Horseshoe Bay is a major ferry terminal of

BC Ferries British Columbia Ferry Services Inc., Trade name, operating as BC Ferries (BCF), is a former provincial Crown corporations of Canada, Crown corporation, now operating as an independently managed, State-owned enterprise, publicly owned Canadian c ...

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

, Canada. Located in the community of Horseshoe Bay, a neighbourhood of

West Vancouver West Vancouver is a district municipality in the province of British Columbia, Canada. A member municipality of the Metro Vancouver Regional District, West Vancouver is situated on the north shore of Burrard Inlet to the northwest of the city ...

, the terminal provides a vehicle ferry link from the

Lower Mainland The Lower Mainland is a geographic and cultural region of the mainland coast of British Columbia that generally comprises the regional districts of Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley. Home to approximately 3.05million people as of the 2021 ...

Vancouver Island Vancouver Island is an island in the northeastern Pacific Ocean and part of the Canadian province of British Columbia. The island is in length, in width at its widest point, and in total area, while are of land. The island is the largest ...

, the Sunshine Coast, and to

Bowen Island Bowen Island (; ), British Columbia, is an island municipality that is part of Metro Vancouver, and within the jurisdiction of the Islands Trust. Located in Howe Sound, it is approximately wide by long, and at its closest point is about w ...

, a small island in the southern part of

Howe Sound Howe Sound (, ) is a roughly triangular sound (geography), sound, that joins a network of fjords situated immediately northwest of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It was designated as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in 2021. Geography Howe Sound ...

. Comprising three berths, Horseshoe Bay is the third largest BC Ferries terminal, after Tsawwassen and

Swartz Bay Swartz Bay, located on the north end of the Saanich Peninsula on Vancouver Island, is primarily known for being the location of one of BC Ferries British Columbia Ferry Services Inc., Trade name, operating as BC Ferries (BCF), is a former pr ...

Establishment and expansion

In 1951, the Black Ball Line leased a wharf and began a service to

Gibsons Gibsons is a coastal community of 4,758 in southwestern British Columbia, Canada on the Sunshine Coast (British Columbia), Sunshine Coast, where the southwest bank of Howe Sound meets the Strait of Georgia. During its early history as a Europe ...

(later relocated to

Langdale Great Langdale is a valley in the Lake District National Park in North West England, the epithet "Great" distinguishing it from the neighbouring valley of Little Langdale. Langdale is also the name of a valley in the Howgill Fells, elsewhere ...

). In 1953, a new route to

Departure Bay Departure Bay is a bay in central Nanaimo, British Columbia, on the east coast of Vancouver Island. The surrounding neighbourhood is also referred to as "Departure Bay" —once a settlement of its own, it was amalgamated into the City of Na ...

Nanaimo Nanaimo ( ) is a city of about 100,000 on the east coast of Vancouver Island, in British Columbia, Canada. "The Harbour City" was previously known as the "Hub City", which was attributed to its original layout design with streets radiating fr ...

was established. In 1956, services to Bowen Island began when Black Ball replaced the

Union Steamship Company of British Columbia The Union Steamship Company of British Columbia was a pioneer firm on coastal British Columbia. It was founded in November 1889 by John Darling, a director of the Union Steamship Company of New Zealand, and nine local businessmen. The company be ...

. In 1961, the provincial government purchased the various Black Ball operations. In the late 1960s, the terminal was reconstructed and expanded. In 1976, a new upper deck loading ramp was built. In 2002, substantial improvements were completed at a cost of $39 million, which primarily addressed traffic awaiting embarkation on ferries. Holding stalls increased from 650 to 1,265 by absorbing former highway, removing a freeway bridge and truck runaway lane, and reconfiguring a highway interchange. Additional construction included a 450-car underground parkade and new buildings for foot passengers, amenities and maintenance. A $250 million upgrade of the terminal is planned for the 2020s. On March 28, 2022, the first seismic sensor for British Columbia's

earthquake early warning An earthquake early warning (EEW) system is a system of accelerometers, seismometers, communication, computers, and alarms that is devised for rapidly notifying adjoining regions of a substantial earthquake once one begins. This is not the same ...

system was installed at the Horseshoe Bay terminal.

Popular culture

Ferry rides from Horseshoe Bay are described by fictional characters in the novel ''The Cat's Table,'' by

Booker Prize The Booker Prize, formerly the Booker Prize for Fiction (1969–2001) and the Man Booker Prize (2002–2019), is a prestigious literary award conferred each year for the best single work of sustained fiction written in the English language, wh ...

-winning author

Michael Ondaatje Philip Michael Ondaatje (; born 12 September 1943) is a Sri Lankan-born Canadian poet, fiction writer and essayist. Ondaatje's literary career began with his poetry in 1967, publishing ''The Dainty Monsters'', and then in 1970 the critically a ...

, and in the short story ''What is Remembered'', by

Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; ; ) are awards administered by the Nobel Foundation and granted in accordance with the principle of "for the greatest benefit to humankind". The prizes were first awarded in 1901, marking the fifth anniversary of Alfred N ...

-winning author

Alice Munro Alice Ann Munro ( ; ; 10 July 1931 – 13 May 2024) was a Canadian short story writer who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2013. Her work tends to move forward and backward in time, with integrated short story cycles. Munro's ...

Incidents and accidents

* 1966: '' Langdale Queen'' ran over a nearby rowboat; both occupants survived. * 1982: '' Queen of Surrey'' rammed the dock, causing significant damage. * 1985: Three occupants were killed when '' Queen of Cowichan'' ran over a pleasure boat near the terminal. * 1989: A structural steel load on an arriving truck shifted, striking seven parked vehicles and injuring two women in the holding lot. * 1990: After brakes failed, a loaded truck struck a parked van and spilled hot asphalt, killing two of the occupants and injuring others. The truck driver received an 18-month sentence, increased to five years on appeal. At a new trial, the driver was found guilty of dangerous driving but not criminal negligence. * 1991: Robbers stole $12,000 in coin from a safe at the terminal. * 1995: '' Queen of Coquitlam'' slammed into pilings, damaging its bow. * 2005: '' Queen of Oak Bay'' lost control and smashed into a number of private boats at the marina in Horseshoe Bay; no fatalities were reported. * 2019: A crew member was significantly injured after being hit by the ''Queen of Cowichans bow door, which was having trouble opening at the terminal. * 2022: A minor rock slide on January 2 closed the parkade for rock removal and structural repairs. The parkade was re-opened on May 18, 2022. * 2025: A TransLink bus crashed into the bus stop next to the foot passenger area killing a pedestrian and injuring another.

Gallery

File:Horshbay-ferry-lineup.jpg, Cars lining up at the terminal. File:Horshbay-ferry-dep.jpg, A ferry departing the terminal. File:Queenofoakbay-horshbay.jpg, ''Queen of Oak Bay'' departing the terminal. File:Horshbay-ferrytermin-entrance.jpg, Entrance to the terminal. File:Queenofcapilano-horshbay.jpg, ''Queen of Capilano'' arrives at the terminal.

Notes

References

{{BC Ferries , state=expanded BC Ferries terminals Transport in West Vancouver Transport in Greater Vancouver