The Best Hikes in Victoria BC

Last week I went for a hike and thought that I should write a blog about the best hiking trails in Victoria BC. There are lots of trails to choose from. Many great ones are located outside of Victoria like the Juan Da Fuca and West Coast Trail. But for the sake of this post I want to include ones in the Victoria area. So if you’re from here or visiting, you can expect trails only in the greater Victoria area.

Mt Doug Park

Mt Doug park has a few different trails you can choose from. If you start on the Blekinsop Rd side you can expect some easy trails in amongst the trees. Well, they’re easy until you get half way up then you have to navigate the glacier rock.

My favourite trail is on the back side where you enter from Shelbourne St. It’s fairly easy but once again, it gets steep and rugged as you get closer to the top.

Both sides will take you around 20-45 minutes one way to complete.

Mt Finlayson

Mt Finlayson is located in the beautiful Goldstream Provincial Park. From the base this hike is very steep. Like Mt Doug you can expect a nice start in the trees and glacier rock once you get to the top. Once getting to the glacier rock, you should be very careful about the glacier rock as it gets very slippery even when dry and it’s easy to fall down on.

Overall it’s anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour + to get to the summit.

Beaver and Elk Lake

This is the easiest trail of the three but it’s a very peaceful walk. Both lakes are surrounded by large trees and the trail is about 10 km’s  long if you hike both trails.

Is there any trail I’m missing? I’d love to know what ones I missing!

Image courtesy Tracy O via Flickr.