Plan Saltery Bay Park with Mermaid Cove camping, rocky beach day use, swimming, tidal pools, scuba diving, mermaid statue, paddling, and generator limits.
Saltery Bay Park is on the Sunshine Coast of Georgia Strait, with a campground about one kilometre north of the Saltery Bay ferry terminal on Highway 101 and a day-use area 1.5 kilometres farther north. BC Parks says the park was established in 1962 to provide ocean access.
The park is divided into campground and day-use sites.
Why Visit Saltery Bay Park
Saltery Bay is a camping, swimming, picnicking, paddling, fishing, wildlife-viewing, and diving park. Mermaid Cove campground sits in lush forest with large old trees, while the rocky day-use beaches offer ocean views, boat launching, and picnic time.
At low tide, tidal pools can contain sea stars, urchins, small fish, and crabs. Scuba diving is a signature activity because the park has abundant marine life, underwater caves and shipwrecks nearby, and a three-metre bronze mermaid statue known as the Emerald Princess at ten fathoms in front of Mermaid Cove. The statue and accessible diver ramp were placed through local scuba efforts.
Things To Do
Camp, walk the easy one-kilometre Mermaid Cove Trail, swim without a roped-off area, paddle with current awareness, fish tidally with a licence, watch seals and seabirds, cycle only on roads, and scuba dive if experienced.
Planning Notes
Shoreline rocks can be slippery at low tide, and beaches are rocky and affected by tides and sudden weather. Generator use is limited to 9 am to 11 am and 6 pm to 8 pm. A scuba change room, showers, accessible change room, shower, and toilet are listed by BC Parks.