Victoria Hiking Trails RatingThe Galloping Goose Regional Trail developed from a disused railway line begins at the Johnson Street bridge in downtown Victoria and goes in two directions.  One direction goes to the Vancouver ferry terminal at Swartz Bay, 35km away.  And the other 55km through the Western Communities, out past Sooke ending near the ghost town, Leechtownl. 

  • Pro's Victoria Hiking TrailsWell defined, wide 55 kilometre trail!
  • Pro's Victoria Hiking TrailsFormerly a railway line
  • Pro's Victoria Hiking TrailsBeautiful trail all the way to Sooke!
  • Pro's Victoria Hiking TrailsStunning trail Victoria to Sydney!
  • Pro's Victoria Hiking TrailsPasses several beautiful parks
  • Pro's Victoria Hiking TrailsVery bike friendly
  • Pro's Victoria Hiking TrailsMuch of the trail is paved
  • Pro's Victoria Hiking TrailsStarts near the Inner Harbour
  • Pro's Victoria Hiking TrailsImpossible to get lost
  • Victoria Hiking Con'sFrequent construction closures

Victoria Hiking Trails

  Steep, Dog Friendly TrailAvatar Grove  Steep, Dog Friendly TrailBear Hill  Easy Hiking TrailEast Sooke Park  Victoria Hiking TrailElk/Beaver Lake  Victoria Hiking TrailEsquimalt Lagoon  Easy Pay Hiking Trail VictoriaFort Rodd Hill  Easy Hiking TrailFrancis/King  Victoria Hiking TrailGalloping Goose  Easy Hiking TrailGoldstream Park  Easy Hiking TrailGowlland Tod  Easy Hiking TrailGrass Lake  Steep, Dog Friendly TrailJohn Dean Park  Steep, Dog Friendly TrailJuan de Fuca Trail  Steep, Dog Friendly TrailLone Tree Hill  Steep, Dog Friendly TrailMill Hill  Steep, Dog Friendly TrailMount Douglas  Easy Hiking TrailMount Tolmie  Easy Hiking TrailSooke Potholes  Victoria Hiking TrailSpectacle Lake  Easy Hiking TrailThetis Lake  Victoria Hiking TrailWitty's Lagoon  VictoriaVictoria  VictoriaAttractions  VictoriaEasy Hiking Trails  VictoriaModerate Trails  VictoriaChallenging Trails

Clayoquot Hiking Trails

  Easy Hiking TrailThe Big Tree Trail  Easy Hiking TrailHot Springs Cove  Steep, Dog Friendly TrailLone Cone  Easy Hiking TrailNuu Chah Nulth  Steep, Dog Friendly TrailRadar Beach  Steep, Dog Friendly TrailRadar Hill  Easy Hiking TrailVargas Island  Virgin Falls  Easy Hiking TrailWild Pacific Trail

The downtown portions of the trail are paved, however, past that  the trail is packed down gravel and hard dirt trail.  There are convenient kilometre markers all along the trail emanating from the Johnson Street starting point.  As popular for joggers as it is for walkers, hikers and cyclists, from downtown Victoria the Galloping Goose Trail is immediately impressive.  The Selkirk Trestle, a ridiculously extravagant and long bridge spans the ocean inlet that branches off from the Inner Harbour.  This beautiful, 300 metre long and several metres wide bridge is almost entirely constructed of wood.  Large fir and hemlock beams that are perfectly suited to the start of a trail rich in history and in a city that is almost always beautiful.  It doesn't matter if it is a gorgeous sunny day or a dreary and rainy day.  Crossing the Selkirk Trestle in any weather is pretty, and that is just the first 5 minutes of the marvellous Galloping Goose Trail.  A hugely popular bike trail, the Galloping Goose gets its name from the train that used to run between Victoria and Sooke, a century ago.  The train tracks are long gone, but the route remains.

Now the Galloping Goose is part of the enormous Trans Canada Trail.  The 15000 kilometre, multi-use trail stretches from coast to coast.  There are endless variations to hiking, biking, walking and running the Galloping Goose Trail.  There are dozens of good access points and many of them have dedicated free parking lots(see the maps for parking).  Heading out from downtown Victoria you pass by several of Victoria's best hikes and hiking attractions.  Fort Rodd Hill National Historic Park is just a short detour from the Galloping Goose Trail and well worth it.  On a bike, the detour to Fort Rodd Hill is just 10 minutes.

Galloping Goose Trail

Fort Rodd Hill is astonishingly beautiful and incredibly interesting as a tourist attraction in Victoria that most never see. This fact is amazing as it is wonderful and unquestionably, or at least arguably, as good or better than any other attraction around.  And at $3.90, what a phenomenal deal.  You can crawl all over all the real pre World War I era defensive structures and even play with and all but fire a genuine World War II Anti-Aircraft Gun... which astonishingly is in the parking lot.  Fort Rodd Hill has so much to see it spills onto the parking lot.  What unbelievable place!  Though you could make your way through at a rushed pace in about 30 minutes, expect to take over two hours at a moderate pace as there is such an astonishingly huge amount to see.

Fort Rodd Hill

Fort Rodd Hill

The three connecting parks, Mill Hill, Thetis Lake and Francis/King are also fairly convenient side trips.  East Sooke Park involves quite a detour, however if you access the Galloping Goose Trail from one of the trailheads near East Sooke Park, then including it in a day-trip is definitely feasible.  Sooke Potholes is usually the end of the trail for most as it is quite an amazing and worthy goal and destination.  The Sooke Potholes are a beautiful and unique place to see.  Fantastic for swimming, though always very cold. Mill Hill Regional Park is a well hidden though wonderfully short hike to amazing views of Victoria, Esquimalt and the Western Communities.  The hike is only 15 minutes to the summit with a branching trail that leads to Thetis Lake Park.

Mill Hill Park Near the Galloping Goose Trail

Witty's Lagoon Regional Park is a great network of trails and boardwalks that meander through an impressive Douglas-fir forest leading to the wonderful beach at Witty's Lagoon.  The trails total over 5k, however, can be hiked in smaller  sections.  Many just head to the beach and lagoon and avoid the trails, but the trails are well worth a look.  The trails run around the lagoon with great ocean and wildlife scenery.  Sitting Lady Falls is wonderfully viewed from the very nice boardwalk.  Expect to take two hours if you walk most of the trails and far more if you stay to explore the beach and lagoon.  Witty's Lagoon is teeming with wildlife.  Fresh water pours into the salt water lagoon enabling an astounding array of plant and animal life.  Rock crabs, fish, clams, purple sea stars, seals and dozens of different types of birds can be reliably seen on every visit.  With the wide variety of life at Witty's Lagoon there is an interpretive centre to help you identify it all.  Free to visit and open everyday.

Witty's Lagoon Hike in Victoria

Victoria Hiking Trails

  Steep, Dog Friendly TrailAvatar Grove  Steep, Dog Friendly TrailBear Hill  Easy Hiking TrailEast Sooke Park  Victoria Hiking TrailElk/Beaver Lake  Victoria Hiking TrailEsquimalt Lagoon  Easy Pay Hiking Trail VictoriaFort Rodd Hill  Easy Hiking TrailFrancis/King  Victoria Hiking TrailGalloping Goose  Easy Hiking TrailGoldstream Park  Easy Hiking TrailGowlland Tod  Easy Hiking TrailGrass Lake  Steep, Dog Friendly TrailJohn Dean Park  Steep, Dog Friendly TrailJuan de Fuca Trail  Steep, Dog Friendly TrailLone Tree Hill  Steep, Dog Friendly TrailMill Hill  Steep, Dog Friendly TrailMount Douglas  Easy Hiking TrailMount Tolmie  Easy Hiking TrailSooke Potholes  Victoria Hiking TrailSpectacle Lake  Easy Hiking TrailThetis Lake  Victoria Hiking TrailWitty's Lagoon  VictoriaVictoria  VictoriaAttractions  VictoriaEasy Hiking Trails  VictoriaModerate Trails  VictoriaChallenging Trails

Clayoquot Hiking Trails

  Easy Hiking TrailThe Big Tree Trail  Easy Hiking TrailHot Springs Cove  Steep, Dog Friendly TrailLone Cone  Easy Hiking TrailNuu Chah Nulth  Steep, Dog Friendly TrailRadar Beach  Steep, Dog Friendly TrailRadar Hill  Easy Hiking TrailVargas Island  Virgin Falls  Easy Hiking TrailWild Pacific Trail

Bear Hill Regional Park is a nice hill trail, just north of Elk/Beaver Lake in Saanich.  It is an easy 2k hike to the summit where the views are ...
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Sooke is a wonderful coastal town with amazingly deep and beautiful forests, lakes and rivers.  The Sooke Potholes is an extraordinary example of this.  Over ...
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The wilderness hiking trails in Francis/King Regional Park take you past massive, old-growth Douglas Fir trees.  Some estimated to be as old as 500 years ...
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Mill Hill Regional Park is a well hidden though wonderfully short hike to amazing views of Victoria, Esquimalt and the Western Communities.  The hike is ...
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Meares Island was the centre of dispute in the 80's when the Nuu-chah-nulth protested Macmillan Bloedel's intent to log the island.  The Nuu-chah-nulth ...
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Vargas Island Provincial Park is a popular hiking, camping and kayaking destination due to its great location close to Tofino.  It has wonderful, ...
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Radar Hill is definitely one of the Tofino sights not to be missed.  It's a quick and easy walk to the top and the views are beautiful.   Definitely one of ...
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The Wild Pacific Trail is a must see on any visit to Pacific Rim National Park, Ucluelet and/or Tofino.  Located in Ucluelet, the Wild Pacific Trail is ...
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