Protection Island is a small island located 1.5 kilometres northeast of downtown Nanaimo, in Nanaimo Harbour. Part of the City of Nanaimo, Protection has about 360 properties, all connected to municipal water and sewer. The island offers peace and relaxation with many city amenities, including a community dock, boat launch ramp, fire station, community garden, and community hall with a library and museum. Protection is also home to Canada’s only floating pub, the Dinghy Dock. It’s reachable via a short ferry ride that operates 365 days a year, weather permitting. For information about Protection Island, contact your REALTOR, or visit www.protectionisland.ca.

Read Island is part of the Discovery Islands chain, tucked between Quadra Island and Cortes Island. Off the beaten track, Read has no ferry service and is accessible by private boat or water taxi. Evans Bay forms a large inlet on the island’s east side, from which you can take the only road to the post office in Surge Narrows. Around 80 people live year-round on Read Island. For information about Read Island, contact your REALTOR, or visit www.bcparks.ca/read-island-park.

Ruxton Island is directly across the water from Cedar and Yellow Point, just south of Nanaimo. This rural gem is one of six islands in the De Courcy Islands Group. Bylaws have prevented the large-scale construction of docks, which means that most residents must anchor in one of the sheltered spots around the island and use a dinghy or other small craft to reach shore. Ruxton has around seven year-round and 110 seasonal residents. For information about Ruxton Island, contact your REALTOR, or visit www.bcparks.ca/read-island-park.

Sointula, a Finnish word meaning harmony, is a small, picturesque fishing village on Malcolm Island with a fascinating history. Beginning as a Utopian colony in the early 1900s, Sointula was founded by a Finnish playwright named Matti Kurikka, who led disgruntled Finnish coal miners from Nanaimo out of their pits and into the northern wilderness. This charmingly rustic harbour town is a 25-minute ferry ride from Port McNeill. Around 500 people live in Sointula year-round. For information about Sointula, contact your REALTOR, or visit www.bcparks.ca/read-island-park.

Thetis Island is an island and unincorporated community off British Columbia’s coast, between Vancouver Island and Galiano Island. Entirely privately owned, except for nine miles of public roads and 12 miles of public shoreline, the island is mainly forested, with some farmlands, meadows, and wetlands. Lying in the rain shadow of Vancouver Island, Thetis has a Mediterranean climate, with mild winters and warm, dry summers. As of 2021, the year-round population was around 475. A fascinating bit of geographic history is that Thetis and Kuper Island (now Penalakut Island) were joined by mud flats until 1905, when a passage now called Canoe Pass was dredged to allow the passage of boat traffic. For information about Thetis Island, contact your REALTOR, or visit www.thetisisland.net/.

Valdes Island is situated in the Strait of Georgia across Porlier Pass from Galiano Island. Two campsites, abundant wildlife, and unusual sandstone geology make Valdes a popular destination for recreational kayaking and camping. The island has historically been the site of several human settlements; at Shingle Point, Valdes shows evidence of human habitation from at least 5,000 years ago in the form of approximately 60 archeological sites. There are few permanent residents on Valdes, and one-third of the island is set aside for the Lyackson First Nation. For information about Valdes Island, contact your REALTOR, or visit www.bcparks.ca/read-island-park.

Alert Bay is a village on Cormorant Island, near Port McNeill on northeast Vancouver Island. This harbourside community was the traditional summer village home for the ‘Namgis First Nation before European settlers arrived in the 1860s to establish a salmon saltery and regional trading centre. Today, Alert Bay is a well-known centre for the powerful resurgence of Native culture. It hosts some of the region’s finest historical and cultural artifacts, First Nations paintings, and totem poles. Cormorant Island has a diverse population of approximately 1,300, while Alert Bay is home to about 475 people. For information about Alert Bay, contact your REALTOR, or visit www.alertbay.ca.

De Courcy Island is approximately 16 kilometres southeast of Nanaimo and about 38 kilometres southwest of Vancouver. The heavily forested island has retained its charm and privacy due to its boat-access status and simple, residential-only development. Decourcy has no services, with most residents using a combination of generators, solar panels, and wind turbines to provide their power. Residents obtain water via wells or rainwater collection. About 20 people live full-time on De Courcy, but the population swells on weekends and during the summer. For information about De Courcy Island, contact your REALTOR, or visit www.decourcyisland.com.

Denman Island (Indigenous name Taystay’ich) is one of the Northern Gulf Islands, separated from Vancouver Island by narrow Baynes Sound. Denman is fertile, low-lying, and lush; its sandstone and gravel shores teem with life. Known for its pastoral farmlands and talented artisans, the island’s year-round population of approximately 1,300 full-time residents is an eclectic mix of artists, farmers, retirees, and progressive-minded people seeking a rural lifestyle. BC Ferries operates a vehicle and passenger scheduled ferry service from Buckley Bay to Denman Island. There is also a connecting ferry to nearby Hornby Island. For information about Denman Island, contact your REALTOR, or visit www.visitdenmanisland.ca.

Gabriola Island is about five kilometres east of Nanaimo on Vancouver Island, linked by a 20-minute ferry service. This rural Gulf Island has a diverse creative culture, vibrant community, and abundant natural beauty comprising dense forests, sandstone bluffs, and an iconic West Coast shoreline. With a resident population of 4,500, Gabriola is home to over 200 artists and artisans and over 70 art galleries and studios. While many of Gabriola’s residents are retired, many also commute daily to Nanaimo for work. Part of the Islands Trust, Gabriola is situated on the traditional and unceded territory of the Snuneymuxw First Nation. For information about Gabriola Island, contact your REALTOR, or visit www.hellogabriola.ca.

Hornby Island is situated in the traditional territory of the K’ómoks First Nation, who called the island Ja-dai-aich. Located off the coast of Vancouver Island, Hornby boasts white sandy beaches, towering stands of Douglas fir, expansive cliff-top views, and parks crisscrossed with mountain biking trails. Starting with the K’ómoks, a broad spectrum of people has been drawn to Hornby: farmers, fishermen, American draft resisters, artists, writers, and those seeking a slower pace of life. Each group has added its own flavour to the island’s diverse culture. Property owners are required to follow Island Trust bylaws in developing and maintaining their lands. Getting to Hornby is via a connecting ferry from nearby Denman Island. For information about Hornby Island, contact your REALTOR, or visit www.hornbyisland.com.

Largely undeveloped, Lasqueti Island is a remote community about 50 miles northwest of Vancouver, home to around 400 self-reliant homesteaders who enjoy its mild climate and relative isolation. Services are limited, and a passenger-only ferry connects Lasqueti to the community of French Creek on Vancouver Island, near Parksville. Since the ferry carries no cars, getting around on the mostly unpaved roads is by taxi, on foot, or on a bicycle. Lasqueti’s name is Xweh et tay in several Coast Salish Indigenous languages, meaning “yew tree.” The island is about 12 miles long and three miles wide, the same size and shape as Manhattan. For information about Lasqueti Island, contact your REALTOR, or visit www.lasqueti.ca.

Mudge Island lies between Gabriola Island and Vancouver Island. Although only eight kilometres from Nanaimo, Mudge has no BC Ferries service, so the only access is by private boat. However, if you’re lucky enough to own waterfront property on Mudge, you can fly in by floatplane from Nanaimo or Vancouver. Development is entirely residential, with no stores or retail businesses on Mudge. However, many residents operate small businesses such as backhoe operations, lumber milling, tree topping and falling, and various types of construction. The island has about 60 year-round residents and a summer population of over 200. For information about Mudge Island, contact your REALTOR, or visit www.mudge.ca:85/about-mudge-island.

Protection Island is a small island located 1.5 kilometres northeast of downtown Nanaimo, in Nanaimo Harbour. Part of the City of Nanaimo, Protection has about 360 properties, all connected to municipal water and sewer. The island offers peace and relaxation with many city amenities, including a community dock, boat launch ramp, fire station, community garden, and community hall with a library and museum. Protection is also home to Canada’s only floating pub, the Dinghy Dock. It’s reachable via a short ferry ride that operates 365 days a year, weather permitting. For information about Protection Island, contact your REALTOR, or visit www.protectionisland.ca.

Quadra Island is the central community of the Discovery Islands, a group of small islands located along the Inside Passage seaway. The largest and most populated of the Discovery Islands, Quadra is home to a lively, close-knit community from all walks of life and all parts of the world. The area has stunning natural beauty, beaches, parks, wildlife, and endless adventure-recreation opportunities. Quadra Island has three primary communities: Quathiaski Cove, Heriot Bay, and Cape Mudge (Yuculta), home to the We Wai Kai band of the Kwakwak’awakw (Kwagiulth) First Nation. Quadra has around 2,700 year-round residents, most of whom live on the island’s southern half. For information about Quadra Island, contact your REALTOR, or visit www.quadraisland.ca.

Read Island is part of the Discovery Islands chain, tucked between Quadra Island and Cortes Island. Off the beaten track, Read has no ferry service and is accessible by private boat or water taxi. Evans Bay forms a large inlet on the island’s east side, from which you can take the only road to the post office in Surge Narrows. Around 80 people live year-round on Read Island. For information about Read Island, contact your REALTOR, or visit www.bcparks.ca/read-island-park.

Ruxton Island is directly across the water from Cedar and Yellow Point, just south of Nanaimo. This rural gem is one of six islands in the De Courcy Islands Group. Bylaws have prevented the large-scale construction of docks, which means that most residents must anchor in one of the sheltered spots around the island and use a dinghy or other small craft to reach shore. Ruxton has around seven year-round and 110 seasonal residents. For information about Ruxton Island, contact your REALTOR, or visit www.bcparks.ca/read-island-park.

Sointula, a Finnish word meaning harmony, is a small, picturesque fishing village on Malcolm Island with a fascinating history. Beginning as a Utopian colony in the early 1900s, Sointula was founded by a Finnish playwright named Matti Kurikka, who led disgruntled Finnish coal miners from Nanaimo out of their pits and into the northern wilderness. This charmingly rustic harbour town is a 25-minute ferry ride from Port McNeill. Around 500 people live in Sointula year-round. For information about Sointula, contact your REALTOR, or visit www.bcparks.ca/read-island-park.

Thetis Island is an island and unincorporated community off British Columbia’s coast, between Vancouver Island and Galiano Island. Entirely privately owned, except for nine miles of public roads and 12 miles of public shoreline, the island is mainly forested, with some farmlands, meadows, and wetlands. Lying in the rain shadow of Vancouver Island, Thetis has a Mediterranean climate, with mild winters and warm, dry summers. As of 2021, the year-round population was around 475. A fascinating bit of geographic history is that Thetis and Kuper Island (now Penalakut Island) were joined by mud flats until 1905, when a passage now called Canoe Pass was dredged to allow the passage of boat traffic. For information about Thetis Island, contact your REALTOR, or visit www.thetisisland.net/.

Valdes Island is situated in the Strait of Georgia across Porlier Pass from Galiano Island. Two campsites, abundant wildlife, and unusual sandstone geology make Valdes a popular destination for recreational kayaking and camping. The island has historically been the site of several human settlements; at Shingle Point, Valdes shows evidence of human habitation from at least 5,000 years ago in the form of approximately 60 archeological sites. There are few permanent residents on Valdes, and one-third of the island is set aside for the Lyackson First Nation. For information about Valdes Island, contact your REALTOR, or visit www.bcparks.ca/read-island-park.