Sidney is located on southern Vancouver Island, on the Saanich Peninsula, the town is a beautiful little community. This busy little town is the business hub of the Saanich Peninsula. It was at one time, a small farming community. The heavily wooded forests of the area’s early past created a logging and sawmill boom. The economy now runs on tourism, and it is a tourist destination for sure, it is a friendly town with many great shops, restaurants, boutiques, and marinas. There are many small islands offshore that are awesome to kayak too and there with over 3 miles of sandy beaches, it’s a great place to get out and enjoy the sun.
The Saanich people lived on the peninsula for many thousands of years before coming into contact with the Europeans. The Hudson’s Bay Company traded for large parts of the peninsula from the Saanich People in 1852. The Reay brothers were the first to settle on North Saanich when they purchased a large piece of this land from the Hudson Bay Company. Sidney today, has a population of over 12000.
The waters off this pretty community are home to three pods of southern resident orca whales. You can get on one of many whale watching tour boats at the Port Sidney Marina, once on the water, you might see one of the southern pods, and you will get views of the Gulf Islands and other marine wildlife including grey whales, sea lions, dal’s porpoises and many kinds of sea-birds.
North of Sidney is the Gulf Islands and the east coast of Vancouver Island. You can put in a kayak at Sidney and spend many days cruising the Islands and have many grand adventures as you do.
South of town is Saanichton, well known for its flowers and rose gardens, b&b’s, riding stables, parks, campgrounds, old-growth forests, and small farms. All in all, this is an awesome place to visit, and it’s only minutes from downtown Victoria.