Vancouver to Victoria

Nanaimo and Saltspring Island

Summary

Distance: ~127km

Elevation: ~2,000m

Summary: A one-way route that leaves from Vancouver's Stanley Park and returns to Victoria through Nanaimo and Saltspring Island. A mixed surfaces route that trades busy highways for sanguin gravel paths, trail connectors, rural roads, and plenty of ferries.

Route: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/1987096?units=km (distance shown on Plotaroute includes 68km of ferry travel)

The Pitch

You biked to Vancouver, now you want to bike back Victoria but have a different experience! Trade urban gravelling through Vancouver for relaxing Vancouver Island riding and BC Ferries hospitality.

Details

Stanley Park to Horseshoe Bay

Cycling from Stanley Park to Horseshoe Bay is essentially a road ride. But fear not, the roads are reasonably quiet and picturesque (and even includes part of the Spirit Trail bike path) as you wind your way west to the Ferry Terminal. Horseshoe Bay is a quaint ferry town nestled between large boulders aspiring to become mountains. There are plenty of restaurants for breakfast or simple coffee shops to help pass the time while you wait for the next ferry. Just buy your ticket at the foot passenger booth and you'll get instructions for boarding with a bicycle.

Nanaimo to Crofton

A proper gravel advenure would involve heading inland to access logging roads but since the goal is to get to Victoria in 1 day, and 127km of riding alrady seems like plenty, a more direct route is required.

Exiting Nanaimo requires a bit of urban navigation but the route does its best to keep you off highways (not 100%) and on lower traffic roads and even bike paths. Once you exit the Trans-Canada highway, at the end of Maki Rd, you'll find a chainlink fence that you can legitimately cross and get onto some actual gravel again. Phew, finally! Don't go too far down the wide path though, you'll make a quick right-turn and head off on some singletrack to get to Field Rd and eventually a long stretch of trail bordering the regional landfill (if memory serves me correctly, this trail might actually be retired) and then another gravel road all the way to Wilkonson Rd.

From here, the route turns back to a road ride on quiet farm roads. Enjoy the surroundings before the unavoidable return to the Trans-Canada highway and ride to Ladysmith as fast as possible and bring your average pace up! If you can, stop at the Old Town Bakery for some ridiculously good cinnamon buns.

After Ladysmith, you'll jump onto the easy spinning Cowichan Valley Trail and then Chemainus Rd until Crofton Rd for a fun descent into the town of Crofton. The ferry runs fairly frequently, and often abandons any semblance of a schedule, so it's worth heading to the ferry terminal right away to determine the next departure. Then enjoy a stress-free cafe stop in town.

Saltspring Island

I wish the route plotted copious amounts of Saltspring Island gravel roads sneaking behind farmers fields, but alas, that is not the case (legend has it this does exist, but a local has yet to divulge this information to me). Instead, Saltspring is a hill-climbing, road riders paradise (1) and you'll pedal to Ganges via Vesuvius Bay Rd and Lower Ganges Rd.

Once in Ganges, check the ferry schedule! Most likely you'll have plenty of time to get to Fulford Harbour so you can take your time and enjoy another cafe stop before heading along the scenic "quiet" route to the ferry terminal. If you find yourself short on time, Fulford-Ganges Road is more direct and less hilly (but busier, so please take care) and Fulford Harbour has a nice cafe near the terminal as well (so you won't have to forgo caffeine.)

Lochside and Home

Back to familiar terrain and an easy spin back home along the Lochside Trail. I hope you enjoyed your ride!

(1) If singletrack is what you desire, you can head North from Vesuvius onto Sunset Rd to explore the Channel Ridge trails. This is a beautiful, natural area containing some of the nicest loamy trails to be found on the Island. It's a bit out of the way and not the best terrain for a loaded a bicycle so, perhaps, best left for another occassion.

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