Located in scenic Howe Sound, Halkett Bay is typical of the glaciated coastline found in the sound. The steeply sloped mountains, rugged coastlines, and the scattered islands and waters of the sound offer a breathtaking visual experience.
Howe Sound has long been popular with pleasure boaters because of its close proximity to Vancouver, Sunshine Coast and Squamish population. Halkett Bay is currently used by boaters for both day-use and recreational activities such as swimming, wilderness camping, kayaking, picnicking, hiking to Mount Artaban and overnight moorage. The park provides one buoy, one dinghy dock and one pit toilet.
In 2016, a 136–hectare marine foreshore addition was established to protect the rare glass sponge reef southeast of Gambier Island.
No commercial, recreational or Indigenous bottom-contact fishing activities are allowed in the area of Halkett Point, within Halkett Bay Marine Provincial Park. This includes fishing for:
Marine backcountry camping is allowed. There are three developed boat-access-only walk-in campsites with picnic tables and one pit toilet. These sites are open year-round.
The BC Parks backcountry permit registration service allows you to purchase a backcountry camping permit before leaving home. Although this does not reserve a campsite, it provides the convenience of prepaying for your trip and not having to carry cash. We encourage all visitors to register online so we can reduce the need to collect fees in the field.
The park is open year-round and winter camping is permitted in this park but campsites have limited services.
For your own safety and preservation of the park, obey posted signs and keep to designated trails. Shortcutting trails destroys plant life and soil structure.
This park has hiking and/or walking trails. There is a moderately strenuous 10 km (approximately 6 hours) day hike to Mount Artaban through the Georgia Strait lowland forest with an elevation gain of 610 metres. At the top of Mount Artaban you can view out 360 degrees over Howe Sound and see such features as Black Mountain, Deeks Peak, the Tantalus and Garibaldi Ranges, Bowen Island and the San Juan Islands just to name a few. Also located on this site are the remnants of an old forest service lookout. A rough trail also leads to Brigade Bay on Gambier Island’s eastern shore.
Tidal water fishing is available. Anyone fishing or angling in British Columbia must have an appropriate licence and must follow DFO Area 28 fishing regulations.
No commercial, recreational or Indigenous bottom-contact fishing activities are allowed in the area of Halkett Point, within Halkett Bay Marine Provincial Park. This includes fishing for:
The use of downrigger gear in recreational salmon trolling is also prohibited in these areas due to the potential risk of damage to shallow reefs.
Bicycles must keep to roadways. Bicycle helmets are mandatory in British Columbia.
Please note that bicycles with electric assist motors (e-bikes) are not allowed on the trails within Halkett Bay Provincial Park. E-bikes are restricted to park roads and areas where motorized use is permitted. The only exception to this policy will be for authorized and identified trail maintenance bikes conducting work on behalf of BC Parks.
Halkett Bay Provincial Park is located on the southeastern shore of Gambier Island, 15 km from Horseshoe Bay. Located 40 km from marinas in Vancouver and 10 km from Lions Bay, it is well within day-use range of most boaters.
This park proudly operated by:
Swens Contracting
info.scparks@gmail.com
604 885-3714
BC Parks honours Indigenous Peoples’ connection to the land and respects the importance of their diverse teachings, traditions, and practices within these territories. This park webpage may not adequately represent the full history of this park and the connection of Indigenous Peoples to this land. We are working in partnership with Indigenous Peoples to update our websites so that they better reflect the history and cultures of these special places.