Horseshoe Bay Guide

Horseshoe Bay Ferry Port

Found on the shores of a ragged protrusion at the edge of West Vancouver is the picturesque community of Horseshoe Bay. This rural slice of Canada sits in a niche between heavily-wooded, evergreen hills and surrounds a calm inlet of the Howe Sound; an expanse of sea that cuts a triangular chunk out of the British Columbia mainland. Most of the village stretches along a charming promenade. Here one can take a stroll upon the spring-green lawns of Horseshoe Bay park and watch the yachts bob gently between the jetties of the busy marina. Deeper inland, where the grid of tree-lined streets start to rise towards the rolling heartland, the village is moulded by a mishmash of boutique shops, family-owned restaurants, and an eclectic collection of quaint local households. The port of Horseshoe Bay is found on the eastern edge of the bay, just to one side of Sewell’s Marina. This sprawling facility is located at the end of the extensive Trans-Canada Highway where a trio of departure piers jut into the glistening waters of the inlet. The ferry terminal is found at the foot of these piers. Facilities here include a streamlined check-in service featuring self-service ticket machines, a small car-park and vending machines selling soft drinks. Travelling to and from the port is easy due to its prime location at the end of the Trans-Canada Highway and its close proximity to the central district of Vancouver city. The city centre is less than a half-hour drive south along the highway, a route that is also traversed by buses leaving from the Bay Street terminal located just a few steps outside the port entrance. Route 99, otherwise known as the Sea to Sky Highway, also heads north along the curving Howe Sound shoreline. It’s a stunning route that snakes along the base of the region’s coastal mountains and between the vast swathe of emerald woodland, heading towards the group of small settlements found there.