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Portland Island
With its cliffs,
protected coves and sandy beaches, Portland Island’s 575 hectares can
be explored through the 10 kilometres of walking trails than run all
along the circumference of the island.
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| Getting to
Portland Island:
Access is by boat or kayak. The
island is located between Salt Spring Island and Sidney on
Vancouver Island.
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There is a lot of vegetation and wildlife
to see—yellow-flowering cacti, arbutus and Garry oaks, mink, river
otters, bald eagles and many more. The underbrush is sparse due to
grazing from feral sheep (which were removed in 1980) and the
island’s indigenous blacktail deer.
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Portland’s history can
also be seen in the fruit trees, roses and garden plants and shell
midden beaches throughout the island. The island was the site of a
First Nations’ village. Hawaiian immigrants who settled on the
island in the 1880s also farmed there.
The island was given to Princess Margaret in 1958 to commemorate her
visit to BC. The island was named after her when she returned the
island to BC as a park in 1967. Today it is part of the Gulf Islands
National Park Reserve.
Amenities:
- walking trails,
- drinking water,
- camping (three campsites: Arbutus
Poine, Shell Beach, Princess Bay),
- toilets,
- picnic tables,
- anchorages (Royal Cove and Princess
Bay).
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