About Denman Island

If you love nature, the arts, and a friendly, relaxed atmosphere – then you’ll love Denman Island, B.C.

Denman Island offers lots of fun at our festivals, fairs, and tours. Connect with yourself by taking one of the many wellness classes or healing treatments. Connect with nature by hiking our forest trails or enjoying our many beaches. There’s plenty to keep bodies and minds engaged and active.

Denman’s year-round population of approximately 1,100 is an eclectic mix of artists, farmers, retirees, and progressive-minded people seeking a rural lifestyle in a beautiful environment that includes forests, lakes, orchards, parks, and rocky shorelines.

Nature and Recreation

Denman Islanders treasure their natural land and marine environments and work tirelessly to protect and restore them. They enjoy the outdoors with a wide variety of land and water-based activities that include vigorous endeavours such as kayaking or circumnavigating the island by bicycle as well as restful walks to watch birds and wildlife. There are also lots of indoor recreation activities. Pickleball, anyone? Table tennis? Basketball? Bring it on!

Arts and Entertainment

Denman Island is populated with artists, craftspeople, musicians and authors who share their work through stores, studios and a wide variety of events. Prominent authors from across Canada read and teach workshops at the annual Denman Island Readers and Writers Festival (July) while events such as the Pottery Studio Tour (May), Artists Studio Tour (August), and Christmas Craft Fair (December) offer opportunities to view and buy unique, hand-crafted works.

Health and Wellness

Denman Island is noted for its rejuvenating, stress-free atmosphere. Practitioners in a myriad of healing arts provide treatments that promote health and well-being while the Hermitage offers meditation and yoga retreats. Classes in yoga, Tai Chi and Nia welcome drop-in participants for gentle yet powerful workouts.

Learn more about recreation, arts and wellness activities on Denman Island

Markets, Gardens and Food

Islanders love to garden, growing flowers, fruit and vegetables. Residents joke that they only lock their cars in the summer to prevent over-zealous and overwhelmed gardeners from off-loading surplus crops of tomatoes and zucchini! Island gardens are so renowned that the Denman Island Home and Garden Tour (held every two years to raise funds for the Denman Conservancy Association) regularly draws approximately 1,500 visitors.

The rest of the year, look for garden, farm and orchard bounty at the Saturday Market (held from mid-May through the Thanksgiving weekend) or at farm market gates that dot the island. Denman’s gardeners and food producers are also celebrated at events such as the annual Blackberry Faire (Labour Day Saturday), the Mushroom Festival (October) and Applefest (October).

Learn more about markets, gardens and food on Denman Island

Denman Island Today

The Denman General Store and the Denman Island Community Hall have been the hub of island life since their construction in 1908 and 1912 respectively. These buildings and the century-old Denman Guesthouse on Denman Road anchor what is known (tongue-in-cheek) as “Downtown Denman” or Denman Village.

This core area also includes the Denman Island Community School, the Denman Island Activity Centre, a book store, hardware store with coffee shop, a clothing/gifts shop, the Denman Art Centre, St. Saviour’s Anglican Church, a co-operatively run craft shop, three real estate offices, and an insurance brokerage.

Outside the core, further east on Denman Road, you’ll find the Denman Island United Church and Denman Island Chocolate (which doesn’t have a sign but does welcome visitors by appointment).

Denman Island has a weekly news and advertising newsletter called the Grapevine, a volunteer-run monthly newsletter called the Flagstone, a community radio station Tree Frog Radio (89.1 FM, official call letters: DIRT-FM).

Like and follow the Visit Denman Island Facebook page to keep up with the local news!

The Denman Island Museum in the Denman Island Activity Centre is open daily in July and August or by appointment by contacting Jackie Hipwell at 250-335-1110 or [email protected]. The museum acquires, preserves and exhibits information relating to early human settlement of the land and to the marine area surrounding Denman Island.

Part of the Island Trust

Denman Island falls within an area of coastal islands and surrounding waters that was singled out in 1974 by the Province of B.C. to receive attention from local government, provincial agencies and other bodies in order to preserve the environment and unique amenities found of this special area. The island is, therefore, part of a unique land trust, designed to protect the exceptional variety of wildlife and plants, the outstanding scenery and recreational opportunities, and the rural character of the island communities, for the benefit of residents and visitors alike.

Geography

Denman is a relatively small island (approximately 51 square kilometres or 19 square miles) separated from the east-central coastline of Vancouver Island by Baynes Sound. The island is approximately 19 kilometres (12 miles) long and 6.5 kilometres (4 miles) wide.

Denman features a mix of farmland, apple orchards, residential lots and forest. There are arbutus and second-growth western red cedar and Douglas-fir groves and also some of the original forest of the Coast Douglas-fir biogeoclimactic zone. Only one per cent of this eco-system remains in its natural state in Canada. Visitors may enjoy it at the Lindsay-Dickson Nature Reserve.

Weather

Denman Island enjoys mild and largely dry weather in spring, summer and fall. Most rainfall occurs from November through January. The closest Environment Canada weather station at Comox Airport records average regional summer highs in the mid 20°C range (70°F) and winter lows a few degrees above freezing.

More Resources

In our Resources section you will find Maps, Frequently Asked Questions, a Photo Gallery, Kids’ Activities and more!