Fulford Harbour is an inlet and a small community on the southeast coast of Salt Spring Island, a southern Gulf Island just offshore from Vancouver Island in the Salish Sea, about 39 miles (63 km) southwest of Vancouver and 9 miles (14.5 km) north-northwest of Sidney, British Columbia. The harbor is named for Captain John Fulford, commander of HMS Ganges, the Royal Navy’s Pacific Station flagship from 1857 to 1860. The surrounding landscape reflects a complex geological history. Salt Spring Island contains both older igneous rocks associated with the Wrangellia terrane and younger marine sedimentary rocks of the Nanaimo Group, deposited during the Late Cretaceous. These rocks, together with faulting and erosion, have helped shape the island’s rugged terrain and indented coastline. The Nanaimo Group, which includes sandstone and mudstone, is exposed across parts of the Gulf Islands and the neighboring San Juan Islands.

Salt Spring Island lies within the traditional territories of Coast Salish peoples, whose communities have long used its lands and waters for food, trade, and cultural practices. Colonial settlement expanded in 1859, when Black Americans from California, seeking greater security and civil rights, began establishing farms on the island. Other early settlers included Native Hawaiians, some of whom had worked for the fur trade, as well as Japanese immigrants who arrived later in the 19th century. During the Second World War, Japanese Canadians were forcibly removed from coastal British Columbia, dispossessed of property, and interned elsewhere in Canada. The island’s rugged terrain and dense forests, including stands of Douglas fir, made farming labor-intensive. In the early settlement period, limited roads, wharves, stores, and transportation links also made travel and trade difficult. Settlement took place without a treaty ceding the island’s Indigenous lands, and Indigenous rights and title remain important to its history.

Today, Fulford Harbour is a residential community and a transportation hub at the southern end of Salt Spring Island. BC Ferries operates a regular route between its terminal and Swartz Bay on Vancouver Island, while Fulford-Ganges Road links the community to the island’s road network and the larger village of Ganges. Salt Spring Island is known for its farms, local food producers, arts, and tourism, alongside a year-round residential community. Water supply is a continuing concern because many parts of the island rely on limited local sources. As of October 2026, the Capital Regional District reports that water restrictions vary by system. The Cedar Lane and Cedars of Tuam systems are under Stage 4 restrictions. The Cedar Lane Water System is located on the north east side of Salt Spring Island and provides drinking water to approximately 37 service connections. The Cedars of Tuam Water System is located on the south side of Fulford Harbour and provides drinking water to approximately 16 service connections. The restrictions prohibit all outdoor water use and limits indoor water use to drinking, food preparation, and sanitation purposes only. This is implemented during severe drought conditions to conserve water supplies. Read more here and here. Explore more of Fulford Harbour and Salt Spring Island here: