Sooke is filled with a spectacular array of trails for active nature lovers to experience. You’ll find kid-friendly, easy hiking trails for the whole family to enjoy and more challenging routes for those looking for a real workout.
The longest and most well-known trail in the region is the Galloping Goose, which stretches 55 km all the way from Victoria to Sooke. The picturesque multi-use trail, formerly a rail line, is perfect for walking, jogging, cycling, and even horseback riding in rural sections.
The Galloping Goose is part of the Trans Canada Trail, a linked system from coast to coast. Because of its length and lack of hills, this wide trail is often used by commuters on their way to work.
Those looking for serious ups and downs to hone their mountain biking skills can visit the Sooke Bike Park, located minutes from the centre of Sooke at the SEAPARC Leisure Complex.
“The Sooke Bike Park is a great place for beginner and intermediate riders to learn,” says Ethan Wiley of the Sooke Bike Club. “And with the improvements this year, including the improved trail access to the park, it allows folks from the community to ride in and work on their skills.”
The bike park includes a newly constructed pump track and a circular hard-dirt surface with hills and jumps, with sections for both beginner and advanced riders. Once you’ve sharpened your skills, test them on the go-to trail network in Sooke for mountain biking – the Harbourview Mountain Bike Trails.
The Harbourview Mountain Bike trails offer incredible mountain views.
Located at the end of Harbourview Rd, just outside the town of Sooke, it is a network of seven single-track trails in the Sea to Sea Regional Park. Take a 5.6 km ride to the top of Mount Manuel Quimper, check out the former fire lookout built by BC Forest Service in the 1950s, and take in panoramic mountain views.
“You get incredible 360-degree vistas of the Sooke Basin,” Wiley says.”The view from the top of Mount Manuel Quimper is beautiful!”
The Sooke Bike Club, in agreement with the Capital Regional District, has rebuilt many local trails, making them safer and much more sustainable throughout the year and giving riders a better overall user experience.
“It was already great, but the Sooke Bike Club has done a lot of work this year and made it amazing,” Wiley says.
“The Sooke trails offer the best gravity-oriented mountain biking on the South Island. In fact, Sooke is my favourite place to ride on the South Island!”
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