Powell River and the upper Sunshine Coast
Powell River sits on the mainland but nothing drives to it directly: from Vancouver it is two BC Ferries crossings with a drive between them, and from Vancouver Island it is a single, longer crossing from Comox – either way, the last stretch of the mainland, from Lund north, is reached only by boat or float plane.
- Researched
- 28 September 2026
- Reviewed
- not yet
- Ways of moving
- 12, 22 sources
- Not confirmed
- 7
- Fares seen
- 2026
12 ways of moving, each with its rule
We confirmed ten ways of moving to, from or around Powell River: four by water, three by road, two by air and one hired or on demand, from 22 sources. Two entries are not a service at all but a rule that decides whether travel happens: a permit, a closure, a border, a season or an authority's say-so. Two of them run only on demand or when the seats are full, so there is no timetable to show; the rule is written where the timetable would be. Three need a phone call or a message before you turn up.
The fares were seen in 2026; a fare from an older year is a floor, not a price. Three fares carry no year, because they could not be confirmed and the field says so. We rate 7 of the 12 high confidence, our own judgement of the sources. The entry was checked on 28 September 2026, and ends with seven things we could not confirm.
Rules, permits and closures
Two routes in, neither of them a straight drive
Vancouver (Horseshoe Bay) to Langdale to Earls Cove to Saltery Bay to Powell River (Westview), or Comox (Little River) on Vancouver Island to Powell River (Westview)
Highway 101 covers the whole Sunshine Coast, but it is broken by water twice between Vancouver and Powell River. The Vancouver route needs the Horseshoe Bay to Langdale ferry, an hour and a half of driving down the Sechelt Peninsula, then the Earls Cove to Saltery Bay ferry, then another 30 km to Westview. The Comox route needs only one, longer crossing from Vancouver Island, which is why islanders and many Powell River residents treat Comox, not Vancouver, as the easier way in.
- When
- permanent, not seasonal
- Takes
- Vancouver to Powell River by road and two ferries is commonly quoted at four to five hours; Comox to Powell River is a single 80 to 90 minute crossing plus onward island driving
Seasonyear-round. BookingPlan around ferry departure times on both legs; missing either sailing adds hours, not minutes. Run bynot applicable.
The other Lund-Savary ferry is not running its schedule
Lund to Savary Island
Access Point Marine Transportation normally runs a second, more frequent scheduled service alongside Lund Water Taxi, departing up to every other hour. As of this research its own site says that service is suspended, so anyone expecting a scheduled boat every hour or two should confirm which operator is actually running one before relying on the timetable.
- When
- not applicable, this is the reason a schedule cannot be trusted
- Takes
- not applicable
SeasonStated by the operator as affecting the current summer season, with a return promised for 2027. BookingCharter service is still offered by the same operator in place of the suspended scheduled run. Run byAccess Point Marine Transportation decides its own suspension.
By water
BC Ferries route 6, Earls Cove to Saltery Bay
Sechelt Peninsula (Earls Cove Terminal) to Powell River (Saltery Bay Terminal), across Jervis Inlet
Earls Cove is the end of the lower Sunshine Coast section of Highway 101, about 90 minutes' drive from the Langdale ferry. No reservation lane, just the holding lanes and the toll booth on both sides. BC Transit's route 12 meets some sailings at Saltery Bay for onward travel into Powell River.
- When
- An archived BC Ferries timetable showed seven sailings a day each way; current departure times should be checked on the day since the live schedule sits behind a waiting-room page this research could not get past
- Takes
- 50 minutes
- Fare 2026
- Return fare, charged once: C$16.00 adult, C$8.00 child 5 to 11, C$53.80 for a standard vehicle up to 20 feet, C$6.85 per extra foot, C$26.90 motorcycle, plus a 5% fuel surcharge. Experience Card saves C$3.35 on the adult and C$11.95 on the vehicle fare. Seniors travel free Monday to Thursday.
SeasonYear-round; BC Ferries lists it as a non-bookable route. BookingNone possible; it is drive-up order of arrival on both sides. Run byBC Ferries.
BC Ferries route 13, Powell River (Westview) to Comox (Little River)
Powell River (Westview Terminal) to Comox (Little River Terminal), across the Strait of Georgia to Vancouver Island
This is the direct Vancouver Island link and the shorter way in for anyone coming from the island side, avoiding the two-ferry mainland route entirely. Westview terminal is at 4465 Willingdon Ave, a short BC Transit ride from downtown Powell River.
- When
- An archived 2021 BC Ferries timetable showed four round trips a day; treat this as historical, since the live current schedule could not be reached and departure counts change with the season
- Takes
- 1 hour 20 minutes to 1 hour 30 minutes, varies by sailing
- Fare 2026
- At-terminal one way: C$16.10 adult, C$8.05 child, C$51.90 standard vehicle up to 20 feet plus C$5.10 per extra foot, C$25.95 motorcycle. Prepaid one way is C$11.50 adult, C$56.50 vehicle. A separate C$20 reservation fee applies if you book without prepaying.
SeasonYear-round. BookingBookable with prepayment for the lower fare, or a C$20 reservation on top of the at-terminal fare without prepaying. Run byBC Ferries.
BC Ferries route 17, Powell River (Westview) to Texada Island (Blubber Bay)
Powell River (Westview Terminal) to Texada Island (Blubber Bay Terminal)
Same Westview terminal as the Comox ferry, separate berth. This is the only way to reach Texada Island, whose limestone quarries and small communities of Gillies Bay and Van Anda are otherwise unreached by any bridge or scheduled aircraft.
- When
- An archived 2024 BC Ferries timetable showed eight round trips a day; current sailing count should be confirmed on the day
- Takes
- 40 minutes
- Fare 2026
- Return fare, charged once: C$11.60 adult, C$5.80 child 5 to 11, C$27.55 standard vehicle up to 20 feet plus C$3.20 per extra foot, C$13.80 motorcycle, plus 5% fuel surcharge. Seniors free Monday to Thursday.
SeasonYear-round. Bookingnone confirmed; treated as a drive-up local route. Run byBC Ferries.
Lund Water Taxi, Lund to Savary Island
Lund government dock to Savary Island, across the Malaspina Strait
Lund is the actual end of Highway 101, a 30 minute drive north of Powell River, reached by BC Transit route 14 or by car. The water taxi dock is by the government wharf. Phone 604-483-9749 to book; the other Lund-Savary operator, Access Point Marine Transport, was not running its scheduled ferry as of this research (see gaps).
- When
- on demand, reservation required for Savary Island trips
- Takes
- about 15 minutes, per a Wikivoyage description of the crossing
- Fare
- not confirmed from the operator's own site for 2026; a 2020s-era Wikivoyage note put the return fare at C$20 per person, undated beyond that
SeasonYear-round, 364 days a year according to the operator. BookingReservations required for Savary Island trips; call ahead. Run byLund Water Taxi.
By road
BC Transit route 12, Stillwater, to Saltery Bay ferry
Powell River (Westview) to Stillwater and the Saltery Bay ferry terminal
Boards in Westview; the GTFS feed shows this route as the only one calling at the Saltery Bay Ferry Terminal stop, so it is the connection from the Earls Cove ferry into town on the days it runs.
- When
- Only on Monday, Tuesday, Friday and Saturday, with two trips reaching the ferry terminal around 11:10-11:25 and 14:00-14:10 on the days it runs, per the live GTFS feed
- Takes
- not confirmed from Westview to Saltery Bay
- Fare 2026
- C$2.25 single ride, C$4.50 DayPASS, C$20.25 for 10 rides, C$45 for a 30-day adult pass. Children 12 and under ride free.
SeasonYear-round on the four running days. Run byBC Transit, Powell River Regional Transit System.
BC Transit route 13, the bus that rides the Texada ferry
Powell River (Westview) across the Blubber Bay ferry to Gillies Bay and Van Anda on Texada Island
This is a road bus that boards the BC Ferries vessel at Westview and continues on Texada after landing at Blubber Bay, rather than a separate island shuttle. BC Transit's own fare page warns riders on this run to bring cash for the ferry.
- When
- Only Tuesday and Thursday, per the live GTFS feed, with a morning departure around 06:25 and an afternoon one around 15:30
- Takes
- not confirmed
- Fare 2026
- C$2.25 BC Transit single ride, plus the BC Ferries walk-on or vehicle toll paid separately in cash
SeasonYear-round on the two running days. Run byBC Transit, Powell River Regional Transit System.
BC Transit route 14, Lund
Powell River (Westview and downtown) to Lund, the northern terminus of Highway 101
Boards through downtown Powell River; the live GTFS feed shows Lund stops served only on this route.
- When
- Monday, Tuesday and Friday only, with departures reaching Lund around 09:08-10:00 and around 15:37, per the live GTFS feed
- Takes
- not confirmed
- Fare 2026
- C$2.25 single ride, C$4.50 DayPASS, C$20.25 for 10 rides
SeasonYear-round on the three running days. Run byBC Transit, Powell River Regional Transit System.
By air
Pacific Coastal Airlines, Vancouver to Powell River
Vancouver International (YVR) south terminal to Powell River Airport (YPW)
Powell River Airport is a short drive from Westview; Pacific Coastal is the scheduled carrier and lists Powell River among its regular destinations. Book through the airline's own booking site.
- When
- not confirmed from a published timetable; the airline lists Powell River as a regular scheduled destination
- Takes
- not confirmed
- Fare 2026
- A live fare search on the airline's own booking site showed a Vancouver to Powell River one-way basic fare from C$111, marked as seen 20 minutes before this research was done
SeasonYear-round. BookingBook online or by phone. Run byPacific Coastal Airlines.
Harbour Air, floatplane service to Powell River
Vancouver Harbour and other Harbour Air bases to Powell River
Harbour Air publishes a Powell River commuter pass page, confirming it serves the route, but this research could not load the page's schedule content to confirm frequency or price; check the operator's site directly.
- When
- not confirmed from a page this research could load
- Takes
- About 40 minutes from downtown Vancouver, per Wikivoyage, though that note is from 2022 and could not be independently confirmed against a current Harbour Air schedule
- Fare
- not confirmed
Seasonnot confirmed. Bookingnot confirmed. Run byHarbour Air.
Hired, booked and on demand
Powell River Taxi
Westview, the ferry terminals, downtown Powell River and Lund
Phone 604-483-3666. Useful for the Westview ferry terminal, where BC Transit does not always meet a sailing on a non-running day for route 12 or 13.
- When
- on demand, around the clock
- Takes
- 10 to 15 minutes within Westview and downtown; longer to Lund or Saltery Bay
- Fare
- not confirmed; metered
SeasonYear-round. BookingPhone ahead, especially around ferry arrivals. Run byPowell River Taxi.
What we could not find out
7 things the researcher looked for and did not find, in their own words, with where to ask instead. None of this goes into the planner; it stays here until someone confirms it.
- 01
The live BC Ferries schedule pages for every Powell River-area route (Earls Cove-Saltery Bay, Comox-Powell River, Powell River-Texada) sit behind a Queue-it waiting room that this research could not get past even over HTTP/1.1 with a browser user agent; the departure times used here come from archived snapshots from 2021, 2024 and 2025 and should be treated as historical, not current. Confirm sailing times on bcferries.com or by phone (1-888-223-3779) before travel.
- 02
The Comox-Powell River crossing duration and frequency rest on a 2021 archived schedule; only the current fare table (2026) is confirmed live, via the fare guide PDF.
- 03
No dated, publisher-named source could be found for winter storm cancellations specific to the Powell River-area ferry routes; Powell River Peak and the Coast Reporter both carry relevant headlines in Google News results, but Powell River Peak's own site returned a Cloudflare challenge to every fetch attempted and the Google News links did not resolve to a publisher URL this research could open directly. Check BC Ferries' Current Conditions page for each route before winter travel.
- 04
Sunshine Coast Connector's own services page describes 'Scheduled Bus Service between Powell River - Sunshine Coast - Langdale', but its bus-stops page lists no stop on the Powell River side of the Earls Cove-Saltery Bay water gap, and this matches an earlier finding for Gibsons that its live booking engine sold no Langdale-side journeys either. No coach route across the ferry gap into Powell River could be confirmed to actually operate; treat the Powell River mention on that page as aspirational or historical rather than a current through service.
- 05
Lund Water Taxi's current fare to Savary Island could not be read from its own site; the C$20 return figure here is from Wikivoyage and is undated beyond 'checked 2026-09', so it may be older than that.
- 06
Harbour Air's Powell River route page and commuter pass page both returned content this research could not parse for a schedule or fare; only the existence of the route, via Wikivoyage, is confirmed.
- 07
Powell River Airport's own ground-transport arrangements (taxi stand, shuttle) were not separately confirmed; Powell River Taxi is the only operator found and it was not confirmed to specifically serve the airport.
What the planner can route today
The options above live on the place page, not in the departure board: a boat that comes when you phone has no time to show. What the board can do for Powell River is this.
- Y
- Scheduled flightsVancouver (YVR), 120 km
- Y
- Trains and coachesTransitous carries 26 timetable feeds for this country, 1 with real-time
- Y
- FerriesPowell River (Westview), 0 km, British Columbia Ferry Services; sailings estimated
- Y
- Driving and taxiOpenStreetMap roads; cab fare from the country band
- N
- Bike and scooter shareno share feed known
- N
- Cruisesno open itinerary source anywhere
Y routable now · F found, not yet implemented · N no source known.