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Ganges Village on Salt Spring Island

Ganges is the largest of the villages on Salt Spring Island. It's the business center, with stores and restaurants clustered around the central harbour. Toward the outer edges of the village, residential areas sprawl both inland and along the shores.

An entire day could easily be spent wandering about the village, poking into art galleries, sampling local fare, visiting the shops, or simply watching the activity in the harbour. This page provides a bit of detail on all that Ganges has to offer...

The Harbour   :   Beach access   :   Shopping
Arts   :   Music   :   Kids Fun   :   Food   :   Transportation   :   History

THE HARBOUR

Ganges Harbour on Salt Spring Island. The Ganges Harbour is a busy place. Float planes and water taxis both run regular routes in and out of the harbour and boats of all sizes come and go from the marina in a constant stream.

A few small islands (The Chain Islands) dot the entry into the harbour. Some are uninhabited, except by the odd river otter perhaps, but there is a private residence on tiny (and creepily named) Deadman Island.

The boat launch (located behind the kids playground at Centennial Park) can be accessed by driving through to the rear of the parking lot in front of the Royal LePage building.

The Salt Spring Island Sailing Club have a large dock for members' moorage on the south west side of the harbour.

BEACH ACCESS

ENJOY A WALK

Around the harbour - make use of the wooden boardwalk that snakes its way all around the inner harbour.

Mouat Park - ideal for those with limited mobility. Parking lot is located behind ArtSpring, close to trails. Paths are wide and flat, but watch out for flying discs as this is the home of the island's popular disc golf course.

Japanese Garden - a new feature downtown, this peaceful space (located across from ArtSpring) is new. A community volunteer effort, headed by long-time islanders, the Murakami family.

Due to the metropolitan nature of the Ganges center, beach access is fairly limited.

There are a few places where you can get at the water, but none of the beach areas are what we would consider noteworthy.

A walk around the harbour on the boardwalk is nice. And it's accessible, which is ideal for those with limited mobility.

There are several benches along the way to stop and enjoy the view. But it's not the best place to go for a day at the beach.

SHOPPING

This commercial center of Salt Spring Island has three gas stations (all closed by 8pm), two grocery stores, several restaurants, three banks, two pharmacies, several clothing stores, thrift stores, home decor, natural foods, bookstores, a public library, sporting goods and electronics stores, bakeries... a bit of everything really!

A few specialty stores round out the offerings downtown; a tea store, kitchen store, surf/skate shop, chocolate shop, candy store and a great kid's toy store.

Fitness and well being are important factors of life on Salt Spring. And it's evident from looking around. There are a few gyms downtown, a yoga studio, several spas and bodywork practitioners and an astonishing assortment of locally made body care products to be found.

ARTS

  • ArtSpring Artspring building on Salt Spring Island The ArtSpring Theatre always has something interesting going on. Tucked into a serene corner downtown, there are a constant stream of art exhibits, theatrical performances, and live music happening throughout the year.
  • Galleries & Studios
    A handful of art galleries and studios exhibiting the vast and varied works of locals are sprinkled throughout Ganges.
  • Saturday Market
    Probably the best known event that happens in Ganges is the Saturday Market. An explosion of local crafters, artists, bakers and growers convene at Centennial Park to peddle their wares.

    There are a dizzying array of items available and competition for space amongst sellers is increasing. Booths featuring clothing, woodworks, gemstones, jewelry, baking, preserves, plants, metalworks, sculpture, and a myriad of other creations line the pavement in the park.

    An eclectic collection of musicians and entertainers take it in turn to liven up the already lively atmosphere with their varied talents. Our favorites are the kids that get out there with their instruments and play their little hearts out. Keep some change handy for these folks!
  • ArtCraft
    Throughout the summer months (mid-June to mid-Sept), Mahon Hall hosts 'ArtCraft' every day from 10-5. Members of local art guilds share the spotlight, taking it in turn to display their works in a bi-weekly cycle of exhibits.

MUSIC

Live entertainment can be found in Ganges nearly every night of the week at one of the restaurants or pubs downtown.

Moby's, Barb's Bakery & Bistro, The Local, and the Treehouse Café most commonly host performers. Check the 'What's on this week' section of the Driftwood news for a calendar of events during your stay on Salt Spring.

FOOD

An assortment of eateries can be found throughout Ganges. From casual take-out kiosks to fine dining establishments, there's something for every occasion.

Aside from restaurants, enjoy the local fare by visiting the fishmonger, local bakeries, the saturday market or tuesday's organic foods market in the park, or grabbing some fresh crab from the harbour.

Up for a fun culinary challenge?

Become a 'locavore' for the day and make an event out of creating a full-fledged Salt Spring meal.

There are also two grocery stores and a natural foods store in Ganges to get stocked up on necessities for your stay. Thrifty's Foods and Natureworks are both right in the heart of downtown and Country Grocer is located uptown along Lower-Ganges road.

FUN FOR KIDS

Most youngsters can only take so much of nature hikes, sight-seeing and shopping before getting restless. Here's a few things you can do to entertain the kids in your group.

  • Kanaka Rd. skatepark
  • West of the Moon toy store
  • Glad's ice cream and candy shop
  • Playground at Centennial park
  • Library provides kid's area and computer access (new library currently under construction - August 2012)
  • Rainbow Road swimming pool
  • Movie theatre (okay, this isn't really in Ganges, but it's close)
  • Climbing wall (open Sunday and Thursday evenings only - information at http://www.saltspringcommunityservices.ca/wall/index.htm)

TRANSPORTATION

The visitor's info building is smack-dab in the center of the village, along the main road. It's also the downtown transit stop for the island bus system. (see transit schedule)

ALTERNATIVES

A few ways to avoid the parking conundrum altogether...

» take a taxi
» don your walking shoes
» rent a bike or scooter
» use the transit system

If you're in Ganges on a busy weekend during the high season, parking can be an issue. It may take a bit of circling around to find a spot. Nothing but a small test of will. :)

A spot in the large central parking lot near Thrifty's Foods and Mouat's is ideal. Then you can walk around through Ganges and it's never too far back to the vehicle.

What's that flashing thing?


Downtown Ganges has been thoroughly modernized by the recent addition of a small yellow pedestrian crosswalk light. The only electric traffic light of any sort on the island.

Emergency Services
Ganges is home base for most of our island safety services (Coast Guard, Fire Hall, Search & Rescue, RCMP and Lady Minto Hospital).

A BIT OF HISTORY

The village is named after HMS Ganges II, a 196 foot British Royal Navy flagship, dispatched to the Colony of Vancouver Island in the mid-1800's. For more on the rich history of this island, have a look at... Salt Spring: The Story of an Island by Charles Kahn