#Ruckle Provincial Park

[eopederson2]

Ruckle Provincial Park, Salt Spring Island, British Columbia, 2019.

[eopederson]

Ferns and Moss Covered Logs, Ruckle Provincial Park, Salt Spring Island, British Columbia, 2019.

[bibliophiliosaurus]

Ruckle Provincial Park, Salt Spring Island, BC, Canada

March, 2017

My photos

[jollysportingbear]

The Goonies by Brian Tolin Via Flickr: Ruckle Provincial Park on Salt Spring Island, BC, Canada © Brian Tolin

[arcisfoodblog]

The next stop on our road trip was a super relaxing 3 days on Salt Spring Island!

The glum and rainy Tofino weather had seemingly spread over the whole of Vancouver Island. Only 180 kilometers / 110 miles in, on the north side of the island near Nanaimo, it finally started clearing up a bit. In the absence of cellphone reception in the interior part of Vancouver Island, Chantal chose Gabriel’s Cafe (39A Commercial St) in Nanaimo for lunch at the last-minute.

Gabriel’s Cafe works according to their “farm to fork” principle by sourcing their ingredients directly from local, small-scale family farms to be able to serve fresh, seasonal veggies, free-range eggs and pasture-fed, ethically-raised meats. They had excellent reviews on Tripadvisor, and Chantal said they had burgers, so we were definitely okay with the choice. On arrival at the restaurant, the window logo gave it away: those burgers turned out to be made from beans, rice, and corn… Consequently, as Chantal opted for the yummy wholewheat wrap filled with quinoa & chickpea fritters and topped with hummus, chutney & cucumber, the rest had Pulled pork (with North Carolina style tangy apple cider BBQ sauce) and Lemongrass braised beef sandwiches (with sriracha BBQ sauce and pickled vegetables) – which were excellent – and we enjoyed some good beers from Vancouver’s Steamworks Brewing and Victoria’s Phillips Brewing & Malting Co.

We tried to catch the ferry from Crofton to Vesuvius on Salt Spring Island of 3.35 pm and were there around 2.40 pm, but had to queue several hundred meters on the downhill road to the docks. Very annoying that no bookings were possible for this short crossing; it is operated on a first-come, first-serve basis. The person in front of us had inquired with a traffic controller who said that given the length of the queue we would probably only be able to board the ferry at 6.05 pm – so 2 ferries later.  He turned around and so we moved up again … The ferry of 3.35 pm came and left, but to our delight, more cars came off than we expected, so it was our turn immediately to line up for the next ferry, at 4.50 pm. Fortunately,  there was still some distraction while waiting with the marina on one side and the paper(pulp) factory of Catalyst on the other side, where ships were loaded with logs and small tugboats herded the logs towards the cranes.

After 8 hours in the car, and 24℃ / 75℉ by then, we were so happy that we arrived at our holiday home at The Cottages On Salt Spring Island (315 Robinson Rd), a couple of kilometers north of Ganges. It is a small park with about 40 separate multi-floor cottages/houses located on the bank of a small lake, equipped with a couple of jetties, and canoes, paddleboards, and rental bikes for the guests to use.

The kids were feeling so cramped from the long drive that they immediately wanted to go swimming (or at least avoid having to unload the car…) They soon realized that the lake was still pretty chilly 🙂

Besides 2 BBQs, there were no other culinary facilities, so you have to drive down to Ganges for groceries and restaurants. The first restaurant at the marina we tried (Moby’s Pub) was not a success because, after 7pm, no minors were allowed to be in the building. The second restaurant we tried, The Tree House Cafe, was far too busy also due to the live band on their patio, so so that we finally end up at next door’s burger bar, Burger Bar 537 (106 Purvis Ln). This time Chantal was convinced going there by the presence of burgers on the menu (the vegetarian Beyond Meat burger that is). The kids had the Classic Cheese Burger (Cheddar cheese, crispy lettuce, tomato & red onion) with extra thick-cut Bacon for, $17.50. I chose the Hangover Burger (Sunnyside up egg, bacon, and cheddar, crispy lettuce, tomato, and red onion; $21). The burgers were reasonably pricy, but very tasty, as were the onion rings that we subbed for the regular fries. In anticipation of the visit of the brewery the next day, we washed them down with the delicious IPAs of Salt Spring Island Ales.

After a good night’s sleep, we had early lunch at El Loco Taco (106 Lower Ganges Road), which is located in a cool former gas station/repair shop converted into a Mexican restaurant. There are indoor and outdoor seats for the take-out counter, but you also have a separate patio with service. It seems to be a popular place to grab some food before heading to the docks to catch one of the ferries back to Vancouver Island, as it went from super crowded to almost empty in just 15 minutes.

The food was delicious and the service, albeit a bit unorganized due to last-minute replacements for staff not showing up, but super friendly. We had some Chips and Salsa to figure out what to have. Chantal went for the Tofu Tacos with Cheese and Guacamole. Chicken quesadillas were chosen by the kids, and I opted for the Jalapeno Poppers and Chicken Taquitos. As the temperature was already quite high and the salsas fiery, we had some Tiger Shark APAs from Phillips Brewing Company in Victoria, BC to quench the heat.

In combination with the beautiful weather, we got a real “holiday feeling” from Salt Spring Island. It is small (only 27x14km / 17×9 miles, and only 10,000 inhabitants), laid back as well as back to basics (no traffic lights, one big supermarket, 2 gas stations, 4 ports and hardly any cell phone reception on the entire island), so you can take in the beautiful bucolic pastures, back roads, as well as the peaks up to 700 meters. Yet it was not particularly touristy, even in summer. Chantal had a theory that islanders already have some special pride, sense of self-sufficiency, and urge to prove themselves. As a consequence, there is relatively more craft and artisanal activity than on the mainland. I think that is correct for Salt Spring Island because you can see artisans and roadside stands almost everywhere. In addition to the standard abundant range of fruit, vegetables, and eggs, we have also seen figs, pesto, coffee beans, pork sausages and chops (in freezers) and horse manure (for the garden we hope) on offer.

That afternoon we visited Salt Spring Island Cheese (285 Reynolds Rd) for excellent ice cream, and incredibly tasty goat’s cheeses, Salt Spring Island Ales (270 Furness Rd) – the Heather Ale is stellar! – and Salt Spring Vineyards & Tasting Room (151 Lee Rd), after which we tested these local products, relaxing on our balcony. The good life!

The Salt Spring Saturday Market was held around Ganges’ Centennial Park and draws enormous crowds, even from Vancouver Island as a day trip! With almost 150 stalls, the offering was indeed very extensive: lots of snacking, stunning produce, and stalls with jewelry, clothing, handicrafts, and vegan products as well as a lot of CBD products. We were there around noon to have breakfast “on the go”, and it was quite busy.

The striking live musical accompaniment was a xylophone octet, but we suspected that the free-spirited dancers in the audience already had ingested some hemp products. There was also – a little further from the main route – the “artsy” corner with, among other things, stalls with stuff against menstrual pains and postcards with “Happy 1st Period” and one with Happy Vagina Products: bags, and purses with expected embroidery and stitching. No pictures, please!

Our hiking intentions on the east side of Salt Spring Island, in Ruckle Provincial Park (Beaver Point Rd), were nipped in the bud because the most beautiful part of the trail towards the cape with the lighthouse, turned out to be a “quarantine area”. The alternative route back over a campsite was not particularly appealing, so we went double-backed through the forest.

According to various sites, another recommendation was Mount Maxwell, a 600-meter high mountain, with impressive views of Salt Spring Island, Vancouver Island, and others of the Southern Gulf Islands. Several online reviews indicated that the road to the top was difficult to pass. That was undoubtedly true, so I was quite happy that in Vancouver, we had opted for our Yukon (a high-clearance 4WD) instead of the minivan because the holes in the road were so deep that ordinary cars could not go up up Mt Maxwell Rd without damage. They were able to stop halfway through and walk the last 2 kilometers, while SUVs, pick-ups, and Subarus (all standard 4x4s) made it to the top without too much of a hassle. Admittedly, with shaken kidneys (a video of it would have a high Cloverfield content), but the views were well worth it!

At the end of the afternoon, we bought another fancy soft-serve ice cream at Spring Island Soft Serve, one of the regular stands at the Ganges Marina. The mini Airstream trailer is super sleek, but I suspect it gets scorching in such a little metal egg in the full sun.

They only offer vegan soft serves made of oat milk or coconut milk (we weren’t able to really taste the difference to regular dairy soft serves!) available in cones or a Sundae cup. They have vanilla, chocolate, and – as we have already seen in Tofino – a swirl of both as the base and many tempting toppings. I had the Black Forest Cake Sundae: A swirl topped with intense Amarena Cherries, Black Cherry Syrup, and Chocolate Cookie Crumbles. Chantal went for the weekly featured Sundae, “Don’t Tell Mama”, a truly amazing one with Tumeric and Lime Elixer from Moonshine Mama’s, Calamansi Citrus, Ginger, and Oat Cookie Crumble.

Around the World – British Columbia Roadtrip (2019) – Salt Spring Island The next stop on our road trip was a super relaxing 3 days on Salt Spring Island!

[excellentadventure2]

From the Archives // April 15, 2017: Ruckle Provincial Park Camping, Saltspring Island

Mid-April Danielle and I had a weekend free so we decided to find somewhere to camp. We didn't want to travel too far from home, so we decided to try Ruckle Provincial Park on nearby Saltspring Island.

Although we'd both been to Saltspring a number of times, neither of us had been to Ruckle Provincial Park in recent memory. We arrived to the park sometime in the afternoon, and were able to get a great spot to set up our tent very close to the water and not terribly close to anyone else. After setting up our tent, we did a quick walk around the old farm and then back to our camp spot along the water. The walk was beautiful as the day began to fade into the evening and we were able to walk through the barn yard with animals abound.

After returning to our tent we decided to head to Fulford Harbour to check it out and grab some Saltspring Island Cider to enjoy with dinner. Along the way we picked up an Australian hitchhiker who was headed to Fulford Harbour to catch the ferry back to Vancouver. After dropping the Aussie off and grabbing a few supplies at the harbour, we returned to the park and made dinner while the sun set.

After a somewhat cold but nice sleep beside the sea, we packed up our stuff and did another hike/walk through the park, and then returned home.

Although I'm by no means stoked with the photos I took while on Saltspring, the small trip was a very good break as both Danielle and I's families were going through problems at this point in time. I look forward to returning to Ruckle Provincial Park in the future, as I can see it being a great place to camp with a group of friends.

[fernandadenize]

#saltspringisland #ruckleprovincialpark #camping #summer2022 #longweekend (at Ruckle Provincial Park) https://www.instagram.com/p/CiTyCdjLgxw/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[reysim]

Tuesday march 29/2022

After 2 years of staying home and not travelling , we were invited to go to Victoria !

So here we are!

We left at 6:00 am , it was still dark but calm and captivating! We caught the 7.40 ferry from Crofton to Vesuvius on Salt Spring Island. It was a short 20 minute ride. We enjoyed the scenery. The sunrise created a gorgeous orange line between the mountains and sky with amazing contrast against the blue colour of the ocean. We drove the northern loop and stopped at Fernwood Point pier for breakfast and a turmeric latte from their local coffee shop. Then we drove past Walter hook. Breathtaking views to admire. We enjoyed walking around Ganges and visited three thrift shops. The Lady Minto’s thrift shop on behalf of the hospital was our favourite.

We drove the southern loop in the afternoon. The Mount Maxwell view point won the prize despite that we had to drive through rough potholed road. We tried to do some wine tasting! Unfortunately, they were closed.

Drummond petroglyph was protected by 2 huge trees at the beach. It was sunny and warm spot so picnic lunch was required. We went for a short hike to Beaver Point at Ruckle Park and surprisingly we saw lots of white fawn lilies. At the working farm we saw historic buildings and big turkeys. Before we head to the ferry , we went for cheese tasting! It was a lovely place with delicious feta and cream cheese (goat cheese).

We took the second last ferry to Schwartz Bay from Fulford Harbour and drove to downtown Victoria. After we checked in to our hotel, we walked to a Thai restaurant via the inner harbour walkway. It was a beautiful walk going and coming back , seeing the Empress hotel and provincial parliament lit up.

[elephile]

Ocean view from the forest, part I. #ruckleprovincialpark #ssilife #saltspringislandbc #saltspringisland #saltspringislandphotography #saltspringliving #rucklepark #ruckleparkbc (at Ruckle Provincial Park) https://www.instagram.com/p/CXck2Y1rnsg/?utm_medium=tumblr

[andrewbeha]

#nofilter #nofilterneeded #fun #bc #share #picoftheday #instapic #provincalpark #britishcolumbia #saltspringisland #summer2021 #travel #travellife #travelling #instatravel #ocean #naturephotography #nature #follow (at Ruckle Provincial Park) https://www.instagram.com/p/CSNHRRBHv07/?utm_medium=tumblr

[williamjans]

Ruckle Park on Salt Spring. Hadn't been there since bike camping there 20 years ago. so nice. Not changed much either I am sure... takes a long time for rocks to change. Ha.⁠⠀ ⁠⠀ This was 9 am on Oct 22 when I was on the island for a day to poster for my upcoming show there on Nov 20. Yahoo and thrilled that so many people let me put posters up. Such a nice place and I hope people come see my Shadows in Morocco show at the Fritz. Yahoo. Tickets at wrjphoto.com/tickets (at Ruckle Provincial Park, Saltspring Island) https://www.instagram.com/p/B3-H2mvhbJ6/?igshid=8om4zre7fxh0

[lionelmcgowan]

Oh-oh (at Ruckle Provincial Park, Saltspring Island) https://www.instagram.com/p/B0jEi6dF74f/?igshid=1t1lhxmgon0m1

[mandygilberton]

Guide to the Best Day Trips from Vancouver Island

From surf towns to artist meccas, island excursions to waterfront trails, Vancouver Island and the surrounding Gulf Islands offer an incredible array of outdoor adventure, culture, cuisine and history. Below is our list of top five day trips (and weekend getaways) to enjoy from Victoria and Nanaimo. TOFINO - One of Vancouver Island’s most celebrated destinations, Tofino is situated on the remote and staggeringly beautiful west coast. A prime destination for year-round surfing, beach exploring and outdoor adventure, the village is located within the heart of the Clayoquot Sound UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. And beyond its incredible natural surroundings, Tofino is home to nature-driven spas, luxury resorts, a flourishing arts culture and thriving, locally inspired culinary scene. Either drive from Victoria or Nanaimo, taking in the towering old-growth trees along the way, or enjoy the view from above traveling by seaplane. SIDNEY SPIT - Now is the time to start planning your spring day trip (or campout) to Sidney Spit, located on the north end of Sidney Island in the Gulf Islands National Park Reserve. The family-friendly destination is a sandy, narrow strip of land that stretches into the sea, featuring endless pristine beaches. Accessible by boat, or walk-on ferry service from Sidney (May to September), the expansive park also boasts numerous wooded hiking trails and an abundance of birds and marine life. SALT SPRING ISLAND - Among the largest of the Southern Gulf Islands, Salt Spring Island has been named “one of the prettiest artist towns in North America” by the New York Times. Located between Vancouver Island and the mainland, the island features historic seaside villages, resorts ranging from quaint cabins to luxurious hotels, countless artists’ studios, a vibrant culinary scene and incredible outdoor recreation. Challenging hiking and biking trails offer spectacular vistas, while the sheltered ocean cove offers fishing, diving, sailing, kayaking and more. Head out for the day, stay for the weekend, enjoying the island’s Ruckle Provincial Park, the largest provincial campground in the Gulf Islands.   SOOKE POTHOLES - No, not the kind of potholes you try to avoid by car, but the unique geological formations that create deep pools in the river rock. Located less than one hour from Victoria, the Sooke Potholes Provincial Park offers some of the best freshwater swimming in the region, spectacular views of the Sooke River, hiking on short forest trails and access to the Galloping Goose Regional Trail. Head up for a picnic, walk or bike ride, or wait until the campground opens in May to sleep surrounded by Douglas Firs, amidst the soothing sounds of rushing water. EAST SOOKE REGIONAL PARK - Roughly 30 minutes toward the coast from the Sooke Potholes is the East Sooke Regional Park, featuring 50 km of trails along rocky coast, over dry hilltops and through the shaded rainforest to sheltered coves. Trails include the challenging 10k Coast Trail and capture spectacular views of the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the Olympic Mountains. Pocket beaches, rocky bays and tide pools are perfect for exploring and scuba diving.   Guide to the Best Day Trips from Vancouver Island published first on https://real-estate-sg.weebly.com/

[timcbarton]

Turkey day. (at Ruckle Provincial Park)

[electriczen-blog]

Therapeutic! (at Ruckle Provincial Park)

[arcisfoodblog]

Ruckle Provincial Park on Salt Spring Island #hiking #nature #thegreatoutdoors #summer2019 #roadtrip #britishcolumbia #canada #saltspringisland #ssi #travel #travelphotography #ruckleprovincialpark #arcisfoodblog (at Ruckle Provincial Park, Saltspring Island) https://www.instagram.com/p/B6LN3HpFP-2/?igshid=17pcb12wlm9se