Premier Listings for Isle-De-Lis Marine Park

Isle-De-Lis Marine Park is located on Rum Island, off Sidney at the east end of Gooch Island. Located less than a mile from the US/Canada border, rumrunners in the 1920s used the island as a base from which to smuggle prohibited spirits into Stuart Island, in the San Juan Islands group of the US during the prohibition era.

Mrs. R.M. Nelson bequeathed the land to the province when she passed away in 1978. She specified that it be called Isle-de-Lis, for the wild lilies that grow there. This entire 5-hectare island is parkland, and is ideally situated to observing marine mammals. Most of the shoreline is rocky, with numerous deep pockets cut into the shores.

Bordering on Haro Strait, the island is popular with kayakers using the facilities for overnight stops on multi-day paddling trips. Rum Island is connected to Gooch Island by a steep gravel beach, which provides the best place to land a kayak.

There are 3 campsites within the park, with camping restricted to the designated platforms, designed to protect the fragile vegetation on the island. Facilities include picnic tables, pit toilets and a small network of trails.

Access to Isle-De-Lis Marine Park is by private boat from Sidney on Southern Vancouver Island.

Isle-de-Lis is a part of the Gulf Islands National Park Reserve is one of Canada’s newest national parks. The park protects a portion of British Columbia’s beautiful southern Gulf Islands – a landscape of rocky headlands, forested hills and shorelines studded with colourful tidepools. The park resembles a patchwork quilt of protected lands scattered over 15 larger islands, and many smaller islets and reefs.

Nearby Regions & Towns

Park Notices

More Information
Parks Canada – British Columbia
Box 129, 23433 Mavis Avenue
Fort Langley, BC, V1M 2R5
Phone: 604-513-4777

Gulf Islands National Park Reserve
2220 Harbour Road
Sidney, BC, V8L 2P6
Phone: 250-654-4000

Premier Listings

Orca Spirit Adventures

Trip Departures: Coast Victoria Harbourside Hotel – Marina Level 146 Kingston Street Victoria BC V8V 1V4 Home Phone: 250-383-8411Home Fax: 250-383-4666Work Phone: 1-888-672-6722Website: Visit Website
Photo of Orca Spirit Adventures

Biographical Info

Orca Spirit Adventures is Victoria’s premier whale watching company, offering carbon-neutral covered vessel and zodiac tours led by certified marine naturalists whose knowledge and passion for Vancouver Island’s marine wildlife is unequaled in the industry.

Tours are three hours in length, with April through October being the ideal whale watching months. In this peak season, Orca Spirit Adventures boasts a greater than 95% success rate of spotting whales, including humpback whales, Bigg’s and resident orcas (killer whales), and gray whales!

Other wildlife you may encounter include harbour seals and elephant seals, sea lions, Dall’s and harbour porpoises, otters and marine birds such as cormorants and bald eagles.

Unlucky tour? Join us again using our WHALE GUARANTEE for a complimentary whale watching tour!

Categories: Boating, Sailing & Cruising, D'Arcy Island Marine Park, Discovery Island Marine Provincial Park, Greater Victoria, Gulf Islands National Park, Isle-De-Lis Marine Park, Port Renfrew, Princess Margaret Marine Park, Race Rocks Ecological Reserve, Recreation, Salish Sea, Sightseeing & Tours, South Island, Vancouver Island, Vancouver Island & BC Islands, Victoria, Victoria Downtown, West Coast Hwy 14, Whale Watching, Wildlife Viewing