Ocean Island Victoria Guide

Willows Beach in Oak Bay is a popular destination in the summertime. Behind the beach (which has great views of Mount Baker) there’s a large field, perfect for playing Frisbee, tossing a football, whatever. A popular lounging spot to catch a few rays, this sheltered and sandy beach draws a crowd most weekends. If you [...]

  Beacon Hill Park’s beautiful gardens, meadows, totem poles, petting zoo, cricket pitch, tennis courts and lawn bowling make it a perpetual destination for the locals and wish-they-were-locals alike. Stroll through the 89 hectare park and check out the beautiful flowers, the second-tallest totem pole in the world, the wildlife (including swans, tons of ducks, [...]

Witty’s Lagoon is an ideal start to getting familiar with Victoria and its surrounding area. A half hour drive from the city, there are some great beaches, trails and a sandy lagoon to entice you to enjoy your leisure time. During the off-season, you can view “Sitting Lady’s Fall”–a creek flowing over volcanic rock– in all [...]

When Victoria residents sense that summer is here and it’s time to get into swimsuits and throw some beers in a backpack, Sooke Potholes tends to be at the top of their lists. The swimming is extraordinary and there’s some good hiking. It’s a great place to be when the city is just way too [...]

There are a ton of things to do in this extremely West Coast paradise: 50 km of hiking trails, the 10km Coast Trail (for more advanced hiker types), amazing views, and there’s all these little beaches, tide pools that are great for scuba diving… if you’re into having a picnic or whatever, there’s plenty of [...]

Great views, awesome hiking, and wrapped around the really cool and unique Gowlland Range, which is home to this crazy array of rare wildlife, there’s like 150 different species out there! You might even notice some First Nations people chilling out and gathering herbs – they do all kinds of traditional ceremonies in the area, [...]

It’s green, it’s full of really interesting flowers, berries, crazy vegetation, and cool birds, it’s got a great view of the Saanich Peninsula, and it’s all kind of slanted, so it’s great to hike around and take naps and stuff. It’s also the last refuge of some really amazing and old Douglas Fir and Garry [...]