MosieGrimm

I only bike to the Ferry terminal from downtown Vancouver about once a year. And I always forget the trick of getting through the George Massey Tunnel to get to the Tawasen / Tawwassen / Tswasen (I can never spell it right) ferry terminal. You can’t get to the ferry without taking a shuttle or a bus through the tunnel since no bikes are allowed. Unless you like playing chicken with cars going 80-120kph and nowhere to go to get out of the way.

So here’s some information to help get you through it all.

Map of Bike Route to Ferry

View Vancouver to Victoria in a larger map

The map above is my suggested route to get to the Tsawwassen Ferry Terminal. Click on the map above to see details of the bicycle route.

Free shuttle

Ya it’s free, but only if you are going between May and October. you can use the free shuttle service offered by Mainroad Contracting (I’m guessing they are sub-contracted through the provincial government). Their seven passenger shuttle bus will take you through the tunnel. You can find out more here:

• Free Shuttle Bus through George Massey Tunnel – bc government website

I haven’t tried this out before, please post your experience in a comment here if you’ve taken this before.

Regular BC Transit / Greater Vancouver Transit Authority / Translink

Check the schedule before you go, and arrive early. I haven’t had a problem but you don’t want to be the third biker to show up since the bus only takes two bikes. You will need to catch the 620 bus at the intersection of Highway 99 and Steveston Highway. There’s a small shelter on the right hand side after you go under the Steveston Highway bridge.

• Info about TransLink’s Bike and Ride Program – translink
• Cycling maps around the lower mainland – Translink
• PDF Map of cycling routes around the George Massey Tunnel – Translink

I’m guessing the links above will change over time, please leave a comment if you find a dead link and I’ll try to keep this up to date.

Arriving in Victoria

As you get off the ferry, you have two choices: take the highway or take the Lochside Trail. I suggest taking the Lochside Trail unless you are going for speed. The highway will get you into downtown Victoria faster, but you won’t enjoy it as much as the scenic Lochside Trail. It runs beside the highway for most of the way and gives you a much safer ride.

The trail runs on the left hand side of the highway. Last time I went I stayed on the highway until the first set of lights and then made a left turn. You’ll see the trail within the first block.

As you get closer to Victoria, you’ll have a choice of heading downtown or heading towards Colwood/Sooke/Metchosin. Both are great, and very different trips. Personally, I like the second choice, the ride up to Sooke is beautiful but the paved road ends so make sure you aren’t running on skinny road tires. I had no problems on a hybrid.

Good luck, let me know how it goes. If I had the time, I would be riding this route every weekend. It is a fantastic ride. If you have any other suggestions I would love to hear them and I’ll try to add them to this article.