This island is only 8km from downtown Nanaimo, but it feels much more remote! Access is by private boat only, but there are water taxi services available. The island has a network of dirt roads but no stores. However, unlike most of the small islands, Mudge has electricity and high-speed internet services!
There is a Citizens Society who has organized firefighting equipment including a fire truck for anybody to use, which is uncommon for an island of this size. Although this doesn't count as a fire department for insurance purposes, it's miles ahead of what most islands of this size can boast.
The only marina is Moonshine Cove at the northwest of the island; there is a waitlist to join and a hefty entry fee. Many homeowners place mooring buoys - some have a dock or a swim float, or they pull smaller boats up at one of the many public accesses. There is a beach at the northeast part of the island that is a natural boat ramp; some people bring their trailers down to it.
For groceries, most Mudgekins do one of the following:
- Cross False Narrows to El Verano beach on Gabriola Island - it's 8 km from there to Gabriola's village, or to the ferry terminal that leads to downtown Nanaimo.
- Head south to the boat ramp in Cedar, which is a short driving distance to the stores in Cedar and south Nanaimo.
- Boat all the way to Nanaimo harbour, 10km from the tip of Mudge.
The 2023-2026 "Prohibition on the Purchase of Residential Property by Non-Canadians Act" (foreign buyers ban) does NOT apply to Mudge Island, which means that non-Canadians ARE allowed to purchase real estate on Mudge Island.
Mudge Island is separated from the Vancouver Island mainland by the famous tidal channel Dodd Narrows, where the current rips through like a river except during ebb/slack. It's also directly adjacent to Gabriola Island, separated from that island by False Narrows, a sometimes-navigable (but tricky) passage with some current of its own.
The island is part of the RDN - it's in Electoral Area B along with Gabriola and DeCourcy Islands. But land use governance is under the Gabriola Island Local Trust Committee (part of the Islands Trust).
Please give me an excuse to go to Mudge Island again. To get my help buying or selling property on Mudge Island, contact me.
