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Welcome
Tourism Information
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Community
Services
Sechelt
& District
Chamber of Commerce
Sechelt BC V0N
3A0
Canada
(604) 885-0662
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Download the 2006 Sechelt Community Profile!
Wharf
& Teredo Streets, spring
Photo Sunshine Coast Photography - Dan McCormick
SECHELT, B.C.
Centre of the Sunshine Coast
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Location:
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The town of Sechelt is located on the Sechelt
Peninsula, more commonly known as the Sunshine Coast. Although accessible
only by air or ferry, the area is still a part of British Columbia's
coastal mainland. To reach the Sunshine Coast, you travel approximately
64km (40 miles) northwest of Vancouver along the Trans Canada Highway
(No. 1) to Horseshoe Bay. From there you take the Langdale ferry
for a 40 minute scenic crossing of Howe Sound. Having arrived at
Langdale, you take Highway 101 north for 27 kilometers (17 miles)
to get to Sechelt.
- Transportation
- BUS:
Malaspina Coach Lines operates daily to connect the Sunshine Coast
with Vancouver. As well, there is a bus service between Sechelt
and Langdale provided by BC Transit System, and local bus services.
AIRLINES:
Daily float plane air service from Sechelt to Vancouver, and Nanaimo.
- Geography:
- "Sechelt 's most striking physical feature is
the narrow isthmus it occupies, which from the height of a passing
floatplane seems barely sufficient to hold the outer waters of Georgia
Strait apart from the 100 miles of landlocked shoreline of Sechelt,
Narrows and Salmon Inlets." writes Howard White in the book The
Sunshine Coast, from Gibsons to Powell River. A magnificent sweep
of south facing waterfront defines downtown Sechelt, offering a
beautifully cobbled beach leading to exquisite little Snicket Park
which combines wave polished granite ramparts with driftwood & many-coloured
pebbles. Treed mountains, cascading creeks and waterfalls create
the spectacular coastline of Sechelt making the community a photographer's
delight year-round.
Trail
Bay Island
Photo Sunshine Coast Photography - Dan McCormick
- Population:
- The population of the District of Sechelt
is 8,000 and that of the area known as the lower Sunshine Coast
(from Port Mellon to Earl's Cove) is 26,365. The retirement population
accounts for about 30%.
- Municipal Government:
- The District of Sechelt is governed by a Mayor
and six councilors and is administered by five professional staff.
In 1986 the Village of Sechelt reconstructed to take on a greater
area and became the District of Sechelt, which land area is 39.28
square kilometers.
The District of Sechelt
www.district.sechelt.bc.ca
- Climate: click
here for current conditions
- The Sechelt
area climate is characterized by mild, moist winters and warm dry
summers. Temperatures on the Coast range from freezing in winter
to highs of 30C (90F) in summer. The annual rainfall is approximately
100cm (40in.) The Sunshine Coast boasts 14 more days of sunshine
per year than Victoria. A thirty-year average rainfall comparison
shows that Victoria received 26 inches of rain annually while the
Sunshine Coast received 37. However, it takes 143 days for Victoria's
rain to collect and only 129 days for our 37 inches. Another major
weather factor in our favour relates to wind. The first winds that
sweep in over the Pacific strike the West Coast of Vancouver Island,
a force that is evidenced by the wind swept trees. On the Sunshine
Coast we remain sheltered from the open Pacific. Our milder weather
patterns also mean very light snowfalls in the region. Some seasons
we have no measurable snowfall at all at the lower altitudes. The
Sunshine Coast boasts approximately 270 growing days per year with
temperatures over 43 degrees Fahrenheit. Areas such as Davis Bay
and Wilson Creek support growth of tropical trees & shrubs such
as palm, eucalyptus, apricot and fig.
Davis
Bay, Sechelt
Photo Sunshine Coast Photography - Dan McCormick
- Industry:
- The three industries employing the most
people in this community are Retail Trade, Construction and Manufacturing
(B.C. Stats 1996). Primary industries include logging, fishing,
aquaculture and tourism.
- Organizations
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- Sechelt & District Chamber of Commerce
- Rotary Club, Lions Club
- Royal Canadian Legion-Branch 140
- Masonic Lodge
- Oddfellows
- Business & Professional Women's Club
- Sunshine Coast Arts Council
- Coast Cultural Society
- Rod & Gun Club
- Kinsmen
- Rockwood Lodge Society
- C.O.P.S. (Citizens on Patrol)
- Maritime Society
- Home Support Services
- Senior Citizens Society
- Sunshine Coast SPCA
and Church & Hospital Auxiliaries.
Churches:(Greater Sunshine Coast area)
- Anglican, Baptist, Glad Tidings, Pentecostal,
Roman Catholic, Seventh Day Adventist, United Church of Canada,
Lutheran, Presbyterian Church in Canada, Jehovah's Witness.
- Medical Facilities
- St. Mary's Hospital, Sechelt, with 31 beds provides
medial surgical, obstetrical, pediatric and emergency care services.
Totem Lodge and Shorncliffe provided extended care services. Two
medical clinics, two dental clinics, pyshiotherapist, chiropractic,
podiatrist and optometrist offices are also available in Sechelt.
The community is well served by registered naturopathic physicians,
massage therapists, and reflexologists and licenced praticitioners
of traditional Chinese medicine. A minibus service and the Homemakers
& Adult Day Care are provided by the Sunshine Coast Community Services
Society.
- Recreation
- Facilities in and near Sechelt include an Ice
Arena for public skating, figure skating, and hockey, two 18 hole
golf courses, one 9 hole golf course, two Provincial Parks with
campgrounds, numerous Regional District Parks, a skateboard park
which is one of the largest of it's kind in B.C., beach volleyball
pits, public swimming pools in the communities of Pender Harbour
and Gibsons, and many public beach areas including sandy Davis Bay
beach and Sechelt's Pebble Beach.
- Outdoor Activities
- Boating, Sportfishing, Swimming, Water-skiing,
Kayaking, Canoeing, Scuba Diving, Hiking, Mountain & Street biking,
Golf, Windsurfing, Cross-Country skiing, Horseback riding.
- Services
- Sechelt and the surrounding District are served
by a volunteer Fire Department, a Provincial Ambulance Service,
Coast Guard, and policed by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Garbage
pickup is provided under contract with the municipality.
- Education
- Sechelt enjoys the benefits of a complete public
school system. Four elementary schools that include Kindergarten
to Grade 7 classes with Sechelt Elementary School offering French
Immersion classes. Chatelech High School offers Grades 8 through
12 and includes the service of a speech & learning specialist. School
bus transportation is provided to all schools. There are three preschools
in the District of Sechelt, Sechelt Preschool, Bethel Baptist Preschool
and Mom-Ay-Mon Preschool. Capilano College offers accredited academic
and career/vocational courses. The Continuing Education department
offers an extensive range of night school programs.
- Arts
- Sechelt abounds with Arts & Culture! The Sunshine
Coast Arts Centre, located within walking distance of downtown,
offers continuous showings for local artists and continues to expand
with exciting and innovative programs. Raven's Cry Theatre seats
274 guests and is the perfect venue for concerts, live theatre &
musicals and weekly first-run movies. Listen carefully & you will
hear music by The Sunshine Coast Community Orchestra, the Sunshine
Coast Philharmonic Orchestra, and numerous bands and choirs. Major
festivals include SunFest (Sunshine Coast Country Music Festival),
the internationally acclaimed Festival of the Written Arts
- First Nations heritage
- Sechelt Village is named after the Sechelt Indian
Band, one of the most progressive bands in Canada. The word "Sechelt"
means land between two waters. Indian Legend has it that the creator
gods were sent by the Divine Spirit to form the world. They carved
out valleys leaving a beach along the inlet at Porpoise Bay. Later,
the transformers, a male raven and a female mink, changed details
by carving trees and forming pools of water. The raven is an integral
part of the Sechelt Indian Band's culture and is often seen in their
carvings. The Sechelt Indian Band Complex is a must see for visitors
and residents alike.
Sechelt & District Chamber of Commerce
PO Box 360
#102 - 5700 Cowrie Street
Sechelt BC V0N 3A0
Email: secheltchamber@dccnet.com
Phone 604.885.0662
Fax 604.885.0691
Toll Free 1.877.633.2963
For
Visitor Information please contact:
Sechelt Visitor Information
Centre
Seaside Centre
5790 Teredo Street, Sechelt
Email: visitorinfo@dccnet.com
Website: www.secheltvisitorinfo.com
Toll Free: 1.877.885.1036
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