Vancouver Island Seasonal Calendar

Deciding when is the best time to visit a destination is always difficult. When considering your Vancouver Island adventure, it’s best to think about what kind of activities you may enjoy doing first. This will help define which month(s) is most suitable.

The purpose of this seasonal calendar is to highlight which months are best Vancouver Island’s biggest attractions. The blue shaded months indicate that an activity is usually possible, while the yellow shaded months specify the best months.

• Hiking, for example, is possible at sea level all year round (with basic safety precautions). The best time to hike, however, is from April to early October. The weather is warmer and drier, trails are less muddy and the surrounding foliage is blooming! Alpine hiking refers to high elevation trails, which are not usually snow free until summer.
• Camping is also technically possible all year round (especially when including RV camping in this distinction) but I have included the months in which tent camping is most comfortable, with availability in mind since many campgrounds do not open in the winter months.
• Some of the activities listed here have more concrete start and end dates. Grizzly bear tours, for example, rely on scheduled tours offered by tour operators, which are, in turn, influenced by animal behaviour. Whale watching tour dates reflect normal migration patterns, which are relatively predictable.

Note: This seasonal calendar is provided for general information only. Even with careful planning, so much still depends on the weather. Vancouver Island weather can be variable, with rain, hail, wind and sun possible all on the same day sometimes! Conditions can also vary from year to year. March and April, for example, can be extraordinarily warm some years (18 to 22c) while in other years, temperatures are cooler (14-17c). June can often be strangely cloudy and mild (less than 20c), despite being the start of summer.