5 Amazing Things to Do on Pender Island in the Winter
My family and I recently had the opportunity to escape to Pender Island for a weekend. It was a wonderful way to relax and have fun before the busy holiday season was upon us (and it is definitely now upon us). I have written about things to do on Pender Island before here and here. But I had never been in the winter season and it was great to see that there was still so much to do. It was also wonderful to be able to visit some of the parks and natural areas as well. This list is in no particular order and is not inclusive of all the amazing things we did while we were there, but I think that it includes enough that it would make a weekend trip or even a day trip full of experiences for anyone else.
We stayed at the amazing Woods on Pender resort, which I am not including on the list. I know that they are closing soon for the winter months and reopen in early spring. If you are looking for a place to stay between late March and early December though, I would highly recommend it, it is so peaceful and each of the different trailers is so unique. Okay to the list!
1. Pender Chocolates
One of the best parts of going to Pender Chocolates is not even the chocolate, but the drive to get there. Located in Hope Bay, you need to cross the island, going past many farms and forests before you arrive at this beautiful little harbour. Once you are there, you definitely need to walk down on the dock and enjoy the views out towards Mayne and Saturna Islands. Of course, you still need to go into Pender Chocolates. They have an absolutely dizzying array of chocolate creations that you can choose from. If you are not in the mood for chocolate, you can also get an espresso or a cappuccino. On a cold winter’s day, Pender Chocolates is a great place to warm up, get a treat, and enjoy the views.
2. Roesland
Yes, I spelt that correctly. Roesland is a part of the Gulf Islands National Park. It was at one time owned by the Roe family and this was the name of their farm. Afterward, it became a cabin resort for many years. Now that it is part of the national park, it a beautiful spot to visit. It is also home to the Pender Islands Museum that despite having been here at least three times, I have never managed to have it coincide with being able to go in for a visit. When we were here recently we had a nice picnic. If you time the tides right you can also hop across the beach to Roe Islet which is a beautiful little natural island that has a path across it that leads to a bench and a lookout. This visit out timing was off and there was no way I was going to wade across. Still with the abandoned cabins, the sea views, the old orchard, and the peace and quiet, Roesland is one of my favourite places to stop on Pender Island. Hopefully, next time the museum will be open as well.
3. Sea Star Vineyard
Pender Island has a winery?! Yes it does, and Sea Star Vineyards is actually a very good BC winery. I have been there a couple of times now and have enjoyed myself each time. On this last visit I did a tasting that included only white wines where all of the grapes were grown on Pender Island. While all of them were good, a couple of them were absolutely delicious. I know that you can get Sea Star wines at Vessel Liquor Store in Victoria if you would like to try one. I would recommend the Stella Maris 2022, it was absolutely delicious. Having a bottle in Victoria is great, but it is even better to visit the winery in person. The vineyard is a bit a distance from the main shopping centre on the island, however well worth the trip. The winery itself with its stunning setting and beautiful architecture are worth the visit on their own. Whatever image you have of what a Gulf Island wine tasting room would look like, I assure you, Sea Star will surprise you. I was very interested to hear that they actually have had some success in growing Pinot Noir grapes on the upper reaches of their winery. They have apparently casked a bunch from this year, so we may actually have a home grown red from the Gulf Islands in the next couple of years. I will definitely have to go back and find out.
4. Shingle Bay
One of the popular places for people to camp within the Gulf Islands National Park, especially if you are getting there by kayak, is Shingle Bay. Located as the crow flies, quite close to Roesland, but from an access perspective it is quite a distance. If you are visiting Roesland in the off season, you can keep going along the same road and near the end you can hike down an access road to the campground and beach that make up Shingle Bay. For this visit, we drove through the Magic Lake Estates, past Buck Lake to the southern access point for Shingle Bay. There is a pretty direct trail or you can do one that climbs the hill up past Roe Lake (yes the same naming as Roesland, Roe Islet…). We took the direct trail and it was a fairly easy fifteen minute hike to get to Shingle Bay. Once you are there you get to walk through the campground, and I will say, I have only ever seen it in the colder months with no one using it. That may have created a more enchanting picture of what it is like than when it is full of campers, but the set of sites all under an old orchard are lovely. The beach itself sits on a beautiful little bay, at one time there was a cannery located here and you can still see some of the bricks and other bits of industrial remnants from that time. At low tide you can sometimes walk out to a little island, though that was not a possibility on this visit. Again, I don’t know what it is like in the high season, but in the winter Shingle Bay has to be one of the most beautiful spots on the Pender Islands.
5. The Copper Otter
Compared with downtown Victoria, your options for going out in the evening are a little more limited on Pender Island. That said, of the three places I have been to, the limited number of places has not impacted their quality. In my recent visits I have been to Coffee + Kitchen at the Woods Resort, the Port Browning Pub and now the Copper Otter. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend visiting any of them. On our most recent trip, we had dinner at the Copper Otter. The Copper Otter is located in the main shopping plaza for the Pender Islands. This is where you will find almost all of the services on the island (though not all to be clear). The plaza has the main grocery store, lots of shops including a great bookstore, a wonderful bakery and cafe and the Copper Otter. When we got there for our very early reservation, I assumed that the place would be quiet even though it was Friday night, but no it was hopping! There were quite a few locals sitting at the bar and a number of the tables were already taken by people having an early dinner. We almost exclusively opted for burgers and I can say that the smashburgers at the Copper Otter are some of the best I have ever had. I am not sure where in Victoria is doing smash burgers, but they are quite the thing especially in the eastern US right now. I went for the triple (hopefully my NP isn’t reading) and it was amazing. If you want to get a sense of the local community and enjoy some amazing food, a visit to the Copper Otter is definitely in order.
This is a very short list, I didn’t get into art galleries, frisbee golf or any of the longer hiking trails, I didn’t even mention the amazing Saturday Market which is a definite must stop… So this is really just a starting point which just goes to show what a great place to visit the Penders are even in the winter. If you have a favourite place to see that I left off the list, please make sure to leave a link in the comments!
(A few more photos from my last trip)
