Keats Island (British Columbia)

Keats Island
Coordinates: 49°24′N 123°27′W
Country	Canada
Province	British Columbia
Region	Howe Sound
Area
• Total	6 km2 (2.3 sq mi)
• Land	6 km2 (2.3 sq mi)
Elevation	242 m (795 ft)
Time zone	PST (UTC−8)
• Summer (DST)	PDT (UTC−7)
Area code(s)	604, 778

Keats Island from the north.

The view north from Keats Island, including Gambier island.

Keats Island is an inhabited island located in Howe Sound near Vancouver, British Columbia. Around eighty people live on Keats Island year-round.

Physical geography, settlements and climate

Keats Island is one of the smaller islands in Howe Sound, located offshore from the community of Gibsons on the Sunshine Coast and directly west of Bowen Island.

History

Keats Island is named after Sir Richard Goodwin Keats, a British Admiral. Admiral Keats served under Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson and was famous for sailing the HMS Superb through a blockade at Gibraltar in 1801 during the Napoleonic wars. In 1813 Admiral Keats was also a governor of the Island of Newfoundland.

Settlement and services

The small settlement on Keats Island is mostly summer cabins with about 80 full-time residents. Most residents shop and obtain other services in the nearby community of Gibsons.

The communities on Keats Island are clustered around the two government wharves; Keats Landing on the west coast facing Gibsons is the larger community and has a view of Shoal Channel separating the island from the mainland. The other community is known as Eastbourne and is located on the southeast shore. In addition, Plumper Cove extends along the west shore of the island from Freeman's Bluff (just north of the government wharf at Keats landing) to Plumper Cove Marine Provincial Park, and Melody Point is on the northwest tip of the island, facing Langdale.

Keats Camps is a Baptist summer camp operated on 93 hectares of land on the west part of the island. Keats Landing grew up around the camp, on lots leased from the Baptist Convention of British Columbia.

Barnabas Family Ministries is a camp and retreat centre operated on 64 hectares on the north side of the island. This land was formerly owned by the Corkum family, and was referred to as "Corky's Farm".

Access

Visitors to Keats Island can take a BC Ferry vessel from Horseshoe Bay north of Vancouver to Langdale Ferry Terminal on the Sunshine Coast. Keats Island and nearby Gambier Island are served by foot passenger ferry from the ferry terminal at Langdale, and Keats is accessible by water taxi from Gibsons and Horseshoe Bay.

Amenities

Keats Island has one of the oldest marine parks in BC; Plumper Cove Marine Provincial Park, which is a popular overnight destination for boats from nearby Gibsons and Vancouver.

Housing

Keats Island has permanent residents and recreation properties. Since the mid-1980s, new housing construction has mainly been for highly-crafted and unique homes.

Homes are clustered around the two wharves on the Island - Keats Landing, and Eastbourne.

External links

• The Keats Island Website
• Keats Island Official Community Plan
• BC Ferry schedule for Langdale-Keats Island
• BC Government website for Plumper Cove Marine Provincial Park
• Information about camping on Keats Island
• Keats Camp
• Barnabas Family Ministries
• Mercury Water Taxi (Horseshoe Bay)