Salt Spring Island (or Hippieville, Canada, as it's sometimes called) is one of those unique places that has to be seen to be believed...

Dubbed the "coolest island in Canada" by the Washington Post, we are home to over 12,000 free spirits, artists, writers, alternative therapists and a sizable Buddhist community.

And we're just a short ferry ride from Vancouver or Victoria.
Come visit...

If you've ever wanted to get away from all the hustle and bustle of city life and flashback to a mellower era, Salt Spring Island is the place for you.

You can just feel the stress and anxiety melt away as your mind and body happily adjust to "island time"...

I'm Bill Nash and I live here on this beautiful, enchanting isle.

SSI is awash with rocky inlets, kayak-friendly waters, evergreen forests and a tradition of tolerance. Also, thanks to liberal Canadian laws, a faint whiff of marijuana still tends to waft on the breeze.

Salt Spring's lifestyle fest reaches its zenith at the Saturday Market in the village of Ganges, which sells crafts and organic food.

If you've never been to Salt Spring Island before, let's just say that it's probably different from anything you've experienced. I call it "The Vibe", as in "good vibrations"...

Ever wonder where all those '60's "flower children" ended up? Well, a lot of them discovered this place and never left. Now they have flower children of their own.

But it's not just "hippie heaven" here.

All sorts of folks now call this island paradise home: artists and artisans, photographers, retired CEO's, plumbers, pilots, journalists, actors, directors, ferry workers, bus drivers, musicians, New Agers, internet entrepreneurs, organic farmers, sheep ranchers, bed & breakfasters...

Well over 200,000 people visited Salt Spring Island in 2010.

Remember when Joni Mitchell sang "they paved paradise and put up a parking lot"? Well, that's what happened to Pitt Meadows, my hometown.

Lots of folks started moving out there to get away from the city and it eventually became a suburb itself.

But Salt Springers have an ace in the hole...

It's called The Islands Trust Act which severely limits development and growth here and on several other Gulf Islands. Even so, it's still an ongoing struggle and the topic of many a conversation around here.

Local businesses provide a complete range of trades, services and professions. We have excellent shopping for the essentials as well as some totally awesome specialty shops.

You can swim, golf, go horseback riding, play tennis, sail, or kayak 365 days a year.

Our artistic community provides a wonderful variety of plays, concerts, art shows, studio visits and learning opportunities.

"You're welcome as a visitor, but be warned: many who came for a casual visit are now residents."

We have a temperate Mediterranean climate - not too cold and not too hot. About 34 inches of rain each year keeps everything so green.

We receive very little frost and many winters have no snow at all. We have no poisonous snakes and the largest predator is the raccoon.

Our life style is relaxed and undemanding. It's a place to be who you want to be and do what you want to do.

You can find seclusion without isolation.

Four large cities: Victoria, Vancouver, Nanaimo and Seattle
are within easy reach.

There are frequent daily ferry trips to Vancouver Island and the mainland of British Columbia.

Float planes make scheduled trips to Salt Spring several times a day.

This Pacific jewel, halfway between Vancouver and Victoria, is truly an island paradise...

Conde Nast Traveler, one of the best travel magazines in the world, voted Salt Spring the #3 Best Island In North America!

This just in...

Salt Spring Island is one of the 10 best places to live in the West, according to a recent article published in Sunset Magazine.

The Gulf Islands were also ranked among the world’s best coastal destinations in an annual survey by National Geographic Traveler, taking fourth place out of 99 locations reviewed.

According to its website, a "panel of 340 experts in sustainable tourism and destination stewardship rates this geographically and culturally representative sample of the world’s waterside locales."

The Gulf Islands were listed in the top-rated section, with panelists agreeing the areas in question are "in excellent shape, relatively unspoiled, and likely to remain so." The Avalon Peninsula in Newfoundland garnered the number one spot.

Aaah! Salt Spring Island...

You're never far from those crashing ocean waves and that refreshing salty scent of the sea...

Pristine inviting beaches, shimmering turquoise lakes, emerald green forests, and more deer than you've ever seen in one place...



And you can see it all from our towering mountains.

We invite you to come visit us to explore and discover
the magic for yourself.

All the best from beautiful Salt Spring Island, BC

Bill Nash