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Where
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Sidney & North Saanich, British Columbia

Sidney's Beacon Ave Pier panorama

Sidney, a charming seaside town of 10,000, is the largest community on the Saanich Peninsula and the commercial centre for the District of North Saanich. The town is aobout 25 kilometres north of Victoria via Hihgway 17, and just 2 kilometres south of Swartz Bay on the eastern shore of the Saanich Peninsula. Sidney got its start in 1894 when the Victoria-Sidney Railway began service (it stopped in 1924).

The “downtown” has lots of shops, marinas, and diving facilities all protected by its breakwater. Beacon Ave is the town’s commercial centre, with a plaza. The more touristy shops tend to be closer to the waterfront. Serious shoppers, though, head down the Pat Bay Highway into Saanich to the Town & Country Shopping Centre.

Beacon Ave Lighthouse Plaza in SidneySidney is also the stop for Washington State Ferries to Anacortes and the San Juan Islands. Just 3 kilometres offshore (and accessible by passenger-only ferry) is the Sidney Spit Marine Park. For those looking for a closer-in marine adventure, take the Sidney Harbour shuttle (250-385-1998) which connects downtown Sidney with the Blue Peter Pub in Tsehum Harbour (on Harbour Road) and then continues to Canoe Bay to the north.

Sidney’s recreation is centred around the water, with a number of beaches and anchorages. Pretty well anytime a street comes year water, there’s a great beach. The best beaches are along Lands End, Deep Cove, Ardmore and Bazan Bay. The best parkland is offshore: you take a short passenger ferry ride to Sidney Spit Provincial Park.

Sidney-Patricia Bay Highway Toll booths approaching Swartz Bay Ferry TerminaNorth Saanich has a couple of great parks including (from north to south) North Hill Regional , McDonald Provincial, Blue Heron, and the largest, John Dean Provincial Park which is home to Mount Newton. Just south of town is the Panorama Leisure Centre, which is the recreational hub of the Saanich Peninsula. The town is home to the Sidney Marine Mammal and Historical Museum. Just west of town is the Sandown Raceway, the Victoria area’s harness racing track. Golfing is west on McTavish Rd at Glen Meadows or Ardmore on the other side of Victoria Airport.

Sidney & North Saanich Attractions

British Columbia Aviation Museum

1910 Norseman Road, North Saanich, V8L 5V5
250-655-3300
Website

This museum on the eastern edge of Victoria International Airport houses a number of World War II planes and bush planes, along with a model airplane exhibit and lots of photographs. Open daily 10 am to 4 pm, mid-April to mid-October, and 11 am to 3 pm the rest of the year. Closed major holidays.

Coles Bay Regional Park

9324 Inverness Rd, North Saanich, BC V8L 5G1
Inverness Rd, off Armore Drive (North Saanich)
250-360-3000
Website

This park, on the western coast of the Saanich Peninsula is mostly wooded parkland, including some 30 metre tall Douglas firs. You can also find other species including salal, Oregon grape and sword fern. Coles Bay offers picnicking areas, forest trails, beautiful scenery, and an expansive beac (with warm summer swimming).

McDonald Provincial Park

10740 McDonald Park Rd, North Saanich, BC V8L 5S5
(250) 654-4000
Website

This 20 hectare park is just a bit shy of the Swartz Bay Ferry Terminal (second traffic light from the Ferry). It has 30 campsites and is a good spot for those arriving on the Island on a late ferry, or for those wishing to catch an early one.

Shaw Centre for the Salish Sea

9811 Seaport Place, Sidney, BC, V8L 4X3
250-665-7511
Website

Rhe Shaw Centre for the Salish Sea offers a fun, interactive and informative experience of science and culture to visitors of all ages – welcoming over 70,000 visitors a year. 35 aquarium habitats featuring more than 160 marine species and 3,500 animals including a giant Pacific octopus and wolf eels and shallow pools to get up close to colourful sea stars, urchins, anemones, and sea cucumbers. Displays include a unique collection of Coast Salish Indigenous art.

Sidney Marine Mammal and Historical Museum

2538 Beacon Ave, (Sidney, near the wharf)
250-656-1322
Website

This museum has Coast Salish and early pioneer artifacts and photos, plus exhibits and animal skeletons discussing the evolution and ecology of local sea mammals like whales, sea lions, seals and sea lions. Open daily in summer, call for winter hours.

Sidney Spit Provincial Marine Park

Saanich Penisula-Deep Cove from SW-Salt Spring Island in background250-478-7411
Website

This 177 hectare park, on Sidney Island 3 km offshore from Sidney, is accessible by foot-passenger ferry from the Sidney Marina at the foot of Beacon Ave. The park features sandy beaches and a pretty lagoon. Its open meadows and forests are home to eagles, herons, waterfowl and herds of fallow deer. The park is open mid-May to late September and has 27 campsites. To the east is Mandarte Island, an important seabird nesting site.

Heritage Acres, Saanich Historical Artifacts Society

7321 Lochside Dr, Saanichton, BC V8M 1W4
(just off Island View Rd)
(250) 652-5522
Website

Located on a 29 acre site, Heritage Acres’s buildings contain a collection of artifacts, blacksmith shop, woodwork shop, sawmill, planer mill, school, church, mechanical shop and a variety of other buildings, one of which is believed to be the oldest building in British Columbia. The farm seen from the Pat Bay Highway grows oats to fund the operation and maintenance of the society. Open September through May 9:30 AM till 12:00 PM daily; June through to the Labour Day weekend 9:30 till 4:30 PM daily.

Swartz Bay Ferry Terminal

11300 Patricia Bay Hwy, Sidney, BC V8L 3S8
1-888-223-3779
Website

Over 7 million passengers a year drive, cycle, or walk on the ferries leaving from here to the Mainland or the Gulf Islands. The road from here to Victoria is the four-lane 80 km/hour Patricia Bay Highway. For a more leisurely drive to (or from Victoria) take the West Saanich Road, which winds along the west coast of the Saanich Peninsula.

Sidney & North Saanich, British Columbia Area Map