Snug Cove is a community on the east coast of

Bowen Island Bowen Island (originally Nex̱wlélex̱m in Sḵwx̱wú7mesh), British Columbia, is an island municipality that is part of Metro Vancouver. Bowen Island is within the jurisdiction of the Islands Trust. Located in Howe Sound, it is approximat ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include ...

, opposite Horseshoe Bay. The island is wide by long and west of the mainland, and has a population of around 3,700 people. The Squamish hunters and fishermen were the first people to stay in the area using the site of the present community as a temporary camp. The Squamish name for this area was Xwilil Xhwm, which has been translated as "fast drumming ground" a name which has been connected to the Squamish story of how the

black-tailed deer Two forms of black-tailed deer or blacktail deer that occupy coastal woodlands in the Pacific Northwest of North America are subspecies of the mule deer (''Odocoileus hemionus''). They have sometimes been treated as a species, but virtually all ...

were created on the island. Early European settlers arriving in Snug Cove discovered ''shake dwellings'' and a

smoke house A smokehouse (North American) or smokery (British) is a building where meat or fish is cured with smoke. The finished product might be stored in the building, sometimes for a year or more.

. Snug Cove is noted for its

marina A marina (from Spanish language, Spanish , Portuguese language, Portuguese and Italian language, Italian : ''marina'', "coast" or "shore") is a Dock (maritime), dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats. A marina dif ...

and its buildings from the early 1900s, some of which (like the old post office and a group of cottages overlooking the marina) were built by the Union Steamship Company. In the 1920s some 5,000 people were known to arrive at Snug Cove and up to 800 couples could dance at what was then the largest dance hall in British Columbia. The resort was disbanded in the 1960s. Snug Cove is the location of The Bowen Island Public Library which is located in what is known as "The Old General Store".

Marina

Snug Cove is home to the Union Steamship Marina, capable of berthing craft up to 200 feet long. The Company ran a busy resort at Snug Cove for much of the 20th century. Day trips regularly ferried people over to Snug Cove for concerts in the band shell, with refreshments being available in the company tearooms and company outings to various picnic grounds.

BC Ferries British Columbia Ferry Services Inc., operating as BC Ferries (BCF), is a former provincial Crown corporation, now operating as an independently managed, publicly owned Canadian company. BC Ferries provides all major passenger and vehicle fer ...

Bowen Island ferry The Bowen Island ferry travels between Snug Cove on Bowen Island, and Horseshoe Bay in the District of West Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, a trip of three nautical miles across Howe Sound. A scheduled ferry has been in operation since 1 ...

route to Horseshoe Bay docks there.

Popular media

Snug Cove was one of the main locations for the 2019-2021 Netflix series

Virgin River The Virgin River is a tributary of the Colorado River in the U.S. states of Utah, Nevada, and Arizona. The river is about long.Calculated with Google Maps and Google Earth It was designated Utah's first wild and scenic river in 2009, during th ...

, set in a fictional Northern California town of 600 people. The library, main streets and Artisan Lane are featured.

References

{{Reflist Squamish people Unincorporated settlements in British Columbia BC Ferries