May 23, 2010 in Travel

Mayne attractions

Natural wonders abound on British Columbia island
Brian J. Cantwell Seattle Times
 
Seattle Times photo

Artist Jim McKenzie works with an airbrush in his studio on Mayne Island in British Columbia. Seattle Times
(Full-size photo)(All photos)

If you go

Mayne Island

Getting there: Getting to the Gulf Islands can take some time – and money. (It’s why the place isn’t so crowded.) Expect a hefty fare (about $120 round-trip for auto and two adults) on B.C.’s privatized ferry system.

BC Ferries sails from Tsawwassen, south of Vancouver, with a limited schedule to Mayne Island. Reservations are strongly advised. Reserved tickets must be claimed at ticket booths at least 40 minutes in advance of sailings. Reservations: (888) BC-FERRY or www.bcferries.com/bcftravelcentre.

Where to stay: Some inexpensive lodging can make up for the ferry cost. (We found a cottage, La Casita, for $80 a night offseason.)

The island has inns, B&Bs, rental homes and cabins, plus a small private campground. An excellent source of information, with photos: www.mayneisland.com/accommodation. Some options include:

•Springwater Lodge, circa 1892, on the Miners Bay village waterfront. Besides a pub and restaurant on the ground floor, it has five very basic rental rooms upstairs, sharing a single bathroom ($40 a night, summer only). Also rents waterfront cabins. (250-539-5521, www.springwaterlodge.com)

•Mayne Island Resort is built around the historic Mayne Inn, with water-view hotel rooms plus 18 new luxury timeshare-style beach cottages. (866-539-5399, www.mayneislandresort.com)

•Blue Vista Resort has small cottages near Bennett Bay (not on the water), $99-$150 in summer. Pets are OK. (877-535-2424, www.bluevistaresort.com)

•Mayne Island Eco Camping offers a campground on Miners Bay (250-539-2667, mayneisle.com/camp)

Where to eat: Two restaurants were operating on Mayne when we visited, so plan on renting accommodations with cooking facilities.

There are two small markets in Miners Bay (one with beer and wine), plus a bakery. On Saturday mornings, July through October, enjoy local produce, baking and crafts at the Farmers Market on the Ag Hall grounds in Miners Bay.

At Wild Fennel restaurant, 574 Fernhill Road (in a tiny shopping center), recent dinner offerings included stuffed squid ($24), beef medallions with ginger port jus ($23) and vegetarian moussaka ($18).

Springwater Lodge offers breakfast, lunch and dinner. The pub menu features fish ’n’ chips and burgers; there are seafood and pasta offerings in the dining room (about $9 to $20).

Century-old Mayne Inn, part of Mayne Island Resort, has The Brickworks restaurant, which has been closed for renovation but is expected to reopen by the end of May.

Services: The Yoga House, near Bennett Bay, offers private sessions, retreats and regular lyengar yoga classes ( www.yogahouse.ca).

Traveler’s tips: Pick up a brochure with an island map on the ferry, or print one from the Web ( www.mayneislandchamber.ca/pdf/map.pdf).

An excellent guide and map to the island’s many hiking trails is available at many visitor sites, including Georgina Point Lighthouse, a heritage site marking the entrance to Active Pass.

There is no bank on Mayne Island, but you’ll find ATMs in Miners Bay markets. Most shops happily accept U.S. dollars at par.

The island has one gas station, in Miners Bay.

More information:www.mayneislandchamber.ca, www.mayneisland.com

MAYNE ISLAND, B.C. – It was the first day of spring, so naturally we were watching Mayne Island volunteers remove Christmas lights from a big tree in the park.

That’s what you call “island time.” No strict deadlines. No rushing about.

And almost everything is do-it-yourself out here on Mayne, one of the lesser-visited of British Columbia’s Gulf Islands. It’s nine square miles of lazily winding roads with no traffic lights and only about 1,100 year-round residents – a count that triples in summer.

“The whole island runs on volunteers!” volunteer Joanna Weeks told us earlier as she jotted down prices and added up our purchase – two previously owned wine glasses (50 cents each) and a souvenir Seattle World’s Fair teaspoon – at the island’s lovably ragtag Thrift Store.

When open (Saturday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.) the store seemed the center of the island’s offseason social life. Cars lined the road out front. A sign inside noted that all proceeds go to island causes, ranging from a new floor for the Ag Hall, to those aforementioned holiday lights.

Weeks, a longtime resident, lamented that “it’s getting harder and harder because fewer people want to volunteer. We have so many snowbirds!”

But the independent air of these islanders is plain, and that’s part of the draw. That and the quiet beauty of this isolated place, where residents honor an interesting history.

Hiking trails abound. Our expectations were happily met by natural wonders along a half-mile walk to the tip of Campbell Point, part of the multi-island Gulf Islands National Park Reserve, established in 2003.

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