While the islands are far from untouched, they are a great place to explore, to acquire skills for more extended expeditions in more remote areas of the coast. The offer a great break from urban life, just a bit of a drive and a ferry ride away from almost anywhere on the south coast. The BC Marine Trail Throughout the islands are numerous provincial parks including marine parks , ranging from small beach accesses to entire islands. While not all the parks allow camping, many have toilets, drinking water and garbage receptacles, and all are well worth visiting. The Gulf Islands is an ideal area for this.
Many paddlers choose to take shorter weekend trips, or just day paddles.
Many inexperienced paddlers first encounter the Gulf Islands on a commercially led tour. These run from a few hours up to several days in length. A number of tour operators offer instruction in navigation, tides and currents in addition to their basic pleasure trips. The Gulf Islands are well known for low rainfall and mild conditions due to the shelter of Vancouver Island, with warmer waters and calmer conditions than the ocean. Although the paddling season is generally considered to be May through September, those who live in the Gulf Islands take advantage of generally mild weather to paddle year round, whenever the sun shines and the schedule allows.