Salish-Sea Trail – Salt Spring Section: From Vision to Investment
A three-metre-wide, separated walking and cycling pathway linking Fulford Harbour and Vesuvius Bay — and connecting Salt Spring with the multi-use trail networks of Victoria and the Cowichan Valley — represents one of the smartest local investments our island can make today.
Island Pathways is working with residents, business owners, and government partners to make this vision real.
Today, there’s just one major gap left in that loop: Salt Spring Island. The new Salt Spring Island Regional Trail Feasibility Study maps a 21 km route from Fulford Harbour through Ganges to Vesuvius Bay, with recommended designs and cost estimates for each segment.
Why Now?
After more than fifty years of advocacy, the Capital Regional District (CRD) Regional Parks Board will this month be presented with a preliminary design and feasibility study for a multi-use pathway stretching along Fulford-Ganges Road, Lower Ganges Road, and Vesuvius Bay Road.
This is the moment to show our support — to turn half a century of vision into real progress.
Upcoming Key Meetings
- Nov 20, 2025 — Salt Spring Local Community Commission (~9:30am at SIMS): Encourage their motion for Letter of Support.
- Nov 26, 2025 — CRD Regional Parks Committee (9:30am, Victoria): Submit letters of support.
- Dec 10, 2025 — CRD Board of Directors (12:10pm, Victoria): Join Island Pathways as an in-person delegation.
- Dec 11, 2025 — Salt Spring Local Community Commission (9am, at SIMS): Attend in person and bring petition signatures!
We believe design work should begin in 2026, not later.
Every year of delay increases costs and risks losing provincial and federal matching funds.
Project Status and Next Steps
- 2024: CRD Regional Parks assumes consultant contract for the feasibility study.
- 2025: Preliminary design and feasibility report completed (cross-sections, alignment, right-of-ways, cost estimates).
- 2027–28: $630,000 CRD design funding currently scheduled.
- 2029–30: Construction funding identified.
- Our Goal: Move design start to 2026 and achieve shovel-ready status by 2027–28 through community fundraising and partnerships.
Benefit$ to Salt Spring
This project isn’t just about paving a path — it’s about building prosperity, safety, and long-term resilience.
- Return on Investment: Multi-use trails across BC yield 3–6× their cost.
- Tourism Impact: Cycle tourists spend ~$130/day — about 40% more than car visitors — and often stay longer.
- Health & Safety: Every $1 spent on active transportation adds $2–$3 in public-health value and reduces injuries and emissions.
- Community Connection: Encourages face-to-face interaction and equitable access for all ages and abilities.
- Climate Action: Supports Transition Salt Spring’s Climate Action Plan by reducing short car trips and ferry congestion.
Islands Are Doing This Now
Neighbouring Pender Island has already shown what’s possible when communities act first.
The Pender Island community raised over $140,000, contributed in-kind materials as matching funds, and leveraged that into regional funding for Phase 1 of the Schooner Way Trail — 1.2 km is now complete.
Their proactive approach got shovels in the ground. Salt Spring can do the same.
Get Involved
- 🖊️ Sign the Petition: Add your name
- ✉️ Write a Letter: Use this template to email or print a letter for CRD Regional Parks.
- 💰 Donate or Sponsor: Adopt a metre of trail or support early design work.
- 📅 Attend a Meeting: Show up or send letters for Nov 26, Dec 10, and Dec 11.
- 📣 Share: Post the petition link and meeting dates on social media and community boards.
A connected, safe pathway linking our ferries and village core.
A Pathway Vision Within Reach
This project has been a long time coming. Generations of islanders have laid the foundation for what we can now complete.
The Fulford–Vesuvius multi-use pathway isn’t just a transportation upgrade — it’s a legacy investment in our island’s safety, economy, and future, connecting ferry terminals, villages, people, and parks.
A pathway across Salt Spring isn’t a dream — it’s a smart investment, and it’s within reach.
This project is advancing thanks to the Salish Sea Trail Network (SSTN) Working Group, which has been meeting since 2021 to advance safer cycling along Salt Spring’s main route from Fulford to Vesuvius, as part of a larger regional trail network. This group was chaired by MLA Adam Olsen and includes CRD Director Gary Holman, CRD Local Commissioner Gayle Baker, Islands Trustee Laura Patrick, the Office of MP Elizabeth May, and representatives from Island Pathways and Transition Salt Spring and the local Ferry Commission. In 2023, the group, via Island Pathways, secured Federal funding to advance this work through public events, advocacy, planning and design. Now that the preliminary design study is complete, MLA Rob Botterell has committed to chairing this Working Group to further advance the trail.
For deep background on the past fifty years of advocacy for such a trail, please see Brenda Guiled’s “How to Build a Bikeway Through Salt Spring Island“, 2017, 50-page booklet created from PowerPoint presentation.