March 1, 2026
~ submitted by Julianna Wells
East Sooke Park is one of my favourite hikes in the South Island area. There are many different trail options for traveling through the park, and if you have great weather, it can have some of the best coastal views around.
On Sunday, March 1 our group of 8 hikers met at Aylard Farm parking area for 8:50am to start our car shuttle to the Anderson Cove trailhead parking area. With a perfect weather forecast, we were all excited to hit the trail.
The trail from Anderson Cove climbs from the parking lot up into the forest of the park, gaining over 200m of elevation in the first 4kms. We took several of the “less-travelled” trails from there through the forests of firs, ferns, moss-covered rocks, and salal and covered our first 7kms of the trek before seeing the ocean. Once we were out of the trees, the 12 degree temperature was very noticeable, dropping most of us down a layer or two.
First lunch was enjoyed at noon with a great view overlooking the ocean and coastline. Re-energized, we were ready to head out along the Coast Trail to Cabin Point for Second Lunch an hour later. We watched a group of kayakers make their way up along the coast as we enjoyed the sunshine and brilliant views from the Cabin Point rocks.
Well-rested, we continued our trek with our next stop at Beechy Head for photos and views before continuing along, meeting more and more people on this popular end of the Coast Trail. We arrived at the petroglyphs at 4:00pm, then cut through the forest trail and road to the parking lot for a finish time around 4:30pm and around 15.5kms covered in total.
While our finish time was slightly later than planned, the total distance was just perfect. I’m grateful to everyone in the group for their contribution to the fun of the day.
772 m Total Ascent, 749 m Total descent, 7:13:47 Total Time
