The visitor's guide to

Salt Spring, Gabriola, Galiano, Mayne,

Pender and Saturna Islands

Top, Mortimer Spit on Pender Island; above, Hope Bay.

Pender Island: you could call it the Goldilocks island — not too big, not too small, but just right.

As 14-year resident and local real estate agent David Sherman observes: "If you compare Pender to Salt Spring, it's not as busy. If you compare it to Mayne, Galiano, or Saturna, we have more amenities. So we're right in the middle. And, for a lot of people, that's ideal."

And the bonus? The Penders are actually two quite different islands, linked by a short bridge.

It was all one island until 1902, when a canal was cut through the narrowest point to allow ships to pass. It wasn't until 1955 that a one-lane bridge rejoined the islands — a delay that may account for the marked differences between the two islands today.

Most of the Penders' population of about 2,500 clusters on North Pender. It's here you'll find the islands' one ferry terminal, at Otter Bay, and a range of services including groceries, gas, a bank, medical centre and a pharmacy at the Driftwood Centre, the island's commercial hub.

Pristine, forested South Pender is the wilder, less developed of the two, with few roads but plenty of beaches and large tracts of protected parkland. South Pender also boasts one of the world's prettiest floating customs posts, tucked into Bedwell Harbour on the island's southwest side. A first stop in Canadian waters for international boaters, Bedwell Harbour is also home to the luxurious Poets Cove Resort, where weary mariners can get a meal, a massage or perhaps a manicure at the resort's spa.

International yachting isn't the only way to arrive at the Penders. Regular ferry and floatplane service make it easy for non-yachters to pop over for the weekend. Both islands have a good selection of accommodations, including B&Bs, cottages, camping and marinas, as well as several restaurants.

Something else the two islands have in common is a wealth of options for outdoor activities, including 60 walking trails, 37 public beach access points and five sections of the Gulf Islands National Park Reserve. North and South Pender also share a long and rich history: archaeological digs in the area show that the islands have been inhabited for as long as 5,000 years.

History and scenery come together at Roesland on North Pender. This seaside property was a cottage resort for 70 years before it closed in 1991. Now part of the new Gulf Islands National Park Reserve, the 230-hectare site has walking trails leading to Roe Lake and to Roe Islet, a tiny offshore island accessible by a footbridge. The Roe family's original 1908 farmhouse is now a museum of local history.

Large sections of South Pender are also part of the national park, including Mount Norman/Beaumont, where a challenging sea-to-summit trail leads to the 244-metre (800-foot) summit of Mount Norman, the islands' highest point. Long views across islands and ocean are the rewards.

At nearby Greenburn Lake, old access roads have become hiking trails to this picturesque freshwater lake. Kayakers, boaters, hikers and picnickers are drawn to the good anchorages and sandy beaches in the Beaumont section of the park.

For beach lovers, though, Beaumont is just the beginning. Between them, the two Penders boast dozens of public beach access points — more than any similarly sized Gulf Island — so it's easy to find your own private strand. Top choices include the sheltered sandy beach at Mortimer Spit, near the bridge linking the two islands and the pretty pebble beach at Gowlland Point on South Pender.

If you're looking for something more active, you can go for a freshwater dip in Magic Lake, cycle on the rolling, virtually traffic-free roads of either island, or try a round of golf. You have two options here: a regular, scenic, nine-hole game at the Pender Island Golf and Country Club, or the Gulf Island version of the game: disc golf. The rules are similar, but the disc version is played with Frisbee-like discs aimed at targets on trees. Pender's 27-pin, four-hectare Golf Islands Disc Park is credited with starting the disc golf craze across the islands.

As on the other islands, many artists and craftspeople live on Pender, and craft shops, studios and galleries dot the byways of both islands. On summer Saturdays, the Farmers' Market at the Pender Island Community Hall is a great place to pick up locally grown fare and crafts.

You can even try a wine tasting: Morning Bay Vineyard and Estate Winery on North Pender has joined wineries on Saturna, Salt Spring and nearby Vancouver Island to form B.C.'s newest wine region called "the Wine Islands."

Even in the off-season there are plenty of community events to enjoy, including the annual fall fair and the delightful New Year's Eve Lantern Festival at Magic Lake.

And at any time of year you can stroll through the irresistibly-named Enchanted Forest Trail, one of the Penders' many lovely stretches of forest.