Victoria has a wealth of interesting and diverse tourist attractions, there is something for everyone. Below we have listed activities that are available on or around the Westshore, for other ideas if you are staying or wandering into the other parts of this beautiful city please refer to the Tourism Victoria website.
WESTSHORE GOLF COURSES: Juan de Fuca Par 3, Olympic View, Metchosin, Bear Mountain, Highland Pacific.
LAKES FOR SWIMMING & OTHER OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES: Glen Lake, Langford Lake, Thetis Lake, Florence Lake
MALAHAT WALK Vancouver Island’s Malahat Highway, a 35 min drive north of Victoria
Immerse yourself in pristine nature: a steep, forested mountain, high above the Salish Sea. Previously, only agile explorers could enjoy such experiences of the wild. Now, our TreeWalk and Spiral Tower make this environment easily accessible, including strollers and wheelchairs.
HATLEY CASTLE WALKING TOUR 2005 Sooke Rd
Experience the tranquility of the Hatley Park estate and enjoy a guided walking tour that will take you on a one-hour journey.
Our knowledgeable guides will share the history of the Indigenous lands, Dunsmuir family, Royal Roads Military College and Royal Roads University.
Unlike other museums you may have visited, Hatley Castle is a “living building” and is occupied by Royal Roads University administration offices, classes and events. Our guided tour experience includes access to the first floor of Hatley Castle, the museum in the lower level and the surrounding gardens.
Please note: Access to Hatley Castle is only available with the guided tour. To protect the gardens, dogs are not permitted in the gated areas.
WILDPLAY ELEMENTS PARK 1767 Old Island Hwy behind the JDF LBC Greens Platforms high above your head. Dozens of ziplines streaking through the trees. Gravity-powered plummets that make your heart race. A giant swing so fast it blurs your vision, and more suspended ladders, bridges, nets, and obstacle games than you can count. This is where adventure lives.
MINI GOLF & 10 PIN BOWLING at CITY CENTRE PARK:
Mini-Golf is a perfect outdoor activity for those of all ages! Our Treasure Island course has 18 holes and takes approximately 45 minutes to complete. You will go through a gold mine, pirates, skeletons, a pond and lush greenery as you work your way through! This is a challenging, fun, family friendly course.
The Langford Lanes Bowling Alley is a 10-pin bowling alley with 20 lanes located in the heart of City Centre Park. We are open to the public daily and welcome bowlers of all ages and abilities, our lanes are equipped with bumpers, we offer lighter balls and ramps to assist in the bowling fun!
This picturesque multi-use trail, formerly a railway line, moves through urban, rural and wilderness scenery on its 55-kilometre journey from Victoria to Sooke. You can cycle, stroll, run, or even ride a horse through the rural sections. Whether you’re commuting to work, meandering on a weekend afternoon or pacing yourself from Sidney to Sooke, the trail is yours to enjoy and yours to protect.
The Galloping Goose was originally a freight railway line built during the First World War. It is part of The Great Trail, a national multi-use trail system linking trails from coast to coast to coast. “The Goose” intersects with the Lochside Regional Trail, a 29-kilometre former railway line from Saanich to Sidney. It also intersects with the E&N Rail Trail – Humpback Connector, a new 17km cycling and pedestrian trail being constructed largely within the E&N rail corridor that will link Victoria and the Western communities when complete.
Just 17 kilometers from downtown Victoria, Goldstream Provincial Park lies amid the splendour of an old-growth temperate rain forest. There you can see a world class salmon-spawning stream with thousands of Chum Salmon returning between October and December. It doesn’t stop there. During this amazing time of year you can visit the park and it’s always-changing Visitor Centre. The centre is named after Freeman King, an early naturalist who probably reached more children than any other naturalist on Vancouver Island. The centre is at the mouth of the river, overlooking the Goldstream estuary, nestled among giant black cottonwoods and red alder trees.
FORT RODD HILL PARK & FISGARD LIGHTHOUSE NATIONAL HISTORIC SITES
Surrounded by coastal landscapes, tour through Fort Rodd Hill, a 19th-century west coast artillery fortress on active duty from 1895 to 1956, then step inside Fisgard Lighthouse, the oldest lighthouse on Canada’s west coast. Be touched by the personal stories of soldiers and lighthouse keepers.
A saltwater lagoon located at the base of the Royal Roads property, next to the Fort Rodd Hill / Fisgard Lighthouse National Historic Sites and a view across Esquimalt Harbour at Dockyard.
Explore and Discover
Depending upon the tide there will be one island, and none to several small gravel bars, on the lagoon side of the bridge. These are regular lounging spots for gulls and should also be carefully scoped out for shorebirds. Mew Gulls and Glaucous-winged Gulls are frequent loungers but check the flocks carefully because birders have reported Heermann’s, Bonaparte’s, Ring-billed, California and even Western Gulls from this site. In the Spring watch for large orange bills and dark heads as small flocks of Caspian Terns may also rest on the bars. Shorebirds in season include Black Oystercatcher, Black-bellied Plover, Western and Least Sandpiper, Dunlin, Black and (rarely) Ruddy Turnstone, Sanderling, dowitcher, Semi-palmated Plover, yellowlegs, and Killdeer.
This seashore park contains a diverse landscape with woodlands, freshwater creek, salt marsh, sandy seashore and rocky headlands providing habitat for an equal diversity of plants and animals. Forest trails, sandy beach and rich bird life make this an ideal destination for the whole family.
