Bowen Island
49°23′ N 123°20′ WCar 46 minLast home 11:30 pm
Bowen Island suits walkers and families who want a forest loop and a harbour lunch after a 20-minute BC Ferries crossing from Horseshoe Bay, and the whole day works without a car. The trade-off is the ride to the boat, since the 257 bus takes about 40 minutes from downtown Vancouver and the route takes no bookings.
Ferry notice
BC Ferries works on the Snug Cove ramp on weekday nights this winter
From 29 October 2026 to 1 March 2027, BC Ferries crews work on the ferry ramp at Snug Cove between 11:30 pm and 5 am, Monday to Friday. That's outside the terminal's operating hours, so BC Ferries expects no change to the Bowen Island sailings. Crews stop for the holidays from 19 December to 3 January. If the work ever touches a sailing, BC Ferries will post a service notice.
Checked 2026-10-16 · bcferries.com
Ferry notice
The Horseshoe Bay skywalk comes out until late November
Foot passengers at Horseshoe Bay usually walk onto ships at Berths 1 and 2 over a skywalk, and BC Ferries has closed it so crews can extend its working life. Crews lift it off the site between 19 and 24 October 2026 and put it back in late November. Until then, follow the terminal staff and the signs, and check your ticket for where you board.
Checked 2026-10-16 · bcferries.com
Trail closure
Maple Trail in Crippen Regional Park stays closed while a medical centre goes up
Metro Vancouver keeps Maple Trail in Crippen Regional Park on Bowen Island closed while builders put up a new medical centre on Miller Road, and it still listed the closure on 17 October 2026. It gives no start or end date. Walk the Alder Grove Trail instead.
Checked 2026-10-17 · metrovancouver.org
Photo by Nick H on Unsplash and others, credited in the gallery
Field card · Day trip · No. 001 · checked 16 Oct 2026
Saturdays have no 8:25 pm boat back from Snug Cove.
Catch the last way home
The last ferry home leaves at 11:30 pm from Snug Cove ferry terminal, Bowen Island (on foot at weekends, take the 10:30 pm sailing to make the last 257 bus). It reaches Horseshoe Bay ferry terminal at 11:50 pm.
BC Ferries seasonal schedule, 3 June 2026 to 31 March 2027. Checked Oct 16, 2026 from the published timetable. Timetable
Choose how you get there
| Way | Time | Cost | With |
|---|---|---|---|
| Transit | 59 min | $16.57 per adult (2026) | TransLink and BC Ferries The 257 express takes 39 minutes from Dunsmuir at Cambie to the Horseshoe Bay ferry terminal at a weekday midday, and the crossing to Snug Cove takes 20 minutes. Add the wait for the boat. |
| Ferry | 20 min | $13.07 per adult (2026) | BC Ferries The Queen of Capilano crosses from Horseshoe Bay to Snug Cove in 20 minutes. The route takes no bookings, and you buy one return ticket at Horseshoe Bay. |
| Car | 46 min | $50.40 per group (2026) | BC Ferries The routing engine gives 20.5 km and 26 minutes from Waterfront Station to the Horseshoe Bay terminal, and the crossing adds 20 minutes. Drivers wait in line for deck space, and Tourism Bowen Island suggests arriving 45 minutes before an off-peak sailing. |
Getting there
From Waterfront Station to Bowen Island
The 257 express runs from downtown Vancouver to the Horseshoe Bay ferry terminal in about 40 minutes, and BC Ferries crosses to Snug Cove in 20. Drivers line up at Horseshoe Bay for deck space on a route that takes no bookings.
Door to door
46 min
from Waterfront Station
One way from
$50.40
adult fare
Book ahead
Not needed
Day trip
Yes
Bus 257 and the ferry on foot
59 min
Dunsmuir at Cambie
Bus139 min · $3.50Weekday midday running time on the timetable effective 7 September 2026. The bus also picks up on West Georgia Street.Horseshoe Bay ferry terminal
Ferry220 min · $13.07One return ticket covers both crossings.Snug Cove
How often · The 257 runs every 20 minutes at weekday middays. On Friday 16 October 2026, 15 sailings left Horseshoe Bay for Snug Cove between 5:45 am and 11:00 pm.
Bikes · BC Ferries carries bikes free, and the rider pays the passenger fare.
Drive on the ferry
46 min · $50.40
Waterfront Station
Car126 minThe routing engine gives 20.5 km in free-flowing traffic.Horseshoe Bay ferry terminal
Ferry220 minTourism Bowen Island suggests an off-peak sailing and an arrival 45 minutes before it.Snug Cove
Booking. BC Ferries takes no bookings on the Bowen Island route, so foot passengers and drivers buy a return ticket at Horseshoe Bay on the day.
As a day trip. Bowen works as a day from downtown Vancouver on the 257 and the ferry, and the last sailing back leaves Snug Cove at 11:30 pm every day.
Weather. BC Ferries posts delays and cancellations for the route on its current conditions page and on 1-888-223-3779.
Sources: infomaps.translink.ca, bcferries.com, bcferries.com, tourismbowenisland.com, routing.openstreetmap.de · checked 2026-10-16
Is it for you?
Bowen Island makes an easy island day from Vancouver on the bus and the 20-minute ferry, and you never need the car.
You’ll love Bowen Island if
- You want a forest walk to Killarney Lake or Dorman Point straight off the boat.
- You like a harbour lunch at Doc Morgan's before the ferry home.
Think twice if
- You want to drive on and off at a fixed time, since the route takes no bookings.
Give it a day
The 257 express leaves Dunsmuir at Cambie every 20 minutes at a weekday midday and reaches the Horseshoe Bay ferry terminal in 39 minutes on the timetable effective 7 September 2026. From there the Queen of Capilano crosses to Snug Cove in 20 minutes. BC Ferries sells this route as a return, so you pay once at Horseshoe Bay, and an adult return costs $13.07 with BC Ferries' 5% fuel surcharge counted. Walk on if you can. The route takes no bookings, and Tourism Bowen Island tells drivers to come 45 minutes before an off-peak sailing.
Bowen Island Municipality acknowledges the island as the traditional, unceded territory of the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish Nation), and it gives the island's name as Nexwlélexwm. The ferry lands in the village of Snug Cove, and you can walk from the ramp to the cafés and the trails. The Snug Café sits a few steps from the dock and closes at 4 pm. Doc Morgan's on the Union Steamship marina cooks fish and chips and oysters from noon to 8 pm every day, and its patios over the harbour are heated in the cooler months. Metro Vancouver's Crippen Regional Park starts at the cove, and its forest trails lead to Killarney Lake and up to the view from Dorman Point.
The last boat back leaves Snug Cove at 11:30 pm every day of the schedule that runs from 3 June 2026 to 31 March 2027, and it lands at Horseshoe Bay at 11:50 pm. On weeknights the last 257 leaves the terminal at 12:20 am and reaches Dunsmuir at Cambie at 12:53 am. Weekends end sooner on foot. The last 257 goes at 11:20 pm on Saturdays and 11:30 pm on Sundays, so take the 10:30 pm sailing. It docks at 10:50 pm. On Saturdays the schedule drops the 8:25 pm sailing, and the 1:55 pm boat on Wednesdays carries dangerous goods and no passengers.
Works at both ends shape the winter. BC Ferries is rebuilding the Snug Cove ramp between 29 October 2026 and 1 March 2027. Crews work from 11:30 pm to 5 am on weekdays and stop for the holidays from 19 December to 3 January, and BC Ferries expects no change to sailings. Horseshoe Bay's terminal is under construction until 2030. Foot passengers follow staff and signs while the Berth 1/2 skywalk is out, and BC Ferries plans to put it back in late November.
Worth knowing
- Check BC Ferries' current conditions page before you leave, since it shows the estimated deck space left on each upcoming sailing.
- Read the sailing list for your day, because the Saturday schedule has no 8:25 pm boat from Snug Cove and the Wednesday 1:55 pm takes no passengers.
- Keep dogs on a leash on Crippen Regional Park's trails, because Metro Vancouver allows them off leash only in the area near Killarney Meadows.
Quick answers about Bowen Island
What time is the last ferry from Bowen Island?
The last BC Ferries sailing leaves Snug Cove on Bowen Island at 11:30 pm every day and reaches Horseshoe Bay at 11:50 pm, on the schedule that runs from 3 June 2026 to 31 March 2027. On foot at weekends, take the 10:30 pm sailing, because the last 257 bus leaves Horseshoe Bay at 11:20 pm on Saturdays and 11:30 pm on Sundays.
Can you do Bowen Island as a day trip without a car?
Yes. The 257 bus runs from downtown Vancouver to the Horseshoe Bay ferry terminal in 39 minutes at a weekday midday, and the 20-minute ferry lands in Snug Cove. The cafés and the Crippen Regional Park trails are a walk from the ramp.
Do you need to book the Bowen Island ferry?
No. BC Ferries takes no bookings on Horseshoe Bay to Bowen Island, and you buy a return ticket at Horseshoe Bay on the day. An adult return costs $13.07 with BC Ferries' 5% fuel surcharge counted.
How long is the ferry to Bowen Island?
The BC Ferries crossing from Horseshoe Bay to Snug Cove on Bowen Island takes 20 minutes on the Queen of Capilano.
What is the last way home from Bowen Island?
The last ferry home leaves at 11:30 pm from Snug Cove ferry terminal, Bowen Island (on foot at weekends, take the 10:30 pm sailing to make the last 257 bus). It reaches Horseshoe Bay ferry terminal at 11:50 pm. That time comes from BC Ferries seasonal schedule, 3 June 2026 to 31 March 2027.
Is Bowen Island worth a day trip?
Bowen Island makes an easy island day from Vancouver on the bus and the 20-minute ferry, and you never need the car.
Within 10 km
Sights nearby
Within 10 km
Places to eat and drink nearby
Within 10 km
