Explore Swartz Bay, British Columbia, Canada, with this interactive street and satellite map. Use the Map and Satellite buttons above the map to switch views. You can “grab” the map and drag it to re-centre it, or use the + and − buttons to zoom in or out to street-level detail.
This page also offers TOPO MAPS — the Canada Base Map with Toporama contours — plus shaded relief, a labelled UTM grid overlay, a distance and bearing tool, and a GPS grid-reference readout. See How to Use This Map below. You will find live weather, local and world news further down the page.
Imagery © Google · for orientation only, not for navigation
This interactive map shows the street layout and satellite imagery for Swartz Bay, British Columbia. Use the Map and Satellite buttons above to switch between street map and aerial imagery views. Use the + and − buttons to zoom in or out, or scroll your mouse wheel while holding the Control key to zoom. On a touchscreen, use a two-finger pinch gesture to zoom in and out.
Click ⛶ Fullscreen to expand the map to fill your screen for a larger view. To return to the normal page view, press the Escape key on your keyboard, click the ✕ Exit Fullscreen button that appears above the map, or on a mobile device tap the back button (Android) or the close icon (iOS).
Drag the map to pan to any area of British Columbia or beyond. Switch to Satellite view to see high-resolution aerial photography of Swartz Bay and surrounding areas, including streets, buildings, parks and waterways.
TOPO MAPS — NEW. Click the green 🔍 Search Maps button below the map to open a second map with a Base map row offering three choices. OSM is the standard OpenStreetMap street map. Topo shows the Canada Base Map from Natural Resources Canada with Toporama contours layered over it — the CanVec topographic data behind the printed NTS sheets, and the mapping used for hiking, hunting, canoe routes and back-country travel. Relief shows shaded relief and hypsometric tints. The search box finds any Canadian town, county or landmark by name, so you are not limited to Swartz Bay.
Reading the map like a paper NTS sheet. Click Grid to overlay the UTM grid, labelled along the edges exactly as a printed topographic sheet is — at normal zoom the squares are one kilometre across, so you can read a six-figure grid reference by eye and judge distance directly off the map. Click Measure, then tap two points, to get the distance between them together with the grid bearing in degrees and mils, the true bearing, and the magnetic bearing to set on a compass — which matters in Canada, where declination runs from about 20 degrees west in Newfoundland to 20 degrees east in the Yukon.
Click 📍 My position to take a single GPS reading from your device. It marks where you are and reports your position as a UTM/MGRS grid reference as well as plain latitude and longitude — the grid reference being what Canadian search and rescue work from — with a Copy position button so you can paste it straight into a text message. It takes one reading and stops, rather than tracking continuously, to conserve your battery. Note that map tiles need cell coverage, but a GPS reading does not — your coordinates stay correct even where the map itself cannot load.
Map search is available for a limited number of queries per session to manage costs. Be specific — search precisely for best results.
| Place | Swartz Bay |
| Type | Landing |
| Province / Territory | British Columbia (BC) |
| Location | North Saanich Land District |
| Country | Canada |
| Latitude | 48.683333 |
| Longitude | -123.41667 |
| Postal Code (FSA) | V8L |
| Area Code | 236, 250, 604, 672, 778 |
| Importance | Village / hamlet |
| CGN ID | JBDQS |
Swartz Bay is a landing in North Saanich Land District, British Columbia, Canada. It is classified as a village / hamlet. Swartz Bay is located at 48.6833°N, 123.4167°W.
Swartz Bay rests along the edge of the Pacific coast, tucked into the rising slopes of Horth Hill where the salt air meets the damp, coniferous timber. It lies 3.9 km north-north-west of Sidney, BC (from Sidney, BC: bearing 340°T), and is situated 15.7 km east of Shawnigan Lake. The land holds a quiet weight, defined by the proximity of the Gulf Islands National Park Reserve of Canada, situated 14 km away, and the distant, unseen presence of the Cowichan River, which flows 18 km inland. As evening approaches, the light thins to a pale, metallic silver, catching the movement of the tides against the rocky shoreline. Hutchinson Lake, located 11 km from the coast, keeps its own stillness, reflecting the heavy clouds that often drift across this corner of the North Saanich Land District. The movement of vessels defines the character of Swartz Bay, serving as a primary maritime gateway that pulses with the steady arrival and departure of travelers. This economic heartbeat persists regardless of the season, grounding the locality in a tradition of transit and connection across the Salish Sea. While the modern terminal dominates the immediate shoreline, the surrounding terrain maintains a rugged, coastal integrity, shielded by the forested rises that overlook the water. Life at Swartz Bay follows the predictable, turning tide, where the smell of diesel occasionally mingles with the sharp, clean scent of cedar and brine, grounding the day in the practical necessities of a coastal life.
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Explore Swartz Bay, British Columbia, Canada, with an embedded street and satellite map — switch between views using the small square in the bottom left-hand corner of the map. Coordinates: 48.683333, -123.41667. Live weather conditions and 7-day forecasts — including hourly outlooks — are provided through Open-Meteo, while real-time local and world news feeds help keep the page current. Editorial summaries provide additional local information and context.
Detailed location data for Swartz Bay includes the postal code (V8L), telephone area code (236, 250, 604, 672, 778). These are among the most commonly searched location details for any Canadian city or town.
Search Maps opens a second, independent map. It searches OpenStreetMap for any Canadian town, county or landmark by name; offers the Canada Base Map with Toporama contours and shaded relief as base layers; overlays a labelled UTM grid so the map can be read like a printed NTS sheet; measures distance and grid, true and magnetic bearings between any two points; and takes a single GPS fix reporting your position as a UTM/MGRS grid reference and as latitude and longitude. Map tiles require cell coverage, but a GPS position does not, so the coordinates remain correct even where the map cannot load.
Location data for Swartz Bay is sourced from the Canadian Geographical Names Database (CGN), Natural Resources Canada, and verified by coordinates rather than name matching alone. GPS coordinates, province, administrative location and place type are shown in the information panel above.
| Page generated | September 2026 |
| Location data | Canadian Geographical Names Database (CGN), Natural Resources Canada |
| Map layers | Google Maps; © OpenStreetMap contributors; Canada Base Map, Toporama and CBME © Natural Resources Canada (Open Government Licence — Canada); magnetic declination from NOAA NCEI (World Magnetic Model) |