Why you'd want to live in Mill Bay

At the north end of the Malahat Drive, take a detour to Mill Bay and enjoy the village’s quiet waterfront streets and wonderful Gulf Island views. Mill Bay was established in the 1860s, twenty years after Victoria was founded. Its principal industry was lumber and milling, which was done at the mill on the bay. The surrounding parks and scenery are lovely – perfect for hiking, cycling and boating. This is an ideal spot to spend a few days, basking in the sun and swimming in warm waters. If the prospect of negotiating the steep Malahat Drive from Victoria to Mill Bay is daunting, BC Ferries operates a regularly scheduled ferry service between Mill Bay and Brentwood Bay on the Saanich Peninsula, which offers an alternative route from Mill Bay to Victoria or to the ferry terminal at Swartz Bay. Community events include the Brentwood Rowing Regatta hosted by the internationally acclaimed Brentwood College in April. Cowichan goes Country, an annual country music festival in May, and Art Affair, featuring the best of the South Cowichan artisans and galleries along with music and refreshments in August. Walkers should check out the Mill Bay Nature Park, with its easy oceanfront trails. Seabirds congregate on the shallow muddy waters of a broad intertidal beach. Bamberton Provincial Park is located just south of the Mill Bay ferry terminal, beside Hwy 1. A large swath of sandy beach, complete with changing facilities, fronts on the Saanich Inlet here. Dozens of picnic tables sit on the terraces slopes above the beach, shaded by a fir-and-arbutus (madrona) foest. This is one of the more scenic locations on the inlet, and from here you look east towards Mount Baker on the mainland. via vancouverisland.com