Savouring the summertime on Salt Spring Island

SO MUCH TO SEE: It’s hard to be bored on the largest of the Southern Gulf Islands

Salt Spring Island is the big daddy of the Southern Gulf Islands — it’s the largest of the chain in size and population.

For Vancouver or Victoria residents looking for a quick getaway, it’s an easy hour-long ferry ride away.

But those aren’t the island’s biggest selling points.

There is so much to do on Salt Spring that you’d have to work hard to be bored, whether you’re there for a weekend or a week.

The public markets in Ganges, Salt Spring’s biggest town, are a huge draw for residents and visitors.

The Saturday market, which runs from early April to the end of October, features locally made crafts as well as produce, cheese and other island fare.

And the Tuesday farmers market, which runs from June to the end of October, doubles down on the locally raised produce and flowers.

But what else is there to keep you busy when you’re on island time? If you’re into art, there’s a lot to see. Salt Spring is home to as many as 500 working artists out of a population of about 10,000, according to artist Ron Crawford, a member of the Salt Spring Arts Council, who took me on a gallery crawl in Ganges.

We started in Grace Point Square mall at the Fault Line Projects gallery and met artist Stefanie Denz, whose contemporary work was the subject of a recent show.

Then we popped next door to Gallery 8 and Steffich Fine Art, which primarily show the work of island artists, and across the street to the Pegasus gallery, which carries everything from First Nations pieces to Group of Seven works.

Later, I was lucky enough to spend the night at one of the two guest cottages at Gallery B&B, on the same property as a gallery run by former Vancouver bookseller Celia Duthie and her husband Nick Hunt.

“Artists often feel like they’re working in a vacuum, but I’ve never felt that here,” says Crawford, whose monumental mural Once Upon a Time, which incorporates opening lines from 49 novels, hangs in the lobby of Ganges’ four-year-old public library.

For the athletically inclined, there is a wide range of hiking and biking trails throughout the island, ranging from easy to challenging.

At the easy end of the spectrum is the short hike to Burgoyne Bay, where a pair of “welcome poles” crafted by members of the local Cowichan First Nation and raised last summer, face the sea to greet visitors to the island. You can also rent kayaks or bikes to explore the island from the Salt Spring Adventure Company in Ganges.

If that worked up an appetite, you’re in luck — Salt Spring’s reputation as a food lovers’ destination is growing.

One of the newest arrivals is the Olive Farm in the Fulford Valley, in the southern half of the island. Sheri and George Braun didn’t listen to the naysayers who told them the island didn’t have the right climate to grow olives.

They harvested and pressed their first crop in late 2016 and hope to produce 1,000 litres of olive oil in their first year of operation.

Another newcomer is Salt Spring Wild, which produces seven varieties of apple cider, including a classic French-style semi-dry and a hopped apricot one. It’s a natural for Salt Spring, which grows more than 450 varieties of apples.

And Salt Spring Shine distillery cranked out its first batch of vodka made with B.C.-grown wheat in early January. David Wood, a former Torontonian, is a veteran island food-maker. He fell in love with Salt Spring about 20 years ago and started Salt Spring Island Cheese. Before you step into the shop to sample some of the 15 varieties of goat cheese, flavoured with everything from truffles to lemon, take a stroll through the open-air barn to meet some of the resident goats.

Garry Oaks Winery and Salt Spring Vineyards, both in the Fulford Valley, have tasting rooms where you can sip before you buy. And the island isn’t immune from the craft-brewery craze that is going strong in Vancouver and Victoria. Salt Spring Island Ales is struggling to keep up with demand for its inventive beers, which include Earl Grey IPA and Crème Brulée Vanilla Stout.

Restaurants on the island range from the casual (Auntie Pesto’s for hearty sandwiches and pastas) to fine dining (Hastings House specializes in local lamb and seafood in a Relais & Chateaux property).

And you haven’t lived until you’ve had a cinnamon bun from Barb’s Bun in Ganges — grab one before you hop on the ferry to go home.

— JOANNE BLAIN Sheri Braun and her husband George took a risk in growing olives on Salt Spring, and it paid off with their first pressing of oil in late 2016.