THE ADVENTURE COLLECTIVE® · Independent discovery and booking for outdoor travel
Explore Salt Spring’s 28 km Artisan Trail by shuttle: cheese tasting at a working goat farm, lavender fields, a spring-fed brewery, estate winery and organic cider orchard. Build your own day with ample time at each stop and finish with Ganges’ lively harbor market.
Explore Salt Spring’s 28 km Artisan Trail by shuttle: cheese tasting at a working goat farm, lavender fields, a spring-fed brewery, estate winery and organic cider orchard. Build your own day with ample time at each stop and finish with Ganges’ lively harbor market.
Stand at the Visitor Information Centre in Ganges and the island opens like a well-thumbed map: the harbor’s chop against the rocks, a white shuttle easing into the loading zone and the faint perfume of nearby orchards drifting on the air.
Verified experiences and guided adventures in the surrounding area.
Operated by Salt Spring Hop On Hop Off Tours · Ganges, British Columbia
Stand at the Visitor Information Centre in Ganges and the island opens like a well-thumbed map: the harbor’s chop against the rocks, a white shuttle easing into the loading zone and the faint perfume of nearby orchards drifting on the air.
This 28 km loop threads through the southern Gulf Islands’ rolling farmland and Garry oak–dotted ridgelines, stopping at a goat cheesery, a mountainside lavender farm, a spring-fed brewery, an estate winery and an organic cider orchard. Salt Spring’s geology is glacially scoured bedrock and thin, fertile soils that favor small-scale agriculture; cultural layers run deeper, with the island on the traditional territory of Coast Salish peoples and later shaped by European settler farms in the 19th and 20th centuries.
On the ground you’ll walk between tasting rooms, see cheese made behind viewing windows, wander lavender rows that bloom June–September, and sip cider while looking over sloping orchards toward the ocean. The brewery sources island spring water; the winery grows estate grapes on Burgoyne Valley soils. Local craft food—wood-fired pizza, gelato, apple fritters and charcuterie—anchors the stops, and the Saturday market at Centennial Park adds a convivial end or start to your loop.
Practical guidance: the route is unhurried but plan six hours if you want to hop off at several sites. Bring ID for tastings, wear comfortable shoes for farm walkways and light layers for coastal wind. Book a seat early in summer—shuttles hold about 20—and carry a refillable water bottle and small cash for market stalls.
The tour departs from the Salt Spring Visitor Information Centre at 121 Lower Ganges Rd; look for the large white Hop On Hop Off shuttle in the Loading Zone near BC Transit bus stops.
Yes—the experience is hop-on hop-off; shuttles run on an hourly rotation during operating hours so you can reboard later in the day.
Tastings and food purchases at artisans are generally separate—check each stop’s policy and bring ID for alcohol samples.
The tour is rated physically easy, but some farm areas have uneven ground; contact the operator ahead to discuss accessibility or infant seating (infants must sit on laps).
Salt Spring Hop On Hop Off Tours operates guided outdoor trips and adventures with an emphasis on safety, stewardship, and memorable experiences.
Stand at the Visitor Information Centre in Ganges and the island opens like a well-thumbed map: the harbor’s chop against the rocks, a white shuttle easing into the loading zone and the faint perfume of nearby orchards drifting on the air.
Stand at the Visitor Information Centre in Ganges and the island opens like a well-thumbed map: the harbor’s chop against the rocks, a white shuttle easing into the loading zone and the faint perfume of nearby orchards drifting on the air.
This 28 km loop threads through the southern Gulf Islands’ rolling farmland and Garry oak–dotted ridgelines, stopping at a goat cheesery, a mountainside lavender farm, a spring-fed brewery, an estate winery and an organic cider orchard. Salt Spring’s geology is glacially scoured bedrock and thin, fertile soils that favor small-scale agriculture; cultural layers run deeper, with the island on the traditional territory of Coast Salish peoples and later shaped by European settler farms in the 19th and 20th centuries.
On the ground you’ll walk between tasting rooms, see cheese made behind viewing windows, wander lavender rows that bloom June–September, and sip cider while looking over sloping orchards toward the ocean. The brewery sources island spring water; the winery grows estate grapes on Burgoyne Valley soils. Local craft food—wood-fired pizza, gelato, apple fritters and charcuterie—anchors the stops, and the Saturday market at Centennial Park adds a convivial end or start to your loop.
Practical guidance: the route is unhurried but plan six hours if you want to hop off at several sites. Bring ID for tastings, wear comfortable shoes for farm walkways and light layers for coastal wind. Book a seat early in summer—shuttles hold about 20—and carry a refillable water bottle and small cash for market stalls.