Coast Trail Hike

East Sooke Regional Park is a very large regional park located on Vancouver Island, about 35 kilometers West of Victoria. There are numerous trails in the park, mostly going through the woods, but the most scenic aptly named Coast Trail runs along the coast of Salish Sea for over 10 kilometers. There are trailheads at both end of Coast Trail, thus making it possible to hike it one way with the help of a car shuttle. Doing a return trip of about 21 kilometers is possible as well, though the terrain, despite not being terribly complicated, is still challenging enough and is not very conducive to fast hiking, with several large moderately challenging hills.

A pleasant bonus was observing seals swimming along the coast at various parts of the trail. We even saw a seal enjoying a sun bath while chilling on a rock, but it heard us and took off before we could take a photo.

There is a Trap Shack close to the middle point of Coast Trail, so on September 5th we hiked West from Aylard Farm parking lot to the shack and back. The next day we hiked from the other end of the trail (off Silver Spray Drive) to the same spot and back, thus hiking the entire trail.

Please, note that there is a private real estate development in progress at the end of Silver Spray Drive, and access can be closed at any time. In this case, use Pike Road entrance, which would extend access to the western end of Coast Trail by about one kilometer one way.

The first two pages of this trip report are dedicated to the September 5th hike from Aylard Farm parking lot west to a Trap Shack and back (5.4 km one way), and the last two pages describe the hike east and back (5.22 km one way) which we had the following day. There are definitely more people heading west from Aylard Farm parking lot, and the trail would likely be quite busy during the main hiking season, so come off-season (elevation above sea level is minimal, and hiking should be possible for much of the year), or start from the western end and turn around at the Trap Shack to avoid the crowds.

* All trail distances are based on a GPS odometer and are approximate.

31. Still at 2.68 km from Aylard Farm parking lot, we are hiking uphill for a bit.

Coast Trail in East Sooke Regional Park

32. At the 2.76 km mark, there is a junction. Coast Trail proceeds to the right, and Beechy Head Trail of about 200 meters long is to the left.

Junction of Coast Trail and Beechy Head Trail

33. We are en route to check out Beechy Head. 20 meters from the junction.

East Sooke Regional Park - Beechy Head Trail

34-35. Approaching Beechy Head marker.

Beechy Head marker in East Sooke Regional Park near Victoria BC

36. It's a border reference mark.

Beechy Head reference mark sign

37. A fine view from Beechy Head.

Vancouver Island coastline view from East Sooke Regional Park

38. Looking the other way.

East Sooke Regional Park - Vancouver Island coastline view

39-40. You can also go a bit forward and get down to the water for some fishing, which we observed a few people were doing at the time.

East Sooke Regional Park

40. We are back on Coast Trail, 900 meters from the junction and 2.85 km from Aylard Farm parking lot.

Hiking in Victoria BC area - Coast Trail

41. A neat view of Salish Sea and Vancouver Island coastline at 2.96 km of the trail.

Salish Sea and Vancouver Island coastline

42. A small bridge at the 3.05 km of Coast Trail in East Sooke Regional Park.

Coast Trail in Victoria British Columbia area

43. Yet another good view arrives 500 meters later.

View from Coast Trail in East Sooke Regional Park

44. What a pleasant surprise - a gazebo just chilling by the trail at 3.16 km.

East Sooke Regional Park - Coast Trail gazebo

45. And a bit of a gazebo rest might be in order before tackling a hill 700 meters later.

Coast Trail Hike in Victoria British Columbia area

46. Your reward is this fine view at 3.29 km.

View from Coast Trail in East Sooke Regional Park on Vancouver Island BC

47. Coast Trail 4.12 km from Aylard Farm parking lot.

Coast Trail

48. The next good view comes at the 4.28 km mark of the trail.

Vancouver Island coastline view from East Sooke Regional Park

49. Less than a hundred meters later, we are back in the forest.

Hiking through a forest in East Sooke Regional Park

50. At 4.68 km, a mini-fjord of sorts.

Hiking in Canada - Coast Trail in East Sooke Regional Park

51. There are some stairs at 4.90 km of Coast Trail.

East Sooke Regional Park - Coast Trail - British Columbia Hiking

52. At the 5.03 km mark of the trail, we are back in the open.

Hiking in Canada - Coast Trail on Vancouver Island

53. Approaching Trap Shack. Turn left at this junction. The Trap Shack is just a few steps away. Turning right would lead to another trail. To proceed to the western end of Coast Trail, make a left turn here, then go past a bench seen in photo #55.

Hike in Victoria area - Coast Trail

54. The map shows our current location.

Map of Coast Trail in East Sooke Regional Park British Columbia

55. A bench by the shack.

Bench in East Sooke Regional Park

56. A view from the bench.

View near Trap Shack - East Sooke Regional Park near Victoria BC - Coast Trail

57. And here is the Trap Shack, a popular stopping point for Coast Trail hikers. It's 5.40 km from Aylard Farm parking lot to this shack. Coordinates: N 48⁰19.484’ W 123⁰40.257’. Elevation: 7 meters (23 meters elevation loss from Aylard Farm parking lot).

Coast Trail Trap Shack

58. Looking from the other side.

Trap Shack in East Sooke Regional Park

59. Inside the Trap Shack.

Vancouver Island - East Sooke Regional Park - Inside Trap Shack

60. Trap Shack info sign.

Trap Shack Info Sign - Coast Trail near Victoria British Columbia

Here is our video of the shack and nearby area.

More ihikebc videos are on our YouTube Channel.

We then turned around and returned to Aylard Farm parking lot. It's another 5.22 km from the shack to the western end of Coast Trail by Silver Spray Drive. A car shuttle would be perfect to make it a one way trip. But we did not have a second vehicle, so the next day hiked from the western end of the trail to this shack and back. Our Coast Trail Hike trip report Continues on Page 3.

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Other Trips in Victoria BC Area:

BC Aviation Museum		Royal BC Museum Visit
Butchart Gardens Visit		Dallas Road Trail
Victoria BC Downtown	BC Parliament Visit	Elk/Beaver Lake RP

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ihikebc.com Trip 300 - Coast Trail in East Sooke Regional Park (near Victoria, BC) Page 2 of 4