A smattering of more than 300 densely wooded islands off southeast British Columbia, the Southern Gulf Islands are home to flora found nowhere else in Canada: the flowering yellow Lindley’s False Silverpuffs; the rare Triquetrella californica moss; the coast-clinging Arbutus menziesii—Canada’s only evergreen deciduous tree, known for its flaky cinnamon-hued bark that peels away every summer to reveal a smooth olive-green skin.
“Many of these are disjunct species,” explains Canadian naturalist Andrew Simon, who first visited in 2007. “You find them in places like California and Oregon, then they vanish until you reach the Southern Gulf Islands.”
Of the seven main islands in the archipelago, you might not expect Galiano to feel the wildest or the greenest. After all, the long, finger-like island is the first stop on the Southern Gulf Islands route from Vancouver’s Tsawwassen ferry terminal. Yet, that 50-minute crossing shuttles you to a different world, shielded by the Vancouver Island Ranges and Olympic Mountains, creating a semi-Mediterranean climate that yields an unusual number of sunny days and limited precipitation.
Shrouded by 1,500 protected acres of old-growth Douglas-fir and western redcedar trees, Galiano is arguably the most protected of all the major Southern Gulf Islands—a testament to the important work of the Islands Trust, the Galiano Island Conservancy, and the impassioned local community. Simon was so inspired by the place that in 2017 he launched Biodiversity Galiano, a grassroots initiative inviting residents and neighbors to document the island’s more than 3,400 living species—from rare mosses to Pacific white-sided dolphins. It has been described as one of the most ambitious community-led biological inventories on Earth.
Galiano’s astonishing biodiversity is but one reason the island is fast becoming one of Canada’s most alluring eco-getaways—a place that draws birdwatchers and executives from companies like Lululemon and Estée Lauder alike, and where young creatives are moving in search of quiet, nature, and community. Which is saying something for a place roughly the size of Manhattan yet home to only about 1,400 year-round residents.
Vancouver-born former pro cyclist Jesse Keefer grew up vacationing at a horse ranch on the island’s north end, but he never imagined moving there full-time. Then, in 2003, that very ranch—Bodega Ridge—went up for sale after a deal with an American buyer fell through. Keefer, then in his mid-twenties and unsure what he wanted to do with his life, decided to go all in, taking the reins of the 22-acre property and apprenticing under the former Hungarian-Canadian owner.
“That was a really magical time,” he recalls. “I absolutely fell in love with the place and instantly knew what I wanted to do with my life.”
By 2010, he had finished a top-to-bottom refresh of the 1980s-era lodge, log cabins, and barn, outfitting the rustic accommodations with elevated touches like hand-blown glass lamps from Vancouver-born lighting studio Bocci. In a second phase, Keefer worked with Galiano craftspeople to restore five additional waterfront cabins, stripping the 1960s old-growth-cedar structures down to the studs and adding marble bathrooms with deep-soaking tubs, bright modern kitchens, and generous skylights. It’s tempting to sit on the large cedar deck and look out to the pebbled beach, but the views are equally spectacular in the opposite direction, dominated by a towering wall of old-growth Douglas fir. Now, Keefer is in conversation with Seattle-based firm Olson Kundig about new cabin and sauna designs, and he’s preparing to launch a permanent dock next season for paddleboarding and kayaking.
These evolutions have come as much out of inspiration as necessity: over the years, Bodega Ridge and the waterfront cabins of Bodega Cove have become a favorite getaway not only for solo travelers and couples, but also a go-to corporate retreat for major Canadian brands including Lululemon, Arc’teryx, and Reigning Champ, as well as American giants such as Estée Lauder. Keefer makes a point of being on site to lead trail runs, take guests foraging for chanterelles, and arrange cycling or kayaking excursions. He’s quick to flag favorite local landmarks, too—like the island’s independent bookstore, which hosts regular literary events, including the annual Galiano Literary Festival, now in its 35th year. (Many Canadian authors call the island home, including Michael Christie, Cedar Bowers, and Rosemary Georgeson.)
Back on property, guests tuck into Southeast Asian dishes at the pop-up Lola restaurant, helmed by Filipino-Canadian chef Elmark Andres, where the menu is written in a blend of Tagalog and English, the seafood is locally sourced, and seasonal produce comes from the Bodega Ridge farm. Or they can head to the cedar-shingled Pink Geranium, a bright, sunny all-day café and specialty food store launched in 2024, where lunch might be a warming bowl of tom kha soup (coconut, red pepper, green onion, shimeji and king oyster mushrooms) and freshly baked focaccia with rosemary and garlic confit. Regular community programming runs the gamut from poetry readings to queer opera, and a large stone inglenook fireplace invites curling up with a book and a coffee on brisk winter afternoons.
Food has an outsized importance on such a lightly populated island as Galiano, home to standout restaurants like Oxeye and The Crane and Robin—though most islanders would agree that the fine-dining temple Pilgrimme near Montague Harbour is Galiano’s most sought-after table. At the helm is Winnipeg-born chef Jesse McCleery, who opened the restaurant in 2014 after a stint at Copenhagen’s groundbreaking Noma, alongside his partner, chef Melanie Witt.
Tucked in a dense forest that looks straight out of a children’s storybook, the restaurant occupies a log cabin decorated with hanging lanterns, antler accents, shearling throws, and a reproduction of Vladimir Tretchikoff’s “Chinese Girl.” It’s cozy and unpretentious, with room for just 16 diners, putting the spotlight on seasonal dishes served on sculptural dishware by local ceramicists like Ilana Fonariov.
The 12-course tasting menu is a love letter to Galiano’s bounty: foraged kelp, sea buckthorn, aronia berries (“I’ve never seen them grow outside Scandinavia,” muses McCleery), and Sichuan pepper leaves. Wild-ferment vinegars made from salal berries and grand fir needles stand in when yuzu, kaffir lime, or other Japanese citrus isn’t readily available from a grower on neighboring Salt Spring Island. True to Galiano form, almost all the fruit comes not from professional farms but from local neighbors and residents.
“There are so many people here with hobby gardens and orchards,” McCleery notes. “People drop by with a massive box of plums or apples, which we’ll trade for a pizza,” he says, referencing his other Galiano project, Charmer Pizza, a pop-up restaurant specializing in 48-hour wild-ferment sourdough made with organic British Columbia grains.
When McCleery and Witt have a rare day off, they’ll walk over to the boat-dotted Montague Harbor or grab a pastry at the Pink Geranium, though the couple seldom has time for the island’s many community events. Just as well, says McCleery. “Our corner of Galiano is a chef’s dream—away from the city noise and close to the forest and the sea. Like many people who live here, we’re happy to stay in our world.” You can understand why.