Bowen Island Day Trip Adventure

Feeling the need for a trip away from my lovely kids, I asked my friend Leah what we should do and she replied with "I've never been to Bowen Island" and our day trip adventure was born.  We parked our car at the Horseshoe Bay terminal and walked onto the ferry–just $12.35/person for a return trip. 

The ferry ride is only 20 minutes long which is perfect for sitting on the deck and taking in the gorgeous views.

Our plan for the day involved doing two hikes, enjoying a couple of Stanley Park Brewing beers, and trying out some of the local eats.   How many steps would we get in? What would be our favourite place to eat?

Our first hike was a short five-minute walk from the Snug Cove ferry terminal: Dorman Point at Crippen Regional Park.  You can pick up a map at Bowen Island Information Centre or use the Island Trails website. Dorman Point is a thirty minute hike with a steady incline and I recommend it!  Not only is the trail beautiful (and a bit steep at points) but the view at the top is great too.  

We had rest at the top and checked out the views of U.B.C while taking in the arbutus trees and surrounding islands.  We also enjoyed a Stanley Park Sunsetter which is one of my favourite beers–it's peach flavoured!

We hiked back down to Snug Cove and tried to map out where we were going next.  We decided to walk up the hill about 15 minutes to Artisan Square.

Be warned: The walk up to Artisan Square is a hike but there is also the option of taking a bus up the hill.

Artisan Square has several shops and stores and I really wanted to try out Artisan Eats.  When I go back to Bowen Island, I will return here for sure–this was my favourite stop of the day!  Leah and I experience the lovely french pastry called a cruffin; it's a mix between a croissant and a muffin and it was filled with custard.  Delicious! We also checked out Cocoa West Chocolatier and next time I want to try their Kilimajaro ice cream treat (ice cream with coffee!)

We walked back down towards Snug Cove for lunch.  We both wanted the special at the Rustique Bistro: Eggs Benny on Belgian Waffles!  It hit the spot–the perfect fuel for our next hike.

The second hike we were doing was to head to Killarney Lake.  It takes about 30 minutes to get to the lake and 45 minutes to walk around. 

At this point we were feeling pretty sweaty and tired at 20,000ish steps so we took off our hiking shoes and rested our feet in the water...it felt so good! 

Apparently when you look at the lake you put your hands on your hips.

We walked back towards Snug Cove and checked out the beach.  There were people swimming and it was pretty tempting–maybe next time!

We went to Doc Morgan's Pub for a protein packed layered dip--it hit the spot after a good day of hiking! The highlight of this location is that you get to sit on the patio and look out over Snug Cove.

We decided to relax on the beach for a bit and wait for the next ferry there.  There may have also been a lesson on Pokemon GO and Snapchat. Ahem.

The nice thing about walking across is that you don't need to wait for a ferry, you can just walk around until you see the next one come in.  There is a ferry about once an hour and you can see the schedule here. 

It was so fun to explore a place that I've never been to before.  Thanks Bowen Island, Stanley Park Brewing  and Leah for a great day. 

Love,
Louise

(**Our trip was sponsored by Stanley Park Brewing and opinions are my own**)