We love Bamberton for its campground and its beach. It’s a nice getaway from the city, especially on a sunny weekend. It’s north of the Malahat, right off the highway, but our favourite access is by the Brentwood Bay – Mill Bay ferry.
Bamberton beach
The sand beach faces east, so we like to enjoy the sun while having breakfast on one of the picnic tables, getting water from the public tap. It is also a great spot for hanging a hammock to the trees that lean over the beach.
There is a nice view on Saanich inlet, which is quiet most of the year, except maybe on a busy summer day.
The beach is also known for its shell harvesting. You can sometimes see families collect shells and boil them for lunch, but be sure to pay attention to the signs about toxins!
To access the beach from the campground, you have to go down a steep trail for a distance of about 100 meters, so you’d better not forget anything in the tent before you go the beach!
There is also a road access for people who don’t stay at the campground, or those who bring a car.
Bamberton campground
The campground is a family-friendly campground with a good mix of tents, trailers and RVs.
The sites don’t get much sun because the canopy is pretty thick so we prefer to go enjoy the beach instead.
We had a hard time finding trees that were close enough to our campsite and strong enough to tie our hammock or the tarp.
Both in 2019 and 2020, we picked a campsite that was separate from the access road by a few stairs, so it felt more private. When we stayed on site #4, three Czech tourists asked if they could park their van in front of our site because they could not find anywhere to go and it was getting dark. We had no problem with that and even in this situation, we had so much space that we didn’t hear them leave in the morning.
Access by the ferry
From Victoria by bike, the best way to go to Bamberton is to take the ferry that goes from Brentwood Bay to Mill Bay. It’s only $7 per adult and last time we took it, we didn’t pay anything for the bikes.
There is a ferry almost every hour from 7.30 am to 6 pm and you can arrive 5 minutes before departure, although we strongly recommend against that!
We like to take the 11 am ferry and have a snack on the boat while enjoying the view – although because of COVID-19, we avoided the snacking part on our last trip.
Once the ferry drops you at Mill Bay, gather your energy because you have to go uphill! You basically have to bike 3 km up a 100 m hill.
Arrived at our site with all our gear 
Our site (#4) in 2019 
All packed! 
Relaxing! 
Fresh corn by the fire
Maps
Be Active Like V 