Sooke BC on Vancouver Island doesn't seem to get as much attention as other areas of the island. When people think of Vancouver Island a lot of their first thoughts got to the very popular area of Tofino and Ucluelet.
Or they think about Victoria, the capital city of British Columbia, which is a beautiful Harbour city. Kind of like a smaller Vancouver, as it has that city vibe still while being surrounded in nature.
This past May I finally ventured to Sooke as I had heard it was so beautiful and knew their were many wild adventures to be had here.
We started our first day adventures on the island in Langford area, which is only about 15 minutes outside of Victoria. We stayed one night at Bear Mountain Resort, as my friend had a free stay there. And we did 2 quick hikes around there.
Mount Finlayson (from Bear mountain) &
Jocelyn Hill, a short drive away.
Sooke is located Southwest of Victoria, only about a 40 minute drive away! So it's pretty crazy to think people go to Victoria a lot and miss heading over to Sooke.
There's a ton to explore right in the heart of Sooke like
*East Sooke Regional Park (a whole network of trails along the rugged coast)
*Whiffin Spit Park (a short walking trail that extends out into the ocean where you have the ocean on either side of you)
*Sooke Potholes Provincial Park (stunning area with turquoise water, waterfalls, walking trails and lots of swimming holes)
*Sooke Mountain Provincial Park (lots of hiking and biking trails with beautiful views, one with an old fire lookout)
Then you start heading west towards Port Renfrew and you are greeted with some of the most unique beaches along the Juan de Fuca trail. You can backpack / camp along this trail, or just make day trips (short hikes) down to each of the beaches.
We checked out
*Sombrio Beach (with the hidden cave waterfall)
*Mystic Beach (featuring a stunning cliff waterfall)
There is quite a few other spots to check out here too that we didn't have time for
*Botanical Beach (with unique tide pools)
*Sandcut Beach (with another waterfall at the beach)
*China Beach (you could actually easily add this to your visit to Mystic Beach as you park in the same lot for both)
I used Google Maps and Alltrails to find all of these spots. Downloaded Alltrails maps for the hikes (you will go offline in some of these areas and even go into roaming in the Sooke / Juan de Fuca area, so make sure to turn Data roaming off here)
Over at the end of the Juan de Fuca trail in Port Renfrew, that coast line is the infamous West Coast trail. That trail is backpacking only. I like that with the Juan de Fuca trail you get to choose your own adventure but one day, I'll likely do that trail as it also looks stunning.
The wholw west coast of Vancouver Island is super rugged compared to the other side of the island. Many areas in and around Sooke reminded me of Ucluelet.
Tofino is still unique though as it's the main part of the island with nice sandy beaches and excellent surfing conditions.
I've now explored some of the main areas all over the island but stay tuned as I go backpacking later this summer in Stratchcona park. The mountainous areas of Vancouver Island.
This one island has so much to offer.
Tell me your favorite part of Vancouver Island in the comments!
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Thanks for watching!
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