Beaches & Parks
There are parks, coves, farms and trails within East Sooke (Regional Park) for exploring and touring, it’s a small rural community located on a peninsula on the southern tip of Vancouver Island. You can get there by the BC Transit. Another attraction is the Sooke Potholes which allows for swimming provided by the pools in river rocks at the Potholes. Many other activites are available including camping, hiking and sightseeing.
Sooke Potholes
A series of rock pools located along the Sooke River, surrounded by small waterfalls, boulders and trees. The higher you hike the better the pools. Access is in Sooke off Highway 14 turning onto Sooke River Rd., up as far as you can go to the parking areas.
Video Clip of the Potholes – courtesy of Discover Sooke
French Beach Provincial Park
One of the most popular spots for families, sunbathers and beachcombers, offering a sand and pebble beach with picnic facilities. Very popular with the locals. Take Highway 14 about 20 minutes west of Sooke, in the summer the parking lot can be full by 10 am. There is a provincial Campground as well.
Video Clip of French Beach – courtesy of Discover Sooke
Botanical Beach – Port Renfrew
Rich tide pools, a shoreline full of life and fantastic geological features impress visitors to Botanical Beach, a “Natural Jewel” in the newly created Juan de Fuca Provincial Park
Botanical Beach has extensive upland habitat, but is best known for its abundance of intertidal life. A visitor can find hundreds of species of plants and animals. The organisms that live here must be able to handle a wide range of conditions. When the tide is out there are large changes in temperature, predators, food sources and salinity.
http://portrenfrew.com/botbeach.htm
Video Clip of Botanical Beach – courtesy of Discover Sooke
China Beach
Highway 14 west of Sooke , about a 30 minute drive – a 20 minute hike from the parking lot leads through old growth rainforests to spectacular water views. Listen to the thundering crash of the Pacific Ocean as you approach the sandy beach below. Water falling from cliffs at the west end is enchanting.
http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/bcparks/explore/parkpgs/juan_de_fuca/
Mystic Beach
A few kilometers past China Beach, this long sandy beach requires a little more effort on a steep but well constructed trail through the dense forest. As its name suggests, this beautiful beach evokes a sense of the mystical. Wear good footwear.
Other Parks & Beaches to Check Out!
Video of Sandcut Beach – courtesy of Discover Sooke
Provincial Campgrounds
Trails
Wildlife
With the notable exception of skunks and porcupines, virtually all of the land animals found on the coastal mainland of British Columbia are also found on Vancouver Island within the JDF Electoral Area.
Visitors who will be hiking the Juan de Fuca, Kludahk or other trails or visiting isolated areas should be well prepared to deal with both black bears and cougars. The latter are generally reclusive and seldom seen. However, they hunt by stealth, primarily in the hours around dusk and dawn. Bears are commonly seen on and near the West Coast Road, especially in the area west of Shirley to Port Renfrew.
Both Columbian and black tailed deer are common throughout the area and are frequently found on or near the highway.
Other species visitors may encounter include:
- Beaver
- Roosevelt Elk
- Field Mice
- Rabbits
- Raccoons
- Rats
- Squirrels
- Voles
- Wolves