7 Awesome Hikes on Salt Spring Island

Salt Spring island is an incredible rural island getaway located not far from Victoria, and only a short ferry ride from Vancouver Island. This slow-paced Gulf Island is known for its numerous artisans and locally crafted goods, as well as fresh farm-to-table food and drink experiences. What it’s less known for is its spectacular hikes, many of which offer stunning panoramic views over the surrounding islands and distant mainland. This isn’t particularly considering that Salt Spring Island towers over its neighbouring Gulf islands, and its highest peak – Mt Bruce – is the highest anywhere in the Gulf islands. Though not often thought of as a hiking destination, some of my favourite hikes in the region are located on Salt Spring, and I’ve listed them here.

Continue reading this blog post for everything you need to know to experience these 7 awesome Salt Spring hikes for yourself, including distance, elevation gain, how to get there, the best time to visit, and lots of photos of my experience.

Tips for Hiking on Salt Spring Island

When in the outdoors it’s important to avoid harmful practices such as disturbing plants or rock-stacking, or removing any natural object from flowers to rocks, as it’s important to leave the environment as natural as possible for the animals and for fellow hikers to enjoy in perpetuity. As many flowers as there are, there are few enough that if we all took one, then there wouldn’t be any left. Take only photos, leave only footprints.

I also highly recommend reading up on Leave No Trace principles before heading anywhere into the outdoors in general. Following these important principles basically means doing your best to leave beautiful places like these Salt Spring Island hikes as good (if not better) than you found them, both for their preservation and for the enjoyment of other visitors.

Best Salt Spring Island Hikes

Reginald Hill

The first thing I did when I arrived on Salt Spring Island was hike up Reginald Hill, and so should you! This fantastic hike looks over Fulfourd Harbour, and the trailhead is only about a five minute drive from the ferry terminal, making it probably the most convenient hike to do on Salt Spring Island. It’s relatively short too – most hikers make it up to the viewpoint in about half an hour. The hike up Reginald Hill starts relatively flat for the first third before climbing steeply uphill for the second third. The final section of the hike is once again mostly level as it lazily makes its way up along the hill towards the panoramic viewpoint. Most hikers turn around at the main viewpoint, but it is also possible to follow the trail for an extra five minutes to reach a secondary viewpoint looking out over the San Juan Islands.

Mt Bruce

Mt Bruce is the highest point on Salt Spring Island, and anywhere in the Southern Gulf Islands. From up here the views definitely do not disappoint. From the summit of Mt Bruce nearly all of Salt Spring Island is visible spread out below, as well as numerous other islands scattered around and (on a clear day) views of the mainland mountain ranges stretch across the horizon. Did I mention that almost all of the 708 meters of elevation is gained in your car? In fact, the walk up to the summit is one of the shortest and easiest of any hike on Salt Spring Island. If you’re looking for one of the best views on all of Salt Spring Island, the short hike up Mt Bruce is a definite must-do.

Mt Erskine

The lookout on top of Mt Erskine is one of the most wide-open and panoramic of any on Salt Spring Island, and from on top of the bald rocky bluff, views of Vancouver Island on the left stretch al the way up to near Nanaimo, and views on the right of the Southern Gulf islands and the mainland stretch even further. The lookout on Mt Erskine also is the only one on Salt Spring Island that looks west, making it the ideal place to sit an enjoy a spectacular sunset. There are several different routes up Mt Erskine but I’ve detailed the shortest and easiest on the blog.

Baynes Peak

Baynes Peak, located in Mt Maxwell Provincial Park is technically the most accessible peak on Salt Spring Island. If you’re looking to skip the hike and just drive up to the top, it’s a great way to get incredible views without any effort. That said, if you have time the hike up makes the views even more rewarding, and depending which route you take up, you’ll pass by several viewpoints looking east – unlike the main Baynes Peak which has a more southern-facing view.

Chris Hatfield Trail

Though Salt Spring Island’s highest peaks offer beautiful views, the island’s forests and rocky coastline offer equally gorgeous sights without the elevation gain. The approximately 3 km Chris Hatfield Trail is a lush forest trail that leads past some impressive trees as it makes its way towards the beautiful rocky coast of Ruckle Provincial Park. The endpoint of this reletively flat and easy hike is the beautiful Yeo Point Beach, from where beautiful views of Pender and Prevost Islands are possible.

Hope Hill Lookout

Hope Hill is a fairly insignificant high point on the southern end of Salt Spring island with a summit that is not only on private property, but also offers little as far as views. There are a couple of fantastic viewpoints about halfway up Hope Hill that are definitely worth the hike though, and they can be accessed by a short uphill trail that follows old logging roads most of the way. Online maps show that it’s possible to combine these two viewpoints into a longer loop, however the loop trail has long ago become very overgrown to the point of being unfollowable, so I highly recommend visitng each of the two viewpoints as a quick out-and-back.

Mt Tuam

If you’ve looked north from the Swartz Bay ferry terminal towards Salt Spring Island and seen the high grassy peak rising up in front of you, you’ve seen Mt Tuam. The trail heading up Mt Tuam, the most southern high point on Salt Spring, sees the least use of any on this list and as a result is at times a bit difficult to follow. The trail up leads through a very large Garry oak meadow, an endangered type of ecosystem that has largely been fragmented and bulldozed on Southern Vancouver Island. For that reason, dogs should not be brought on this Salt Spring Island, and it is essential to stay on the trail to avoid trampling and damaging this fragile and sensitive ecosystem.

Recommended Hiking Gear

Water is a must whenever I’m hiking, especially if the sun is going to be out. My favourite water filter I’ve used is the Katadyn BeFree 0.6L, which unlike other water filters I’ve used packs up really small and lightweight. For hikes where I know there won’t be any readily available water sources along the way, I make sure to bring my own. The Hydrapak Stow 1L bottle is my go-to, for the same reason that it’s made of a soft plastic that folds up and doesn’t take up any more extra space than necessary in my pack. Finally, Aquatabs are another great option for purifying water, with one tablet being suitable for one litre of water. I previously used the Grayl water filter while travelling internationally, and though I found its hard body more convenient for day to day use and easier to drink from, it has a little too much bulk for my fast-and-light style of hiking.

The secret to all my photos of gorgeous sunset and sunrise mountaintop views? A lot of hiking in the dark. And let me speak from personal experience when I say that the last thing that you want to happen when hiking is to be caught in the dark without a headlamp. I used the Black Diamond Spot 400 for years and it worked great – until I lost it on top of a mountain somewhere. The only downside to it was having to worry about the batteries dying, though there’s also a slightly more expensive version that has a rechargeable battery. Nowadays I’m using the Petzl Actik Core, which is a bit pricier than the more budget-friendly Black Diamond, but is also brighter, more comfortable (in my opinion), and has a hybrid power system that is rechargeable but can also take AAA batteries if needed.

You won’t see me using trekking poles on shorter hikes often – but on long hikes and backpacking trips, as well as certain scrambles, they are an absolute lifesaver. I’ve invested in a high quality ultra-lightweight pair of MSR DynaLock Ascent carbon poles which, while pricey, I don’t regret one bit. If you’re not entirely sure how much use you’re going to get out of a pair of trekking poles, the best budget-friendly option would be the Trekology Trek Z 2.0. Amazon does sell a lot of cheaper Made in China-style trekking poles for cheaper, but these usually are much much heavier and not worth buying.

All the best and most long-lasting cables and power banks I’ve ever owned have been Anker. I once had a phone cable from them that lasted me over three years of daily use! That’s why I keep an Anker PowerCore Essential 20K power bank on me. Like many people I use my phone for a lot of stuff when hiking (checking in with family, using online maps, taking photos, flying my drone) so I like to be prepared for that low battery warning by having a backup power source on me just in case.

The only socks I ever buy for myself are from Darn Tough, and I almost always make sure to wear them when hiking. After years of having no problems only wearing these comfortable and rugged socks for hikes, I accidentally wore a pair of no-name socks on a hike last year and ended up with blisters on both feet. Safe to say I’m back to sticking with the Darn Tough. And the best part? They have a lifetime guarantee, meaning that if they ever wear out you can send them back for a brand new pair. For hiking footwear I go between a pair of lightweight approach shoes for quick and dirty mountain ascents or anything involving scrambling and more heavy-duty boots for longer treks. I’ve worn a couple different versions of the lightweight but super durable Arc’teryx Konseal FL 2 approach shoes for a few years now and am very impressed with the durability. I also really like the thick toecap that keeps me protected every time I stumble into a root or large rock. For longer, tougher, or muddier treks I rely on my LOWA Camino EVO GTX, which I find insanely comfortable and made of very high quality.

I wear my Ar’teryx Gamma Lightweight Pants on every single hike I go on, and on many days when I’m not hiking. After several years of abuse they are still holding together extraordinarily well, with only a few small holes from where I’ve fallen down and some slight stains from being repeatedly coated with mud. They’re lightweight, breathable, and super comfortable. For lightweight and breathable hiking tops I’m a big fan of both the Patagonia Capilene Shirt and the MEC Core Shirt. My Arc’teryx Squamish Hoody shows up in a lot of my photos. It’s super lightweight and packable, and does a great job of cutting the wind while also being pretty breathable. I also have an Arc’teryx Atom Hoody and Arc’teryx Beta LT that I pull out for cooler or wetter conditions.