The Ferry to Bowen Island
A 20-minute ferry to an island of cedar trails, a glacial lake, and a cove village that once hosted the city’s steamship picnics.
The short version
- BC Ferries crosses from Horseshoe Bay to Snug Cove in 20 minutes, around 14 round trips a day — schedules and fares at bcferries.com. Walk on; the village, the park, and the trails all start at the dock.
- The 257 express bus runs from downtown Vancouver to Horseshoe Bay in about 40 minutes — routes at translink.ca — which makes the whole trip car-free with no planning heroics.
- Crippen Regional Park begins a few steps from the ferry ramp: the Killarney Lake loop is the classic, about 8 km out-and-around through cedar and fern to a lily-pad lake with boardwalks, flat enough for conversation.
- Snug Cove village is compact and sufficient — bakery, pub, bookstore, fish and chips — occupying buildings left from the Union Steamship Company era, when excursion steamers delivered thousands of Vancouver picnickers to these lawns every summer weekend.
- Dorman Point is the shorter, steeper option: half an hour up through the forest to a bluff with Howe Sound, passing ferries, and the North Shore mountains arranged for your lock screen.
Getting there
From downtown, the 257 express bus reaches Horseshoe Bay in about 40 minutes; the Queen of Capilano then makes the 20-minute crossing to Snug Cove roughly 14 times a day. Foot passengers buy at the terminal and stroll on — ticket sales close 10 minutes before sailing. Drivers should think twice on weekends; the island walk starts at the ramp, and everything described here is reachable on foot.
The day
Take a mid-morning boat — the crossing itself is a minor fjord cruise, mountains stacking behind the wake. Coffee and a cinnamon bun in the cove, then the Killarney Lake loop at an unhurried two hours: meadow, forest, boardwalk, lake, with the island’s mossy quiet doing the heavy lifting. Back in the village, lunch at the pub or the fish-and-chip window, then either Dorman Point for the viewpoint climb or the beach at Sandy Cove if the tide cooperates. Browse the bookstore, acquire island honey you did not plan to buy, and drift back to the dock with the late-afternoon boat crowd of locals, labradors, and cellists returning from lessons.
When to go
May through October for dry trails and ferry-deck weather — July and August bring the warmest swimming and the thickest weekend queues at Horseshoe Bay, which walk-ons can ignore. Spring and fall deliver the island at its greenest, with the trails half-empty. Winter works for the lake loop in proper boots, with the pub fire as the closing argument.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you get to Bowen Island without a car?
Bus 257 from downtown Vancouver to Horseshoe Bay, then the 20-minute BC Ferries crossing to Snug Cove — about an hour door to dock. Everything worth doing starts on foot from the ferry ramp.
How long is the Killarney Lake loop?
Roughly 8 km from the ferry and back including the lake circuit — two to three easy hours on forest trail and boardwalk, with minimal elevation. Runners do it in one podcast.
Is Bowen better than Granville Island for a day out?
Different species — Granville is a market under a bridge; Bowen is an actual island with lake trails and a ferry ride through Howe Sound. For green quiet and a village lunch, Bowen wins outright.
Do you need to book the ferry?
Walk-on passengers never need reservations — just arrive 15 minutes early. Vehicle space is first-come and summer weekends punish drivers; this is a walk-on island anyway.
What was the Union Steamship Company?
The line whose excursion steamers made Bowen Vancouver’s picnic ground from the 1920s — thousands came for dance pavilions and cottage weekends. The company store and cottages around Snug Cove survive as the village’s bones.