Vancouver Island Kiteboarding -
The Best of West Coast Kitesurfing
It is difficult to summarize Vancouver Island kiteboarding spots and conditions. There are many to choose from that it is a place where you can live in a city (Victoria) or any number of small towns and find good kitesurfing locations. The quality of life here is unsurpassed with so few people accessing the many year-round outdoor activities.
There are a number of Vancouver Island kiteboarding locations in or near Victoria and a bunch that are within a 2 hour drive of the city.
In or near Victoria:
Cook St./Dallas Rd. - a popular spot fairly central in Victoria. Some people call this kite beach. This spot is the best in summer and for intermediate to advanced kiters only.
Island View Beach - located in Saanich which is a suburb of Victoria. Its good with SE & NE winds. A better option for newer kiters because of the light onshore winds.
Willows Beach - located in Oak Bay, a Victoria suburb.
Clover Point - a good place to get out that trainer kite for a practice session.
In a nearby town:
Gordon's (Muir Creek) - this location is past Sooke (near Shirley) and works best in Westerly wind. Sooke is located a half hour drive west of Victoria and is another great summer spot.
Jordan River - half way between Sooke and Port Refrew approximately 60 km from Victoria.
Cowichan Bay - another good spot about an hour drive from Victoria.
Columbia Beach - located in Parksville at Oar Road & works in SE wind more prevalent in the winter.
There are webcams for a number of these places to check out live conditions located online at bigwavedave.ca
Nitinat Lake (also spelled Nitinaht) is the jewel of Vancouver Island kiteboarding. Nitinat is 2.5 hours, with at least 1 hour of the journey taking place on a rough logging road, from Victoria. The journey is long and the camping is rustic but its a lot of fun.
Nitinat Lake is a good place for beginners to learn, probably the best spot on the island. The wind picks up later in the day. Like Squamish, thermals from sun build up throughout the day starting around midday. In the summer months (May through Sept - July and Aug being the best) you'll find consistent thermal winds. It generally blows when it's sunny, and blows harder if there is fog along the coast.
Kiters camp at the Nitinat Lake Recreation Site and the launch is about 1km up from the site.
Check out the Big Wave Dave forum an active place for both Vancouver Island kiteboarding and windsurfing. At present time there aren't any comprehensive summaries of kiting in the area for newcomers. You will have to fish around a bit and ask a lot of questions. Or just show up on a windy day and chat with the locals. They are a friendly bunch!
What else is there to do when the wind is not on?
Surfing is a growing sport in the cooler Pacific regions. There are many spots on Vancouver Island and the Victoria area. The competition can be pretty high for Victoria waves. The best place for newer surfers is Long Beach in Tofino.
Excellent mountain biking, hiking, fishing, skiing make Vancouver Island one of the best outdoor lifestyle places in the world. But, shhhh!, don't tell too many people.
Return from Vancouver Island Kiteboarding to Kiteboarding Canada.
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