Gowlland Tod Provincial Park

A Hilly Park Above Finlayson Arm With Rocky Bluffs, Arbutus And Garry Oak, A Trail To The Jocelyn Hill Lookout, Mount Work Views And A Waterfront At Tod Inlet With Its Old Cement Works. A Good Half Day Close To Victoria · Victoria, British Columbia

Gowlland Tod Provincial Park runs along the steep eastern side of Finlayson Arm on the Saanich Peninsula, about 20 km north-west of Victoria (confirm distance). Rocky bluffs covered in arbutus and Garry oak, deep Douglas fir forest and open meadows of spring wildflowers make a varied landscape that rises quickly from the water. Trails climb to lookouts such as Jocelyn Hill and wander down to Tod Inlet, a quiet green bay where a cement works once ran and where the Butchart family later created their famous gardens from the quarry (confirm). The old company town and its workers, including Japanese, Chinese and Indigenous families, left traces among the trees. The park was created in the mid 1990s (confirm) and is protected for its rare ecosystems. It is a good half day close to Victoria with a mix of nature, long views, spring wildflowers and industrial history, and it suits all fitness levels.

Gowlland Tod Provincial Park, along Finlayson Arm on the Saanich Peninsula about 20 km north-west of Victoria, entered from Millstream Road and Caleb Pike; coordinates approximate, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

The park is open from dawn to dusk all year, with no gate or entry fee, and the various trailhead lots on Caleb Pike Road, Wallace Drive and Benvenuto Avenue follow the same hours (confirm). Trails are best in spring and autumn when the bluffs are cool, and the forest paths can be muddy and slippery from November to March. Washrooms are limited to a pit toilet at a few trailheads, and there is no supply of drinking water. Daylight shortens quickly in winter, and fog can sit on the arm until noon.

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