Great Day Hike in Victoria, BC! Saanich Inlet, Jocelyn Hill, Gowland Tod

Looking across to the Malahat & Hwy 1.

Yesterday my husband and I hiked Holmes Peak and Jocelyn Hill, part of the Gowland-Tod Park just outside Victoria, BC. We'd never been up there before and I really wanted to check out this area of Saanich Inlet. It was a pretty challenging hike in the heat, with Jocelyn's peak at 439m and 4.4 km from the trailhead at Caleb Pike in the Highlands. We did the return trip in about 4 hours.

There are some really neat plants at the higher elevations. At a certain height, pines begin to appear, and hairy manzanita. A lot of the smaller flowers were already forming dry seed heads, but we saw some nodding onion, fool's onion and harvest brodacea.

A dried Hooker's onion

Harvest brodiaea

This gnarly Douglas fir tree has grown into a complete loop

Best of all was the views of Saanich Inlet.

Looking southwest to Finlayson Arm & Goldstream. You can just make out the Olympic mountains in the distance (Washington state). Victoria is just out of frame to the left.

The terrain is such that there are no roads or trails on this side of the Inlet along the water, so this is the only way to get this view. Across the water is the Malahat mountain, where Hwy 1 goes up Vancouver Island.

Looking north up Saanich Peninsula to the Gulf Islands

Feeling very grateful to live in such a beautiful landscape, just a few minutes from the city. This park is quite extensive and there is much more to explore!