen Island Trunk Road.

The island, mostly hilly forest, has a year-round population of about 3,700. The resort includes a restaurant, shop and eight rustic cottages, suites and houses. We landed in the Summer House, a two-story, two-bedroom, two-bath Victorian with a generous kitchen and living room. Except for a few hours of Saturday night noise from next door at Doc Morgan’s Pub & Restaurant, it was just what we wanted.

THE MEAL: We had tasty seafood at Doc Morgan’s and a pleasant lunch at bustling Artisan Eats Cafe. But my favorite meal was dinner at Tuscany, a trattoria with a short, fireworks-filled menu (smoked wild salmon pizza) and a quiet, sophisticated dining room and patio.

THE FIND: Though the day was gray, owner-guide Brent O’Malley of Bowen Island Sea Kayaking gave my daughter, Grace, and me an illuminating three-hour paddling tour of Snug Cove, Deep Bay and Scarborough Beach. The scenery was grand, including egret and cormorant sightings and close encounters with seals (and pups) and a nonstinging jellyfish.

THE LESSON LEARNED: There are several daily departures of the BC Ferries to Bowen Island’s Snug Cove, but be aware that most people arrive by car. Ferry staffers were not accustomed to luggage-dragging newcomers without a car, and they couldn’t point us to an elevator or give us much help coming or going. Until the ferry corrects this, be prepared to drag your luggage up two flights of stairs or wade through car lanes to get off the boat.

TNS