This 14,000 inhabitant village (up by 50% from 1999) sits on the pretty Sooke Harbour, and lies about 25 kilometres west of Colwood via Highway 14, and 38 km west of Victoria. The town is on the southen shore of Vancouver Island, and is western Canada’s southernmost harbour, protected from the ocean seas by narrow Whiffin Spit.
Sooke History
The town is named after the local Indian tribe T’Soke. The Coast Salish people, including the T’Sou-ke and Pacheedaht Nations, have lived in the Sooke region for thousands of years. In the late 1700s, Spanish and British explorers, including Juan Francisco de la Bodega y Quadra and James Cook, navigated the waters around Vancouver Island. In the early 1800s, the Hudson’s Bay Company established a trading post in Sooke,
In 1864, miners were dropped off here to work the gold mines on the Sooke and Leech rivers, about 16 kilometres upstream from the sea. The gold rush lasted a year with $100,000 in gold extracted from the area. Logging and fishing became significant industries in Sooke, supporting those who setled here after the gold rush.
Sooke continued to grow as a logging and fishing community, and hosts the All Sooke Day (third Saturday in July) which trumpets its logging heritage. The Sooke Harbour is about 5 kilometres long, before the waters widen into the larger Sooke Basin. The harbour is excellent for paddling. Often fishermen sell their catches fresh from their boats.
Highway 14, also known as the Sooke Road, heads west from Victoria and takes you to some rugged Pacific shoreline along the southwest coast of Vancouver Island. The paved road continues to Port Renfrew which is 107 kilometres from Victoria. The attractions here are listed from east to west.
Much of the recreation in Sooke is focused on the water, on its protected harbour. The community also has an arena, a museum, and access to the Galloping Goose Regional Trail, which extends from View Royal through Sooke up the Sooke River to abandoned Leechtown. Sooke also has the John Phillips Memorial Golf Club, just north of the town centre.
To the south of Sooke is 1,422 hectare East Sooke Park, which has many kilometres of trails along the coast, and up to the various peaks in the park. Also close by is Roche Cove Regional Park, on the east side of the Sooke Basin.
Sooke Area Attractions
Fort Rodd Hill & Fisgard Lighthouse National Historic Sites
603 Fort Rodd Hill Road (Colwood)
250-478-5849
Website
The Fort’s three gun batteries were built in the 1890s to protect the Royal Navy base in Esquimalt, and kept operational until the 1950s, once coastal artillery became obsolete. The 18 hectare waterfront park has spectacular views, and has beaches, tidal pools and forest trails to explore (because of wildlife, no pets are allowed).
The Fisgard Lighthouse was the first permanent lighthouse on the BC coast, built in 1860. Displays inside the lightkeeper’s house includes old maps, models, and photos of lighthouses, shipwrecks as well as light-making equipment through the years.
Metchosin Museum & Schoolhouse
Metchosin & Happy Valley Rds
250-474-3167
Website
This is the first school in BC, after the province joined Confederation in 1871. The school was finally closed in 1949. It is now an area museum, open Saturday and Sunday afternoons from April to October.
Sooke Region Museum and Art Gallery
2070 Phillips Rd, Sooke, BC
mailing: P O Box 774, Sooke, BC V9Z 1H7
Highway 14, on Sooke side of Sooke River Bridge (14 km from Colwood)
250-642-6351
Website
This museum provides an interesting look at pioneer life, with costumed actors. Buildings include the Moss Cottage, and the reconstructed Sheringham Point Lighthouse. Exhibits include logging and fishing artifacts, Coast Salish items. Open year-round except Winter Mondays.
Other Links
Sooke Attractions
Sooke Region Museum and Art Gallery
2070 Phillips Rd, Sooke, BC V9Z 0Y3
(Highway 14, on Sooke side of Sooke River Bridge – 14 km from Colwood)
250-642-6351
This museum provides an interesting look at pioneer life, with costumed actors. Buildings include the Moss Cottage, and the reconstructed Sheringham Point Lighthouse. Exhibits include logging and fishing artifacts, Coast Salish items. Open year-round except Winter Mondays.
Albert Head Lagoon Park
Delgada Rd, Victoria, BC V9C 3W2
(Metchosin Rd right on Farhill, south on Duke)
(250) 360-3000
This 7 hectare park is a wildlife sanctuary with a pebblestone beach for picnicking and sunbathing. The lagoon north of the beach is home to an abundant wildlife population, including some swans. The park has excellent views of Albert Head (which is used for a National Defence establishment), Strait of Juan de Fuca, and the Victoria skyline.
Witty’s Lagoon Regional Park
4100 Metchosin Rd, Victoria, BC V9C 3Z6
(7 km from Hwy 14 on the Metchosin Rd)
250-474-2454
This 56 hectare park is a birdwatcher’s paradise with shorebirds like great blue herons (even seals) hanging out on the sandy beach. The park also has big stands of Douglas fir, some creeks and Sitting Lady Falls. The park has picnic grounds and 5 kilometres of marked trails through the forests and leading to a sandy spit into the sea. Witty’s Nature House is open year-round, with extended summer weekday hours.
Devonian Regional Park
4705 William Head Rd, Victoria, BC V9C 3Y7
250-478-3344
This 13 hectare shore park is 5 kilometres past Witty’s Lagoon. It is tucked between two farms, and has walking and riding trails. The park is great for picnics, beachcombing and birdwatching.
Matheson Lake Provincial Park/Roche Cove Regional Park
Matheson Lake Park Rd, Victoria, BC V9C 4H9
(off Rocky Point Rd)
This provincial park, lies on the Galloping Goose Regional Trail, and has trails through cedar groves that circle the lake, as well as fishing, canoeing and swimming on the lake. The park is connected to Roche Cove Regional Park, which is on the Sooke Basin (and accessed from Gillespie Rd, east of Sooke), and offers saltwater recreation.
East Sooke Regional Park
Becher Bay Rd (south of East Sooke Rd)
250-478-3344
This large 1,422 hectare park covers some rugged terrain between the Sooke Basin and the Juan de Fuca Strait. The park has extensive old growth forests including Douglas fir, sitka spruce, shore pine and arbutus. The habitat supports extensive wildlife including bald eagles, otter, mink, and killer whales. The hills in the park rise over 270 metres above sea level and provide sweeping views of the water. There is a challenging 10 kilometre long Coast Trail, which takes you from one end of the park to the other in about 6 hours.
Whiffen Spit Park
Whiffen Spit Rd, just west of Sooke
This 1200 metre long spit protects Sooke’s harbour from ocean seas. Vicious storms in 1983 and 1984 split the spit, preventing access to the spit during high tides. In 1989, the local community funded repairs which again made the whole spit accessible.