Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
town, between Holland Point Park and Ross Bay Cemetery, is extremely popular with
early-rising locals, who start streaming onto the pedestrian pathway before the sun rises.
Out of town,
Goldstream Provincial Park,
beside Highway 1, offers the best hiking
opportunities. Goldstream is worth visiting for its network of hiking trails. Starting from
the visitor center, the 200-meter (220-yard)
Marsh Trail
will reward you with panoramic
waterviewsfromthemouthoftheGoldstreamRiver.Anotherpopulardestinationis
Gold-
stream Falls,
at the south end of the park. This trail leaves from the back of the park
campground and descends to the picturesque falls in around 300 meters (330 yards). Non-
campers should park at the campground entrance, from where it's 1.2 kilometers (0.7
miles) to the falls. One of the park's longer hikes is the
Goldmine Trail,
which begins
from a parking lot on the west side of Highway 1 halfway between the campground and
day-use area. This trail winds 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) each way through a mixed forest
of lodgepole pine, maple, and western hemlock, passing the site of a short-lived gold rush
and coming to
Niagara Falls,
a poor relation of its eastern namesake but still a pictur-
esque flow of water. Of a similar length, but more strenuous, is the trail to the summit of
419-meter (1370-foot)
Mount Finlayson,
which takes about one hour each way and re-
wards successful summiteers with views back across the city and north along Saanich In-
let. The trail is accessed from Finlayson Arm Road.
The
Galloping Goose Regional Trail
follows a rail line that once linked Victoria and
Sooke.For55kilometers(34miles)itparallelsresidentialbackstreets,followswaterways,
andpassesthroughforestedparkland.Therailbedhasbeengradedtheentire way,making
it suitable for both walkers and cyclists. The official starting point is the disused railway
station at the top end of downtown where Wharf and Johnson Streets merge, and from the
end of the trail in Sooke, bus 1 will bring you back to the city. Obviously you can't walk
the entire trail in a day, but even traversing a couple of short sections during your stay is
worthwhile for the variety of landscapes en route.
Forthose keen ongetting around bybike, it doesn't get much better than the bike path fol-
lowing the coastline of the peninsula on which Victoria lies. From downtown, ride down
Government Street to Dallas Road, where you'll pick up the separate bike path running
eastalongthecoasttothecharmingseasidesuburbofOakBay.Fromthere,OakBayRoad
will take you back into the heart of the city for a round-trip of 20 kilometers.
You can rent bikes at
Sports Rent
(1950 Government St., 250/385-7368, 9am-5pm
Mon.-Sat., 10am-5pm Sun.), just north of downtown, starting at $16-24 for two hours
