The basin at the south end of Sechelt Inlet, a kilometre from the downtown grid across the isthmus, and the landmark used in every road closure notice.
Where Porpoise Bay sits, and the other places we attend
around Sechelt. Every name on the map is a link.
The basin at the head of the inlet
Porpoise Bay is the water at the southern end of Sechelt Inlet, immediately north of the downtown isthmus. BC Geographical Names records it as a Bay, adopted 29 July 1964, on map sheet NTS 92G/12. The strip of land between this bay and the Strait of Georgia is under 1.2 kilometres across, which is the reason the town stands where it does.
The District's neighbourhood names split the shoreline into West Porpoise Bay and East Porpoise Bay. Both were unincorporated until 15 September 1986, when they were brought into the District of Sechelt along with Sandy Hook, Tillicum Bay and Tuwanek.
The park is the landmark in every closure notice
Porpoise Bay Park was established on 29 January 1971 and the name was adopted on 12 September 1972. BC Parks describes it as located at the southern end of Sechelt Inlet, 4 kilometres north of Sechelt off Highway 101, reached by Sechelt Inlet Road. It has sandy beaches, unsupervised swimming, mudflats and estuary, trails along Angus Creek with a bridge across the creek, a campsite for cyclists and kayakers and a reservable group campground. The park is run under contract by Swens Contracting and its campground takes reservations.
The campground matters to owners further up the inlet for a different reason. It is the point the RCMP and DriveBC name when the road shuts. On 4 February 2025 Sechelt Inlet Road was closed north of the Porpoise Bay campsite in both directions from 9:30 a.m. for several hours.
The marina, the wharf and what has happened to boats there
Lighthouse Marina sits at the Lighthouse Pub complex, 5764 Wharf Road, on the bay. Its slips take vessels up to 48 feet. Marine-grade gas and diesel are sold through a key-fob payment system available at any hour, upgraded in 2014, and a restaurant, a pub and float-plane operations share the site. The marina was built between 2006 and 2008 as part of a redevelopment begun in 2005.
The Porpoise Bay Government Wharf is a separate public facility with a gated section, and the published crime record here is about boats rather than buildings. Between 29 and 31 March 2022 a boat moored inside the gated section had its cabin doors pried open and was ransacked. Between 2 and 4 April 2022, three boats at the government wharf on Sechelt Inlet may have been intentionally sunk. Both incidents happened within a week of each other, on a wharf with a gate.
A boat left on a berth here through the winter is unattended in the same way a house is, and it is easier to get away from. The single fire hall at 5525 Trail Avenue is a short run across the isthmus, and Sechelt Hospital at 5544 Sunshine Coast Highway is closer to this shoreline than to anywhere else on the inlet. Distance is not the problem at Porpoise Bay. Attendance is.
The smallest patrol zone on the published list
The RCMP's Porpoise Bay zone recorded 78 occurrences in 2023, 95 in 2024 and 76 in 2025. That is the lowest count of the four Sechelt zones the District publishes, and about three per cent of what the downtown zone records.
The count is low because the zone holds few properties, not because a property here is watched. In August 2024 residents of this neighbourhood told a public meeting that ten break-ins and thefts had happened among them inside two weeks that July, on Porpoise Bay Road, Ebbtide Street and Hightide Road. One household lost a chainsaw and an e-bike from a shed while away; a generator and a log splitter had already been moved into bins ready to be carried off. S/Sgt. Jennifer Prunty told the same meeting that reporting is what lets the detachment see which neighbourhoods are being worked:
there is and it helps us with creating the picture of what kind of crime is happening in what neighborhoods so that we can target our resources to those.
S/Sgt. Jennifer Prunty, Sunshine Coast RCMP, August 2024
What a check at Porpoise Bay covers
Cabin doors, hatches and lockers on a moored boat, and the lines, fenders and bilge after a blow
Shore power, battery charge and the cover or shrink-wrap on a vessel left for the winter
Kayaks, paddleboards, outboards and trailers, which are the items taken from this shoreline
House and cottage doors, windows, shed and garage, tried rather than looked at
Heat holding, or water off and the system drained, before the first hard frost
Gutters, downspouts and the drive after a heavy rain, with the ditch line checked
Whether the road north is open after snow or wind, and a return visit as soon as it is
Dated photographs of the boat, the buildings and the yard, filed the same day
Insurers normally want an empty house attended on a fixed cycle through the cold months, in many wordings not more than four days running, by someone competent, unless the supply is off and the pipes empty. Marine policies carry their own lay-up and attendance conditions. Read both before you settle a schedule.
What it costs
A scheduled check at Porpoise Bay is
$55 a visit, plus
$10 travel. The travel charge is the same
everywhere between Gibsons and Egmont. There is no minimum term and no joining fee.
See the full price list.
Where these facts come from
Every figure, date and quotation on this page was taken from one of these. They are
listed so you can read them yourself.
