Text and photos by Mary L. Peachin
October, 2011
Vol. 16, No. 1
Old growth Western hemlock, Sitka spruce, and Western redcedar, a tree used by First Nations carvers for totem poles, virtually cover Juan de Fuca Park’s Botanical Beach’s fern-lined trail. A dozen inches of annual rainfall make the temperate forest lush.
Wooden planks span streams and bogs, while steep downgrades have steps. Constructed by the youth of First Nations Pacheenaht and T’Souke, the slightly less than two mile Botanical Beach trail, is a top rated Vancouver Island hiking trail.
The downward route, which is almost a mile long, leads to the Pacific Ocean’s Strait of Juan de Fuca Botanical Beach. Accessible only at low tide, the black basalt beach offers a series of tidal pools. When the tide is out, critters including crabs, sculpin, limpets, chitons, sea urchins, and a variety of other shellfish are trapped.
Surrounding these pools are beds of mussels, barnacle-covered rocks, sea grass, and kelp. The shoreline has unique sandstone walls, and a place where nature has carved an amphitheatre.
In this small flat half mile area, the barnacle-covered rocks also appeal to the appetite of black bears, who feast on them. Botanical Beach also serves as a trailhead to the multi-day Juan de Fuca Marine Trail.
Not well signed overall, the emergency exit from the beach is highly visible. Hikers, who might be distracted from the incoming tide or a rogue wave, can’t miss the exit. For those wanting a shorter hike, there is the option of hiking to Botany Bay from the trailhead, which is more of a walk less than half a mile down a wider trail.
Vancouver Island’s west coast offers a rugged coastline with a variety of options for hikers. This western most region of British Columbia includes the famous forty-seven mile week-long West Coast Trail. This is a permitted hike for experienced hikers.
Port Renfrew is the closest gateway town for both marine trails and the Botanical Beach hikes. Primarily a fishing village, Port Renfrew offers a hotel and several other accommodations. Roadside signs offer shuttle services and parking for hikers.
Sooke, a town approximately halfway between Port Renfrew and Victoria (an hour) offers more options for accommodations, restaurants, and other activities. It is better known as an outdoor gateway to hundreds of miles of hiking, walking and cycling trails including the Galloping Goose bicycle trail. The hikes vary from an easy mile plus stroll along Whiffen Spit, the Sooke Potholes, Botanical Beach, or Juan de Fuca Marine and West Coast trails.
Whiffen Spit was first surveyed in 1846. The spit, which protects the harbor from waves of Juan de Fuca Strait, was used back inn the mid 1880s by tall ships hauling lumber from Muir mill to distant ports. The Spit was named for a clerk on the ship Herald.
Along the banks of Sooke River, a favorite destination for Victoria locals is Sooke PotHoles Regional Park. Known as a swimmers paradise, the “potholes” are unique geological formations forming deep pools in the river rock Old growth forested trails wind over a small creek, around mossy rocks, to views of a waterfall or ocean vistas.
The West Coast Trail, a section of Pacific Rim National Park is southeast of Barkley Sound between Bamfield and Port Renfrew.
Originally, this historic sixty two acre, forty seven mile strip served as a trail constructed to rescue shipwrecked mariners. Along the rugged shoreline, the trail follows an 1890 telegraph route. An area where approximately sixty-six ships wrecked, it is known as the “Graveyard of the Pacific.” The terrain varies from sandy beaches to rocky headlands with wide sandstone ledges. Caves, arches, tidal pools and waterfalls add variety to the shoreline. Edged by a temperate coastal rainforest of old growth spruce, hemlock and cedar, it remoteness allows it to claim some of the tallest and largest trees in Canada.
Juan de Fuca Marine Trail is a thirty mile trail along the western shoreline between China Beach, west of the community of Jordan River, to Botanical Beach near Port Renfrew.
Designed for both strenuous day or multi-day hiking, the trail offers scenic beauty, wildlife viewing, and the roaring surf along the Pacific coastline of the Strait of Juan de Fuca. There are some moderate day hikes from trailheads at China Beach, Sombrio Beach, Parkinson Creek, and Botanical Beach.
Created by the Commonwealth Nature Legacy it is a g reminder of the 1994 Victoria Commonwealth Games.
Whether you are looking for a challenging backpacking multi-day hike or an afternoon walk, southern Vancouver Island is the place to go.
If you go:
Sooke Harbour House, www.sookeharbourhouse.com
Sooke Harbour House has garnered more awards for its hospitality and cuisine than any accommodation in Canada. It is a place for lovers or those enjoying a cozy oceanfront charming inn, one that serves scrumptious food.
In the 1700’s the area served as a migratory summer fishing camping ground for the T’sou-ke. In 1790, Spanish Captain Manuel Quimper, made a brief landing, but until 1849, when British Captain Grant arrived, the area remained unsettled Other European immigrants followed Captain Grant, including Andrew Muir, who became the first sheriff of Vancouver Island. He purchased an eighty-nine acre lot that included the area where the Sooke Harbour House now stands.
The property changed hands in 1925 when Anthony Kohout purchased the property. Four years later, he opened Sooke Harbour House, a two-story clapboard farmhouse operating it as an inn and dining room.
In 1979, current owners and Innkeepers Frederique and Sinclair Philip, purchased Sooke Harbour House, a house with five small guestrooms, no private guest bathrooms, and a small dining room. They began by catering primarily to Sooke and Victoria customers.
Frederique and Sinclair added ten more guestrooms in 1986. Larger rooms were designed with fireplaces, sitting areas and private baths. Sooke Harbour House became one of the first full-service, small inns to offer breakfast and dinner.
In 1988, the original five guestrooms were renovated to offer the luxury and pampering for which Sooke Harbour House had developed a world-wide reputation. Ten years later the Philips added thirteen additional rooms bringing the total to twenty eight.
Victoria Historic Inns, www.victoriashistoricinns.com
Port Renfrew Resorts, www.portrenfrewresorts.com