Lasqueti Island, British Columbia

For rustic beauty, a chance to get away from everything that smacks of modernization, look no further than Lasqueti Island, British Columbia. The population is around 350 permanent residents year round, resulting in a lot of people shaking their heads in wonderment that some people still choose this lifestyle, while others leave envious of those souls and find themselves experiencing culture shock when they hit a big city again.

If you think you’ll find the residue of population from the movie Deliverance here, toss that idea out. These people are apparently some of the most highly educated people in all of British Columbia, and have chosen to find a home away from the human zoo. They are not only professionals in various careers and trades, but they also spend a lot of time in manual labor keeping the home fires burning per se, as they are living a lifestyle that demands the time-consuming attention to eking a living out of the earth and natural environment around them.

You leave your car behind, and either walk onto a passenger ferry, or go by private boat or float plane. The only power is solar or micro-hydro, and this is the way the residents want it.

There are picnic areas, swimming at Squitty Bay Provincial park, 9 miles south of the ferry dock, where the water is warm and green in the summer, as well as many other secluded beaches on the island and its 8 bays. In calm waters, you can paddle over to Jedidiah Island, which is now a provincial marine park, and has white sand beaches. This is only accessible by boat and takes about 30 minutes by canoe when waters are good.

Visitors and residents come here for the mountain biking among other reasons. There are no paved roads, so realize you’ll need some good equipment. You are not totally destitute of vehicles if you have an emergency or other reason for needing one. There is a taxi service here.

Fishing – did I mention you can fish for salmon, cod and rockfish here, dig clams, or just see the marine life in your scuba gear?

There is a hotel, a B & B, and campgrounds. The power generators are turned off at night, which means you’ll be glad for your candles, kerosene lamp and battery operated lantern. Try the Driftwood Cove Beach House with an indoor shower, a solar outdoor shower, and an outhouse for the washroom. You cook your own meals here. Minimum stay is two nights, and at 100.00 Canadian per night, you may find this very affordable, or stay a week at 600.00. There is also Squitty Bay Oceanfront B & B, The Old Bakery B & B, and the Canadian Wilderness Retreats, which is an fabulous home on the ocean.

Where is this place and how do you get there? It is 50 miles northwest of Vancouver in the Strait of Georgia. The island is about 12 miles long and 3 miles wide, so compare that to Manhattan if you need a visual comparison of size. Now think of all the people that live in Manhattan and the 350 who live in Lasqueti, and you’ll realize why the comparison to Manhattan stops there. Take the passenger ferry from French Creek Harbour on Vancouver Island, to False Bay on Lasqueti Island. This will take about 50 minutes in calm waters. You’ll leave your car behind at the marine where you’ll find paid parking. With a boarding pass, you’ll still need to board 15 minutes prior to departure. There are specifics of what you can and cannot take on board, such as no hardware allowed – machinery, etc. Check ahead of time on this at Westernpacificmarine.com which runs for B.C. ferries. Adults pay 8.00 to 8.75 depending on the season, while children age 6 to 12 pay about half that. Pets are considered freight and there is a fee for that. They must be on a leash by the way. Bicycles are 2.50. However, if you bring your own kayak, B.C. Ferries considers that hand luggage, so voila, you are set to enjoy the waters off the shoreline.

On Saturdays visit the Farmers Market, where you’ll find fresh organic produce, fresh baked goods, island arts and crafts and more. This is held at the Legion Grounds from 10 to 2 pm in the summer.

Arts Fest – there are various showings during the year.

The Coastal Douglas Fir Zone is the unusual ecosystem here that draws naturalists/scientists of many fields to observe and sometimes stay to study.

There are feral sheep here, big herds of them, and butterflies of an incredible variety. They keep the island pesticide free, which allows the butterflies to thrive.