Sidney Spit Light

Extensive tidal flats, salt marshes, rolling meadows and spectacular views make up Sidney Spit, located at the north end of Sidney Island, 4 km offshore from the town of Sidney.

The Coast Salish, who used Sidney Island as a summer camp, say that "Mutcha" was a giant mink transformed by the spirit God Swaneset, because of its uncontrollable greed. The long sand spit is Mutcha's tail, while the beaches are its belly and back.

Within the 400-hectare marine park, the long sandy spit and adjacent lagoon, forests and open grasslands offer a surprising variety of wildlife. Sidney Lagoon and the Spit provide some of the most important shorebird habitat near southern Vancouver Island, especially during migrations. Large flocks of Brant Geese use the park in March and April, and during July and August, hundreds of Rhinoceros Auklets and Heerman's Gulls will delight birdwatchers. Sidney Spit is a paradise for naturalists!

As you walk through the forest and uplands you may see fallow deer, a species introduced to neighbouring James Island in the early 1900's. In the 1960s, a number of these small deer swam from James Island across to Sidney Island, where they have been having a dramatic impact on the island's fragile vegetation ever since.

The Spit

At low tide one can hike for miles along the spit, perfect for beachcombing. Relax in the sun, play in the warm water, or kayak along the shoreline. Although Sidney Spit is a busy anchorage for boaters, the trail around the saltwater lagoon and along the log-strewn beach to the southeast sees much less use.

Like that of many neighbouring islands, the topography is a blend of level ground and steep-sided bluffs. Much of the park is situated on a spit of land more or less revealed by the rise and fall of the tides, while a more sheltered upland section of the park lies south of the beach.

Campsites are located within an easy walk of the federal dock. All the basic amenities are provided. You won't find a softer surface on which to camp than the park's white sand. The park has 30 walk-in camping spots, to reserve camping or group picnicking call 1-877-559-2115.

Sidney Spit Marine Park is located on Sidney Island off the Saanich Peninsula of Vancouver Island, accessible by boat only. A foot-passenger ferry provides access to the island from the Sidney Wharf at the bottom of Beacon Avenue in Sidney. Sidney Spit Ferry Service.