British Columbia's section of The Great Trail is now one step closer to province-wide connection, thanks in part to a recent $100,000 donation from TimberWest. This park consists of two separate land areas located on either side of the Goldstream catchment. The goal is to complete the trail by July 2017, the 25 th anniversary of the Trail and Canada’s 150 th anniversary of Confederation.” The trail will be developed between the Humpback Reservoir in Sooke Hills Wilderness Regional Park Reserve and the CRD-Cowichan Valley Regional District (CVRD) boundary. Sooke Hills Wilderness Trail - north-central section. Thanks to Dustin for asking me to join him; he's 21-years-old … Today I hiked 9km roundtrip from Sooke River Road (at Sooke Potholes) up to Peden Lake and return on the Harrison Trail. Oct 28, 2019 - The Sooke Hills Wilderness Trail is a 14.18-kilometre section of this incredible pathway. Share this checklist with other participants' eBird accounts. … Note: Public access to Sooke Hills Wilderness Regional Park Reserve is prohibited at This page on Summit Post is how my hiking buddy and I figured out the Sooke Hills, without trail maps, a smartphone or GPS. “The Sooke Hills Wilderness Trail is a major visitor opportunity in the vast 4,090-hectare Sooke Hills Wilderness Regional Park,” says CRD Board Chair Barbara Desjardins. The Sooke Hills Wilderness Trail within the park is part of The Great Trail route. gain up and over the ridge before dropping down to Peden Lake. Welcome to OpenStreetMap! The park protects the conservation values of the rugged rocky hills, lakes, forested slopes and the watershed near Sooke River, as well as provide recreation opportunities such as wildlife viewing, wilderness hiking, fishing, mountain biking and horseback riding in a wilderness setting. If you include a new trail section added at the north by the Malahat First Nation to connect to the Cowichan Valley Trail (CVT - local name for the TCT), then it's closer to ~22kms. Established in 1997, the park is the largest park area in the Victoria region, and provides a buffer to the Greater Victoria Water Supply Catchment area. Scenes of forestry are seen from the northern end of the Sooke Hills Wilderness Trail. Malahat, Vancouver Island, BC: Trans Canada Trail is proud to announce the opening of a vital new trail link on Vancouver Island that connects the Capital Regional District (CRD) Sooke Hills Wilderness Trail to the Cowichan Valley Regional District (CVRD) Cowichan Valley Trail. Sooke Hills Wilderness Trail, Victoria, British Columbia. DIFFICULT 6.9 mi. Resources. It was Dustin's fourth hike into this remote lake. This section is within a wilderness area and the trail route includes significant hills (10%-16% grades). The worksite for the Sooke Hills Wilderness Trails Area 1 & 2 is located on Vancouver Island in the Captial Regional District (CRD). We followed printed directions like this: At 40-45 minutes note the wreck of an old red car on the left above the river and shortly thereafter cross the creek… Sooke Hills Wilderness Trail is a 8.2 mile hiking trail through Sooke Hills Wilderness Regional Park. The second section, the Sooke Hills Wilderness Trail (13 km), runs from Humpback Reservoir in Sooke Hills Wilderness Regional Park to the CRD-CVRD boundary. In Victoria, The Great Trail travels along scenic portions of the city, including the inner harbour and the Gorge Waterway before heading west toward suburbs and eventually, the Sooke Hills Wilderness Trail. The Cowichan Valley Trail is a spectacular multi-use trail that is an integral part of The Great Trail (Trans Canada Trail) route on Southern Vancouver Island. Sugarloaf and Townsend Hill is a 4.4 mile lightly trafficked loop trail located near Metchosin, British Columbia, Canada that offers the chance to see wildlife and is rated as moderate. Dogs are also able to use this trail but must be kept on leash. The multi-use Sooke Hills Wilderness trail cuts through 13 kilometres of hilly terrain to connect Greater Victoria with the Cowichan Valley. Sooke Hills Wilderness Trail Hiking trail in Malahat, British Columbia (Canada). The latest addition to Vancouver Island’s suspension bridge landscape, Sooke Hills Wilderness Trail and bridge opened just a few months ago, as part of Canada’s Great Trail. 2. crd.bc.ca; Hiking Trails (7) 1. This marked the end of a planning process that began when land was transferred to CRD Parks in 1997, forever protecting over 4000 hectares of magnificent hills and forest lands, finally allowed to once again rewild and flourish. OpenStreetMap is a map of the world, created by people like you and free to use under an open license. The trail officially opened Friday. Capital District; British Columbia; Canada; Owner klaus emmaneel. View History. In 2001, the Capital Regional District (CRD) adopted a management plan for The Sooke Hills Wilderness Regional Park. The completion of the Capital Regional District’s Sooke Hills Wilderness Trail and the nine-kilometre extension of the Cowichan Valley Regional District’s Cowichan Valley Trail, closes a gap in the route of the Great Trail.. Dustin guided us along the rough trail. Success! The operative word here is: UP. 23 likes. The Sooke Hills Wilderness Trail is 13 unpaved kms. The Sooke Hills Wilderness Trail, which opened in June of 2017, completed trail across the so-called ‘Malahat Gap’ in the Great Trail/Trans Canada Trail and Vancouver Island Trail. It's a 300m (1060ft.) The first day, over the Sooke Hills Wilderness Trail with its amazing views from the Malahat, ends at a B&B halfway up the west side of Shawnigan Lake. 3. Goldstream Falls Loop via Prospector's Trail. Mount Wells via Summit Trail. The rugged rocky hills, lakes, forested slopes and the watershed for a tributary of the Sooke River were set aside in 1928 to protect wildlife, wilderness and scenic values close to … The Nations have used the area for many thousands of years for spiritual, food, medicinal and other purposes. These two parks as well as the Sooke Hills Wilderness Regional Park make up what most people refer to as the Sooke Hills; a collection of rivers, creeks, lakes, mountains and hills overlooking the … See other rides. The Sooke Hills Wilderness Regional Park Reserve is a 4,124-hectare park reserve located in Sooke, West of Victoria. Sports & Recreation Sea-to-Sea Regional Park and Sooke Mountain Provincial Park. Region. 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