Mount Erskine Park is on Salt Spring Island in the southern Gulf Islands. BC Parks says ferry service reaches Salt Spring from Swartz Bay, Crofton, and Tsawwassen, while the park itself is relatively isolated, rugged, and without road access through surrounding private lands.
The park includes the Mount Erskine summit, Douglas-fir forest, rocky outcrops, bluffs, Garry oak ecosystems, and riparian wetlands.
Mount Erskine is a rewarding summit hike with strong conservation values. BC Parks recommends access through Mount Erskine Upper Access Park Reserve at the end of Trustees Trail in Rainbow Grove Subdivision, where Dodds Trail enters the park and links to the wider trail system. There is no vehicle parking at that access.
Hikers pass through mature Douglas-fir forest to a rocky summit with views over Booth Bay, Sansum Narrows, Vancouver Island, Mount Arrowsmith, Chemainus, Nanaimo, Trincomali Channel, Galiano Island, and the Lower Mainland. The park also protects a red-listed arbutus and hairy manzanita plant community, plus other species and habitats at risk.
Hike designated trails, reach the rocky summit viewpoint, photograph Gulf Islands views, observe coastal Douglas-fir forest, mossy outcrops, Garry oak habitat, and wetlands, and learn how the park protects rare plant communities.
Some trail sections pass close to cliff edges, so use extreme caution. Bring drinking water because potable water is not available. Keep pets leashed, stay on designated trails, do not shortcut, and remember there is no parking at the recommended Trustees Trail access point.
