East Sooke Park | One-hour nature hike | Vancouver Island | Canada

#eastsookepark #vancouverisland #naturehike
East Sooke Park is home to some of Vancouver Island’s most spectacular coastal trails. The 14km East Sooke Coast Trail is known for its beauty and challenging terrain, but you don’t need to hike the complete trail to take in spectacular views of the Juan de Fuca.

This hike can be completed in just an hour, but on a nice day, you will want to take longer!
We have completed this hike many times in either direction and it never gets old.

You may see whales and seals in the strait and the park - cougars, bears, deer and wolves have been spotted too - so it's a good idea to ensure that small children and dogs are kept close to you to avoid any unwanted encounter - there are a number of dogs that have been killed by cougars and keeping them on a leash is likely to avoid any problem. East Sooke Park is also home to Hummingbirds, innumerable swallows, geese, ducks, eagles, hawks, and cranes are all regular sights around here.

Beechey Head is a 5.5km loop in East Sooke with lots of variation. The starting point is Aylard Farm parking lot located in the southwest section of East Sooke Park. It kicks off nice and easy with a white sand beach at Becher Bay as you head east along the coastline.

At the 1.5km mark, your next stop will be at Alldridge Point, where you will find the ancient petroglyphs, and can still see the faded outline of a seal carved into the sandstone, which may date back as far as 3000 years.

Continue past this historical artwork, and you will enter the most challenging section of the trail. The next 1.5 km of hiking switches to some low-level rocky scrambling over uneven ground. The route is well-travelled and yellow markers are located throughout the area to help guide you along the trail.

At the next junction, notice the sign for Beechey Head. Follow these markings as you scramble up onto the point for a spectacular view of the Juan de Fuca strait and the Olympic mountains in the neighbouring United States. Beechy Head is known for its reference marker placed after the treaty of 1908, respecting the international boundary between the United States and Canada.

Complete the loop, head back to the junction, go straight, and follow the path that runs through the forest back to the Aylard Farms parking lot. This trail through the forest is wide and easy to walk. You can also continue down the Coast Trail to Cabin Point.