Happy Trails on Pender

Pender is blessed with an abundance of public ocean accesses and hiking trails that lead, like a network of delicate veins, into every corner of our little island. You can wander through dusky forests and along rocky shorelines, sit at a viewpoint watching eagles soar and orcas passing or just relax to the soothing sound of wind in the trees or waves gently splashing on the shore. There is no better way to enjoy our island.

There are over 80 trails or accesses to choose from, and they’re easy to find as almost all are marked by 4-foot cedar posts with the trail name on them.

Here are the most popular ones, where I take visitors when I really want to impress them.

• George Hill: This uphill hike leads to a summit with Garry Oak habitat, wildflowers and great views onto Port Washington.

• Mount Norman: a vigorous hike to a sweeping panorama over the Gulf Islands.

• Roesland: My personal favourite. The museum is here, and the trail along the narrow islet leads to two benches offering superb vistas onto the Salish Sea. Enjoy a glass of wine as the sun sets.

• Brooks Point Park and Gowlland Point at the end of south island offer views onto towering Mount Baker while enormous ocean ships plough past in Haro Strait.

• Medicine Beach is a treasure with a millennia-old midden, an enormous crescent of driftwood and a wetland.

• Enchanted Forest is a must with its primordial forest, sword ferns and the feeling a pterodactyl might emerge any moment. In winter, a waterfall tumbles at the west end.

There are, of course, many other excellent trails and ocean accesses. My favourites include:

• The beach at the bottom of Craddock Road. In spring, the area is bright yellow with gorse.

• A bench at the south end of Plumper Way. Gaze south to the San Juan Islands. Last year, I watched an enormous school of sockeye salmon jumping and splashing during the record-setting return to the Fraser River.

• The beach at the north end of Bridge Road, which yields views of ferries in Navy Channel. The contorted geologic strata tell a tale of an ancient underwater avalanche.

I’ve almost completed my personal goal of hiking each one of the 80+ trails and ocean accesses. When done, I guess I’ll just have to start again.

Information

- Most trails are maintained by the Pender Island Parks Commission. For a map and info:    http://penderislandweb.com/guide/parks.htm

- Chamber of Commerce: http://www.penderislandchamber.com/