Christopher Hobbs – Sotheby’s International Realty Canada
On the west coast of British Columbia, winter is invigorating. Wild squalls batter the rugged shorelines, marine mists waft between the pristine mountains, and refreshing rains awaken the scents of spruce and red cedar. Amid this elemental melange, Salt Spring Island plays host to scenic inlets, robust evergreens, and a mild maritime climate.On the island’s east side, Scott Point is part of a pair of striking peninsulas that flank Long Harbour—a ferry port with direct sailings to Vancouver—making it the perfect place from which to explore the wonders of Canada’s Pacific Northwest. Set out for a day of enchantment, and start your journey from this three-bedroom, four-bathroom luxury oceanfront home.
Morning: Therapy for the Body and Soul
The 3,128 square-foot home is a modern architectural masterpiece nestled on an acre of oceanfront property, gracing the rooms with unobstructed vistas of the Pacific Ocean and the Southern Gulf Islands archipelago. You wake up to a panoramic view of the sun rising over neighboring islands from your primary suite. With refined wooden floors and furniture, a fully windowed wall and alcove, and a bedside fireplace, your bedroom is a haven of hygge—that much-sought Scandinavian aesthetic celebrating simplicity and comfort, made even cozier by the depths of winter.
It’s tempting to enjoy a slow-paced winter morning, and leisurely perform the morning’s ablutions on your bathroom’s heated tile floors. But right now, the frigidity is your friend, and a bracing winter chill feels like nature’s rallying cry. With locally roasted coffee in hand, you meander out to your private dock and awaken the day with a plunge in the ocean before bidding a hasty retreat to your wood-fired barrel sauna with a prime sea view. This intense exposure to cold and heat enlivens the body, blood, brain, and muscles, priming you for a day of heightened sensation and appreciation. From here, you can’t resist the call of your kayak and strike out for a morning tour of your aquatic neighborhood, marveling at the abundance of marine life that surges just below the surface.
Noon: Voyages That Feel Like Vacations
Salt Spring Island is a testament to life’s beauty and biodiversity, and your home puts it on dazzling display. The central living and dining room, ideal for entertaining guests, features a full wall of retractable glass that opens onto your tiered terrace, while your recessed media room with a full wet bar leads to a lower lookout.
The deluxe, custom-built kitchen features cabinets made from reclaimed east coast barn board, and was intentionally designed so you can admire the landscape and seascape as you prepare a fortifying lunch, with ingredients sourced from one of the many farms on the island. While enjoying your meal you may catch glimpses of orcas, humpbacks, and Pacific gray whales making their migrations, a pod of Pacific white-sided dolphins leaping acrobatically across the straight, or seals and sea lions sunning themselves on the promontories.
Today you want to experience the thrill of a true Canadian winter, so you pack your snow gear and ski equipment and head to your three-car garage. Soon, you’ll catch a short ferry to Vancouver Island and drive north to the Mt. Washington ski resort. You’ll pass through temperate rainforest before hitting the exhilarating slopes of the mountain. It’s hard to believe such a variety of experiences—from beach activities to mountain sports—are so accessible that you can enjoy them on the same day.
Night: Local Flavor Winning Global Favor
By the time you return to Salt Spring, the sky is already dark and saturated with stars, and you’re looking forward to dinner. Though you’ve impressed yourself lately with culinary masterpieces prepared on your own Dacor range, tonight you’ll visit Ganges—Salt Spring Island’s quaint village hub, just around the bay from where you live.
Despite its modest size with less than 12,000 year-round inhabitants, visitors travel to this community from near and far. A plethora of boutiques and galleries reflect a vibrant arts scene, which parallels the food culture that flourishes here. There are abundant wines, cheeses, produce, and meats—such as world-renowned lamb and organic free-range chicken—to sample from the nearly 200 farms and food producers on the island. And while the lively Saturday market isn’t open during the winter months, restaurants and cafés keep Ganges glowing year-round.
Returning home, you’re ready to relax with a glass of a full-bodied red carefully selected from your 120-bottle wine cooler. After a late-night soak in your hot tub, a side entrance grants access to your spa-like ensuite where majestic accents of wood and stone create a soothing environment as you stand beneath your rain shower and dream up tomorrow’s plans. Will it be a hike through one of the island’s many trails, or a workshop facilitated by a local artist? In a place like Salt Spring Island, the sense of possibility is as endless as the sense of wonder.
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