Getting to Stowel Lake Farm
Passport
If you are traveling to us from outside of Canada, please take into consideration that you will need a valid passport to come here (even if you are traveling from the U.S.).
Arrival & Departure
Arrival and check-in is 3pm-5pm on the first day of your retreat. Departure is after lunch at 1pm on the last day (all participants must be off the premises by 1:30pm).
Retreat Center Address
Stowel Lake Farm
190 Reynolds Road
Salt Spring Island, B.C.
Canada, V8K 1Y2
Travel & Shuttle Service
Below are the main options for getting to Salt Spring Island. The best option will depend on where you are coming from, how you are traveling, and your budget. If you have specific travel questions that are not answered on this page, please email chris@risingfalling.co.
If you are flying, once you are on the island, Stowel Lake Farm offers complimentary shuttle service from two different island locations that will be coordinated with the 3-5pm check-in window. Details on that are included in the “Flying + Ferry” section below.
Getting Here: Flying + Ferry
Below are what we consider to be the three best flight/ferry options to consider.
1 - Fly to Vancouver Airport (YVR) | Take the Seaplane to Ganges (Salt Spring Island) | Grab the free shuttle from Ganges to Stowel Lake Farm or take a cab.
This option will mostly likely result in the least amount of travel time (in some cases, #2 will be pretty close though). It may be slightly more expensive, but not outrageously so.
Essentially, your strategy will be to book a flight into YVR, and then book a second flight with either Harbour Air or Seair from Richmond (Seaplane Terminal) to Ganges. The seaplane flight is only ~20 min and is awesome. Harbour Air has a complimentary shuttle from YVR to the Seaplane Terminal (10 min). You can also easily grab a cab. For most seaplane flights, you only need to arrive 30 min before departure (there is no security check). To leave time for immigration, we recommend giving yourself at least 2 hours between your arrival time in YVR and your seaplane departure. There is a restaurant at the Harbour Air terminal that is right on the water and pretty nice to hang out in and grab a bite (you can hang out there even if decide to go with Seair as the terminals are right next door to each other).
Once you arrive in Ganges, Stowel Lake Farm will schedule one shuttle pick-up from there to the retreat center to time up with the 3-5pm check-in window. We will email you for your arrival time in the coming months to help coordinate this.
2 - Fly to Victoria Airport (YYJ) | Take a cab to Swartz Bay Ferry Terminal |Take the Swartz Bay —> Fulford Harbour Ferry | Grab the free shuttle from Fulford Harbour to Stowel Lake Farm or take a cab.
Unless you are traveling from within Canada (or Seattle), it is unlikely you are going to find a direct flight to Victoria. However, for this retreat, if you can find a good connecting flight that makes sense (usually in Vancouver, Seattle or Calgary), flying to Victoria is a really good option. If you can land in Victoria, all you will need to do is take a 15 min cab ride to Swartz Bay Ferry Terminal. From there, you will buy a walk-on ticket (no reservations needed) for the Swartz Bay —> Fulford Harbour route (30 min).
Depending on the number of people, Stowel Lake Farm will schedule up to two shuttle pick-ups at Fulford Harbour Ferry Terminal to time up with the 3-5pm check-in window. We will email you for your arrival time in the coming months to help coordinate this. Fulford terminal is only about a 5 minute drive to the retreat center. If you get there early, there is a great restaurant/cafe to hang out in.
3 - Fly to Vancouver Airport (YVR) | Take the free YVR shuttle or a cab to Tsawwassen Ferry Terminal | Take the ferry to Swartz Bay Terminal | Transfer and take the ferry from Swartz Bay to Fulford Harbour | Grab the free shuttle from Fulford Harbour to Stowel Lake Farm or take a cab.
Whether option #2 or #3 results in a longer travel day will come down to details (the main one being, how much time and how long of a layover are you adding if you try to fly to Victoria?). While there are many nonstop flights to Vancouver, the main thing to understand if you want to take the ferry from there is that you will first need to take a 30-40 min cab ride or free shuttle to Tsawwassen Ferry Terminal.
From Tsawwassen Terminal, you are either going to be looking at taking two ferries (90 min & 30 min) or one long one (3 hours).
For this retreat, the two-ferry option is probably smoother and faster. Specifically, from Tsawwassen, you will grab one of the many boats to Victoria/Swartz Bay Terminal (90 min) and then transfer to the Swartz Bay —> Fulford Harbour route (30 min). Depending on the number of people, Stowel Lake Farm will schedule up to two shuttle pick-ups at Fulford Harbour Ferry Terminal to time up with the 3-5pm check-in window. We will email you for your arrival time in the coming months to help coordinate this. Fulford terminal is only about a 5 minute drive to the retreat center. If you get there early, there is a great restaurant/cafe to hang out in.
If for some reason the two-ferry thing is impossible or unappealing, there are are a number of boats that go to Salt Spring without the need to transfer. These tend to be ~3 hours as they stop at the other Gulf Islands, but the ride is beautiful. They will deposit you at Long Harbour Terminal on Salt Spring. When you get to Long Harbour, you are either going to want to take a cab to the retreat center (35 min) or a cab into Ganges to meet-up with the Stowel Lake Shuttle (departing 3-4pm). If timing permits, you can also take the local bus (BC Transit Route 7) from Long Harbour Terminal into Ganges.
There is no need to make reservations for any ferry as a walk-on.
Getting Here: Driving + Ferry
There are two driving + ferry options (which is best will depend on where you are coming from).
Drive to Vancouver and ferry from the Tsawwassen Terminal to Long Harbor on Salt Spring Island (3 hours | Reservations needed). Stowel Lake Farm is about a 30-min drive from Long Harbour via Fulford Ganges Rd —> Cusheon Lake Rd —> Stewart Rd. Steward dead-ends into Beaver Point Rd, which you will take a left on, followed by quick right onto Reynolds. Stowel Lake will come up on your right pretty quickly.
Drive to Port Angeles, WA and ferry to Victoria (90 minutes | Reservations needed). The ferry will let you out right in downtown Victoria. Then, drive to Swartz Bay Ferry Terminal (30 minutes) and ferry to Salt Spring Island (30 minutes). From the Fulford Ferry Terminal, you will drive up the hill and out of Fulford village on Fulford-Ganges Rd. and take your first (very sharp) right onto Beaver Point Rd. Take Beaver Point road for about 5 minutes to Reynolds Rd. where you will take a right. Stowel Lake will come up on your right pretty quickly.