Bowen Island Day Trip With a Car: Full Island Itinerary (2026 Local Guide)

This itinerary is built around having your own vehicle, and although everything involved does not require a car, there is no chance you can fit it all in one day without one.

• Getting to Bowen Island with a car is straightforward, but arrive early. Unlike most BC Ferries routes, the Horseshoe Bay to Bowen Island ferry is non-reservable, so you can't book a spot in advance. Instead, vehicles are loaded on a first-come, first-served basis. On summer weekends and holidays the vehicle queue fills up fast, and getting bumped to the next sailing can eat a significant chunk of your day. Aim to arrive at Horseshoe Bay at least 30 to 45 minutes before your target sailing. If you're flexible, an early morning departure will almost always get you on without a wait.
• Don't forget to plan your return sailing the same way. It's easy to lose track of time on Bowen and suddenly realize it's 9 pm on a Sunday with half the island trying to get home at once. The return queue at Snug Cove can back up just as badly as the outbound queue at Horseshoe Bay and sometimes worse, because everyone tends to leave around the same time. Build a buffer into your day so you're not rushing back to the ferry dock and potentially waiting through multiple sailings to get home.
• Fuel up before you go. Gas on Bowen is limited and expensive. Fill the tank in West Vancouver before you hit Horseshoe Bay. The island is small, so you won't go through too much.
• Pack food and water for the trail. There are no shops near the trailheads or remote beaches. Load up at a grocery store or grab snacks from The Ruddy in Snug Cove before you head out. I love The Ruddy (a great little grocery store in Snug Cove), but it definitely has island prices. It's not too overpriced, and I find it to be a fun visit whenever I'm in town, but if you're thinking purely strategically about cheaper snacks, I would suggest loading up a cooler in the city.

Drive to Horseshoe Bay in West Vancouver and join the vehicle queue for BC Ferries. Unlike most BC Ferries routes, there are no reservations on the Bowen Island route. Just show up, join the queue, and wait for the next available sailing. When you pull up to the booth your can pay for your sailing. The ferry is free on the way back so you're paying the round-trip fare (which was around $60 CAD when I last did the sailing in Spring 2026). Once you've paid, a staff member will direct you into a numbered lane and you will either board straight away or after a short wait. The crossing to Snug Cove takes about 20 minutes, and on a clear morning the views of Howe Sound are worth getting out of your car and up to the sundeck for.

Aim to be rolling off the ferry in Snug Cove by 8:30 or 9:00 AM.

8:30 AM: Quick Coffee in Snug Cove

Don't linger too long here, because you've got a big day ahead and the best stuff is further afield. Grab a coffee and something to eat at Snug Cafe or pick up a pastry and a drink to go from The Ruddy. Stock up on snacks and water for the hike while you're at it, because there's nothing at the trailhead.

You'll be back in Snug Cove for lunch, so save the full exploration of the village for later.

For context, Snug Cove is the main town, and you roll off the ferry and right onto its main strip. It has some nice restaurants and cafes and a great vibe all day, but I prefer it in the evening when everything is open, and the pub's patio has filled up.

9:15 AM: Hike Mount Gardner via SW Ridge

This is the hike on the Island that I think makes the whole day trip worth it, and if you're visiting with your own car, you can start from the much better SW Ridge trailhead. This is the Google Maps pin for the trailhead, but if you forget to save it, just remember that the parking lot is just past Riley's Cidery.

The trail from this point is 6 km round-trip with 535 m of elevation gain. It's steeper and shorter than the main trail on the other side of the mountain, but it actually has less overall elevation gain, so it's a bit easier.

We were up and down in around 3 hours, but we also had 2 eager dogs with us to speed us along, so you should budget for up to 4 if you think you'll be stopping to catch your breath a lot. 

At the top, two helicopter pads are the unofficial summit viewpoints. One looks out to the Sunshine Coast stretching west; the other faces Vancouver, where the city sits small and distant across the water, the North Shore mountains towering behind it and the Sea to Sky Highway just a thin grey thread along the hillside. 

I find it so satisfying when you do a day trip where you visually see where you came from and the road and water you crossed to get where you are now.

There are no natural water sources and no washrooms or other facilities at the top or at the trailhead, so make sure you pack everything ahead of time. 

Also, be mindful of weather conditions because this is a challenging hike if there isn't going to be a view. If the visibility is poor, consider swapping this hike with a walk around Killarney Lake or hiking down to Dorman Point. These are both shorter hikes with less elevation, so you can definitely take a bit longer with your morning coffee if you opt for this option.

1:00 PM: Lunch and Explore Snug Cove

Time for my favourite part of every hike. The part where I try to find my car keys buried in my backpack and start talking about whether we should go somewhere new or just hit the pub.

The pub is great, but you actually have lots of options in town.

• Branch on Bowen does tacos on the water.
• Tuscany Restaurant is the pick for pizza and pasta on the garden patio (check hours, because they're limited and only open in the evenings for part of the year.)
• Bowen Island Pub is the best spot for cold beer and typical pub food.

If you're visiting on a Saturday in summer, the Bowen Island Farmers Market runs right near the ferry terminal and turns Snug Cove into a proper little festival village, with fresh produce, homemade bread, crafts, and usually live music. It's the biggest crowd I've ever seen on Bowen, and it's a great scene.

A full exploration of Snug Cove is essentially just a walk from Branch on Bowen up to the Ruddy, so if your legs are pooped from the hike, don't worry, because you will get the idea from whatever lunch stop you chose.

2:30 PM: Wander Artisan Square

After eating and resting your legs, head up to Artisan Square, just uphill from the main hub. Here you will find studios, galleries, a chocolate shop, and a café filling a quiet courtyard. It's a quick detour on the way to our next stop that gives you a feel for the creative community that lives and works on the island year-round.

This was our go-to place to work from a coffee shop when we were staying on the island, but that's really not what today is about. So this will probably just be a quick stop to check it out, but I think it's interesting enough to be worth the visit, especially if you load up with a to-go coffee and some baked goods for the beach!

3:00 PM: Afternoon at Bowen Bay Beach

Drive out to Bowen Bay Beach on the west side of the island for the best beach on Bowen. The water is calm and clean, the sand is soft, and the views look out to Pasley Island and then Vancouver Island further in the distance.

There is lots of parking right by the path down to the beach, but by this time in the afternoon, you're probably going to need to park in the spots just a bit up the road. If you get to a hairpin turn that goes straight up a hill, you've gone too far, and there is no more parking up that way.

A highlight of the beach for me is the two floating docks to swim out to. Although one claims to be a private dock, we ignored the signage and hung out on that one anyway, and no one seemed to mind. Drying out on the floating dock and then needing to dive back in to swim to shore to get another sparkling water is a BC summer sensation that's been burned into my brain. 11/10 would recommend it.

The beach is best at high tide, but swimmable at low tide too. If your feet are sensitive, watershoes help for wading out across the rocks, shells and seaweed, but they're definitely not necessary. 

We've had a few evening plans cancelled from this beach when we just couldn't tear ourselves away. Around 5, check in with yourself and who you're travelling with. Are you wanting another session in the sun on the floating dock, a nap in the sand, or are you ready to move on? I'd say by now you've done all my favourite things on the Island, so if you're feeling like lounging, just lean into it.

5:00 PM: Cider at Bowen Island Cider House

If you've had enough sun and sand, hit the road heading back toward Snug Cove, and stop off at Bowen Island Cider House on the way for small-batch cider, a sunny patio, Muskoka chairs, and yard games. The tasting room is relaxed and unpretentious, and the afternoon sun hits the patio at exactly the right angle this time of day.

We ended up here for my sister's birthday, and we had a great time. I'm not really a cider drinker, but when in Rome, right? And maybe I secretly am a big cider fan because I loved it. We all did, actually, and it was a great time just roaming around the property and getting a bit too competitive with my younger sisters in a game of cornhole. 

The cider is tasty and refreshing after all that time in the sun, but it's probably best if the driver sticks to their non-alcoholic cider (which is essentially just really good apple juice). The cider sneaks up on you, and if you're adding that on top of a big hike and roasting on the beach, it might be a bad idea since you still need to get back to the city tonight.

6:30 PM: Sunset at Lighthouse Lane Park or Tunstall Bay

This is when having a car really pays off and makes the extra ferry cost worth it. Two of the best sunset spots on Bowen are only really accessible by car, especially if you still need to get the ferry that night.

Lighthouse Lane Park is the most dramatic option. Time it with high tide if you can, when the coves fill in and the bigger waves splash all the way up onto the little lighthouse.

The coastline walk between Lighthouse Lane and Collingwood Lane Park is stunning: tidepools, driftwood, rocky points where the trees lean over the ocean. It's flat, photogenic, and the sunset light is incredible.

Tunstall Bay is the other classic. It's a quieter west-facing bay where the sun sets directly over the water, turning everything pink and orange. 

We used to take our dogs here whenever we could in the evening, and even though I don't think their little eyes could really see the impressive colours, they went absolutely wild for it as soon as they realized the direction we were driving.

8:00 PM: Ferry Home

The timing for this one is a bit tricky, depending on the ferry schedule and time of year. Ideally, you can watch the sunset and then head straight for the ferry and catch the next ride back to the mainland. But the sun sets really late at the peak of the summer, and you don't want to miss the last boat back.

Watch as much of the sunset as you can and then head back to Snug Cove and join the vehicle queue. Give yourself more time than you think you need, because it's easy to be later than planned at the end of a good day.

The ride back is about 20 minutes and a bit less interesting in the dark, but it does give you the chance to have your perfunctory "should we just move here" conversation.

If you like the sounds of this itinerary, then yes, for sure it is. You will fit a lot more into your day and get to see some of the best parts of Bowen that are a real challenge to see on foot. 

The car-free version of a Bowen day trip is cheaper, lower-stress, and still genuinely excellent. But if you want the SW Ridge hike, Tunstall Bay at sunset, and a proper afternoon at Bowen Bay Beach without relying on bus schedules, then having a car makes all of that easy and opens up the full island.

If you're on the fence, check out our car-free Bowen Island day trip guide and see which itinerary fits your day better.

Leaving the car behind? We also have a guide for a Bowen Island day trip without a car that is a different itinerary built entirely around walking, transit, and using Snug Cove as your home base.

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