Highway 17 is a highway with ferry link to and from Vancouver Island. It was completed as a major route in 1959
  as part of the route between Vancouver and Victoria. The southern section is locally the Pat Bay Highway, named
  for a bay on the northern end of the Saanich Penninsula. The route is heavily traveled, but has only 5 km of
  actual freeway.  The balance of the route is 4 lane arterial highway. 

Highway 17 begins here at Blanshard Street.

Blanshard Street is Victoria's second main north south throughfare. 
A webcam showing a northeast view of Victoria and the Inner Harbour is available by moving your mouse over the sign. You may need to allow the installation of a virus free .ocx file in order for the image to appear.

The camera is provided by the Royal BC Museum, a premiere tourist destination in Victoria. The Museum is located just to the left or west of this intersection.

Blanshard and Humbolt Street.

From here, Highway 17 begins a bit of a climb into the eastern half of downtown. 
Downtwon Victoria. This is east of the downtown strip along Douglas Street and contains many government office buildings and commercial stores.
Highway 17 continues the Circle Tours which orginated on Vancouver Island at Port Hardy. Both routes follow Highway 17 North to the ferry, and continue to Vancouver.

To learn more about the Circle Tours, click on the sign. Return here to continue travel to the Swartz Bay ferry.

Once out of the Victoria downtown area, Highway 17
continues along Blanshard Street and then north of Victoria, begins a short 5 km run on a freeway. 

The freeway was completed in the early 1980's, and
this interchange - which offers a bypass route to
Highway 1 - was completed in the late 1990's.
Sign Bridge at the McKenzie Ave. interchange. McKenzie is a four lane arterial street west towards an interchange with Highway 1. The bypass was completed to remove traffic congestion at Douglas Street and another intersecting avenue that passes through Highway 17 south of here. 
The short freeway north of McKenzie Ave. While designed as  freeway (speed limit is 90 km/h), this
is a short stretch with only two additional interchanges, one at Quadra Street, the other at
Royal Oak Drive.  

Quadra Street interchange.

Quadra Street is a local thoroughfare serving the southern parts of Saanich Municipality.

Saanich is First Nations Coast Salish for "fertile soil", a note to the fertile soil on the northern half of the Saanich Penninsula which has a good amount of agricultural activity.
North of Royal Oak Drive, Highway 17 changes to a four lane divided arterial as it travels along the east shore of Elk Lake.

Elk Lake is a regional park and the lake offers boating, swimming, fishing and other day use opportunities.

Ahead is a local road to the west side of the Saanich
Penninsula. Brentwood Bay is a small community on the shore of Brentwood Bay, a part of Saanich Inlet. 
A small ferry can be taken to Mill Bay which is connected by road to the Trans-Canada Highway.

Following this route to Brentwood Bay will bring the
traveler to the world famous Butchart Gardens. 

The  45 acre Gardens are an excellent flower gardens set into an old rock quarry in the 1940's. The Gardens receive thousands of visitors world wide each year. 

The Pacific Marine Circle Tour leaves Highway 17 to travel on Brentwood Bay Road to Brentwood Bay to meet the Mill Bay ferry for the sail across scenic Saanich Inlet.

The route after arriving in Mill Bay will join the Trans- Canada Highway to Duncan.

 

 Highway 17 begins its descent into the more level terrain of North Saanich. 

The area has agricultural activity ranging from dairy, hay, and vegetable farms, plus there are some wineries in the area.

 

 

South of Sidney, B.C. is a line of billboards of every description relating to hotels and travel. The billboards are located on First Nations land.


To check ferry conditions at the terminal, leave the highway here by clicking on the right section of this overhead sign.

Otherwise continue to Swartz Bay.

 

Sidney, B.C.

Sidney (located to the left or east of the highway) is a small seaside town. It is also the western terminus of a ferry which travels to Anacortes, Washington. The ferry is operated by Washington State Ferries. 

Sidney is a full service town, and caters to the surrounding area. 

On the left (or west) is the area taken up by Victoria International Airport.  
If you're travelling to the Mainland, check road conditions before boarding the ferry of choice by moving your mouse over this sign.

Main thoroughfare to Sidney's downtown area, located to the east. 

Sidney is regarded as the gateway to the Gulf Islands.

An offshore Island is the location of Sidney Spit Provincal Park, a well used boat anchorage and offers
excellent swimming along its long sandy beaches. 
 
 If you're planning to actually travel to the Mainland, check the wait times for the ferry at this website's Ferry Conditions Page.

To access, leave at the next exit.

Once finished at the Ferry Conditions Page, use your browser's back button or select the Highway 17 route marker to continue to Swartz Bay.

Exit ahead for

Land's End Road
Ferry parking
Foot Passenger Drop off
CPR Cargo (Drop trailer ferry operated by Canadian
Pacific Railways' CP Ships).

On the right (south) is a bay where a large marina
is located.

People tend to speed up to make the ferry here,
much to the irritation of the Saanich Police.  
Sign bridge noting route options. 

Ahead is the Swartz Bay Ferry Terminal.
Swartz Bay Ferry Terminal.

Completed in 1959, and undergone two major
expansions since then, the terminal provides ferry service to the Mainland, plus services to Saltspring Island, and a third service to the Pender Islands, and
Saturna Island. 

The terminal is heavily used year round.  
Positioning into the line up.

There are two blocks of a lineup as there is with
Nanaimo and Horseshoe Bay, as this route to
the Mainland as does the Nanaimo-Horseshoe Bay
route uses multidecked ferries. 

Vehicles to the Gulf Islands are placed on the eastern side of the terminal. The terminal has food facilities, plus street type vending kiosks.

Ferries sail from here every hour from 7 AM to 10PM
during the summer to the mainland.  

Click on this picture to board the ferry.

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