Gulch Guides

Coastal Hiking at East Sooke Park

About 35km west of Victoria is East Sooke Regional Park, home to some of the best coastal hiking on Vancouver Island. The 10km Coast Trail hugs the shore along the Juan de Fuca Strait and offers amazing vistas of the water and the Olympic Mountains to the south. The challenging trail winds its way through pocket beaches, rocky outcroppings, tidepools, lush forest, and high cliffs. While hiking in the park, it is not uncommon to see seals, sea lions, eagles, hawks, otters and even Orcas - if you get lucky. East Sooke Park also features over 50km of trails, a farm, petroglyphs, and many beaches and picnicking areas.

To get there, follow the Trans-Canada Highway (Highway 1) from Victoria and take the Langford (Millstream Road) exit and go south. Follow the Veterans Memorial Parkway and then turn right on to Sooke Road (Highway 14). From Sooke Road, turn left on Gillespie Road. Turn right on East Sooke Road to reach the entrance at Anderson Cove and Pike Road, or turn left to reach the entrance at Aylard farm off Becher Bay Road.

The best 3 hour bike ride

On a nice day, when you're not in a hurry, and you want to get outside, take advantage of an amazing bike ride here in Victoria. Forests, farms, great views, a small town on the water, trestle bridges, and almost all with little or no car-traffic...

What you can do and see on this ride:
- Pick some blackberries if they are ripe.
- Park your bike and take a 1/2 hour walk around beautiful Swan Lake.
- Admire the beautiful open farmlands.
- Stop to visit with the pigs and chickens alongside the path.
- See great views of the water.
- Cross 2 cool trestle bridges
- Buy some flowers or farm grown fruits and veggies from small stands along the path (bring small change!), or stop at the Farm Market.
- See model airplanes flying.
- Visit the town of Sidney.

Directions:
Starting from downtown, cross the blue Johnson Street Bridge on the right hand (north) side. Take the first path off to your right, down a short hill. Follow the bike path signs for about 5 minutes until you come to the trestle bridge that crosses the Gorge Waterway. Cross the brige and you are now on an off-street bike path. When the path splits, don't go on the Gallopping Goose, but rather stay on the path leading you to the Lochside Trail. At one point you cross Quadra and cut diagonally on a bike path going NE towards Mckenzie. Cross McKenzie and look for signs for the Lochside Trail. Follow this trail all the way to Sidney (about 2 1/2 hours all together) or beyond. You can take a bus back from Sidney, or just turn around and ride back. The route is almost copletely flat. Enjoy!

You can buy the Victoria Cycling Map at any bike store in town.

Cowichan Bay

The number of sailing and fishing boats in the water, and cafes and ice cream stores on land is a sure sign that Cowichan Bay is well liked by landlubbers and salty dogs alike. This sleepy waterfront town is a great place to drop by if you’re in the area. Be sure to check out the Cowichan Bay Maritime Centre and Museum, which is built on a wooden pier that extends 350 feet out into the bay. The museum features beautiful wooden boats, old outboard engines, historical model sailing ships, and historical information about the area. The Centre is an active wooden boat building shop and the friendly people who run the place are always happy to talk about what projects they’re working on. Admission is free but donations are requested.

Recharge yourself with the best baked good on Vancouver Island at the True Grain Bakery. Their chocolate buns or Bavarian style pretzels (each only a $1), along with a hot cup of coffee, are the perfect pick me up in the afternoon. The bakery itself is warm, cozy, and smells of, well, good things baking, so take a break while you're there.

To get to Cowichan Bay, take Highway 1 north from Victoria for 30 or 40 minutes to Mill Bay. Continue north on Highway 1 through Mill Bay and take a right on Cowichan Bay Road. Follow this road for 4 kilometers, which will parallel the bay and become the main street in town. Both the museum and the café are on this road and are easy to find.

Combine a hike in Goldstream, cider tasting at Merridale, and a visit to Cowichan Bay for a great day out.

Swimming in Victoria

One of the sad facts of life in Victoria is that the water that surrounds Vancouver Island is usually too cold for swimming. However, Victoria makes up for it's lack of a warm, tropical ocean with a variety of good fresh and chlorinated swimming holes.

Freshwater Swimming:

• Located about 12km from downtown is Thetis Lake Regional Park. This 1600 acre park contains Upper and Lower Thetis Lakes which, during the heat of summer, are great places to go for a dip. There is a large, sandy beach near the main parking lot or follow the paths around the lakes to reach other swimming areas and bays. Walking the complete loop around the lakes is a great activity no matter what time of year. To get to Thetis Lake, follow Douglas Street, which becomes the Highway 1, west from Victoria. Take the Colwood exit. Turn right onto Six Mile Road, which leads you directly to the parking lot. It's easy to find and there are signs.

• Sooke Potholes Provincial Park is one of the best places to go swimming on the entire island. The "potholes" are a series of naturally formed pools carved out of the sandstone bedrock of the Sooke River. The water in the potholes is clear and clean. You can swim in the pools or hike along the narrow canyon and as the river cascades through small sets of waterfalls. The Sooke Potholes are a popular destination are are located about 45 minutes from downtown Victoria. To get there, follow the Highway 1 (the Trans-Canada Highway) from and take the Millstream Road exit (Exit 14) to Sooke. Follow Veterans Memorial Parkway, then turn right on Sooke Road. Turn right on Sooke River Road and follow the signs.

For a great day or weekend, you can bike to both the Sooke Potholes and Thetis Lake on the Galloping Goose Trail, a 55km multi-use and mostly off road trail that goes from downtown to Sooke. Camping is also available at the Sooke Potholes.

Pools:

• The Crystal Pool (2275 Quadra, 250-361-0732) is within walking distance from downtown. It has a large 50-meter pool, a water slide, a kiddie pool, a sauna, a steam room, and a hot tub. If you'd rather not get wet, there are also various cardio and weight rooms. It costs $4.75 and is open late most days. It's only $2 after 9pm.

• The Saanich Commonwealth Place (4636 Elk Lake Drive, 250-475-7600) was built for the 1994 Commonwealth Games and is a first class place to go get wet. It contains a 50 meter pool, a dive tank, Victoria's only wave pool, a water slide, a steam room, a sauna, and several kiddie pools. It also has a full size gym, dance and yoga studio, a cafe, and a full library (what good pool doesn't). Admission is $5.25.

Witty's Lagoon

Witty’s Lagoon is a beautiful coastal park that is a great place to go when you need to remind yourself that Victoria is, indeed, on an island. It's great spot for spending a day at the beach or going on a short nature hike. It also has excellent wildlife viewing - the first time I visited I saw Orcas and seals a short distance from shore.

From Victoria, it's about a 40 minute drive. Take Highway 1, the Transcanada Highway, out of town. Take the Colwood exit. Follow the Old Island Highway, which turns into Sooke Road. From Sooke Road, turn left on Metchosin Road, which leads to the park entrance on the left.

The Cider House Does Rule

Visiting Merridale Cider Estate (250-743-4293) is akin to visiting a vineyard, only with apples instead of grapes and hard cider instead of wine. The beautiful estate has a working cider mill, a tasting room, a picnic area, beehives, and, of course, a 13 acre cider apple orchard. Visitors are encouraged to take a self-guided tour through the process of turning an apple into a great alcoholic drink. In the tasting room, visitors are also encouraged to sample the several different varieties of cider – from the very dry to the honey sweetened - that the Estate makes.

To get to Merridale, Take Highway 1 North from Victoria to Cobble Hill (about a 40 minutes drive). Turn off the highway at Shawnigan-Mill Bay Road and after 2.25 km turn right onto Cameron Taggert Road for another 1.25 km. Turn right on Merridale and continue to the end of the road.

Salt Spring Island

The largest of the BC Gulf Islands is a short ferry ride away from Victoria. Salt Spring Island is full of artists, eagles, ex-hippies, kayakers, ravens, and B&B’s. Like all of the Gulf Islands, activities around Salt Spring center on the outdoors and the colorful residents. Salt Spring is great for a day trip or a week’s vacation. While on the Island be sure to:

• Go hiking At Ruckle Provincial Park - This coastal park has over 7 km of shoreline trails that are perfect for combining a day of seal, otter, sea lion, sail boat, and ferry watching with hiking. The paths wind through rocky headlands, deep coves, grassy fields, and lush forests. The park is a great place to go explore tide pools and is home to a working farm. Ruckle Park has 86 mostly walk-in camp spaces along the water. To get there, drive 10 km east from the Fulford Harbour ferry terminal along Beaver Point Road.

• Hang out in Ganges – The largest town on Salt Spring, Ganges (so named because the HMS Ganges was stationed there between 1857 and 1861) is filled with bakeries, coffee houses, art galleries, restaurants, ice cream shops and all the other things you might expect to find on a tourist-driven island. A great place to sit outside and sip a cup of coffee is at the Tree House Cafe (250.537.5379 / 106 Purvis Lane), which has live music most nights in the summer.

• Kayak to Wallace Island – the Gulf Islands are home to some of the best sea kayaking in the world and Salt Spring has its share of paddling jewels. One of these is nearby Wallace Island, which is a Provincial Marine Park. The owners of Andale Kayaking (250-537-0700 / 1484 North Beach Road) - a father and son team - are super friendly and very knowledgeable. They will take you on a three hour tour of the marine park and they also rent kayaks and all the other gear you’ll need to go on your own.

• Check out the view from Mount Maxwell – Mount Maxwell rises 588 meters (1,929 feet) from the nearby sea and it’s summit is the highest point on Salt Spring Island. From the top, there are panoramic views of Vancouver Island, the Southern Gulf Islands and the mainland. You can hike to the summit along 6 km of trails, or, if you’re running low on energy, you can drive to the top. To reach Mount Maxwell from the Fulford Harbour ferry terminal, head north on the Fulford Ganges Road to Cranberry Road. Turn left at the junction with Mount Maxwell Road and continue on the rough road to the park.

• Look for live sand dollars – Sand dollars, being Echinoderms, are closely related to sea urchins. When alive, they are covered with a purplish-black fuzz of spines. You can often find live (and dead) sand dollars near the Fernwood Dock in the north section of the island. Be careful where you walk and be sure to let the live ones live on to old age in peace. And, please, no jokes about exchange rates.

To get to Salt Spring, drive north 30 km from Victoria on Highway 17 to the Swartz Bay Ferry Terminal, following the sign for Gulf Islands. The ferry ride takes about 35 minutes to reach Fulford Harbor on Salt Spring. Be sure to check with BC Ferries for current schedules and fares. As with all BC Ferries, arrive early because the ferries often fill up.

A good map of the island can be found here

Goldstream Provincial Park and Mt. Finlayson

For a quick wilderness escape from Victoria, head to Goldstream Park. This provincial park is just 30 minutes from downtown and is home to 600-year old Douglas fir trees, spawning salmon, soaring eagles, and some great hiking. For a great view and a challenging yet short hike, head up Mt. Finlayson, the highest point on the southern part of Vancouver Island. The hike should take about two hours.

The big draw at Goldstream are the salmon. The best time to check out thousands of spawning (and dead) chum salmon zombies is late October through November. The salmon run attracts one of the highest concentrations of bald eagles in Canada who see the whole stream as one big buffet. The park also has an excellent visitor center and 173 camp spots.

To get to Goldstream, take Highway 1 northwest out of town for 16km. The park is located on Highway 1 at the junction of Finlayson Arm Road and is very well marked. There is a day use fee.

Other Day Trips from Victoria

One of the hostels in town, Ocean Island, does a great job of listing day trips from Victoria, along with car and public bus directions.

Local favorites include Sooke Potholes, Witty's Lagoon, Mystic Beach/China Beach, and Goldstream Park.