Living the best adventure life, since 1958
March 22, 2025
~ submitted by Matthew Lettington
I’ve said it before, but it’s worth repeating—when there’s too much snow in the mountains, the Sooke Hills offer a fantastic alternative for logging kilometres and racking up elevation gain! With their dense, mossy hills, beautiful glades, and a network of trails ranging from well-maintained paths to forgotten routes, these hills are a playground for adventurous hikers looking to stay conditioned through the shoulder season.
June 5th, 2023
~ submitted by Matthew Lettington
After a few last-minute changes to the roster, Julianna teamed up with Matthew to lead this wander through Sooke. The highlight was walking a few of the less-used trails in the region.
June 17, 2023
~ submitted by Mary Hof
I led (with Ray Billings help) a hike for 8 Island Mountain Ramblers that took us 9 hours and 15 minutes. 1100m elevation gain and 22km. This hike was a Ridge Rambler hike. The weather was good, the wind kept us cool.
April 22, 2023
~ submitted by Matthew Lettington
The Sooke hills trip was a real day to soak up the west coast sunshine. The winding route took us up and over Larkspur, Rick Peak, Marys Peak, Puzzle and Screen Hill.
Continue reading “Larkspur to Empress Ridge Ramble”
Well it was to be the Sooke Hills with 10 people plus 3 others from Cowichan. The day of the hike it was Mt. Richards with 2 Ramblers and 3 other friends. I don’t blame anyone for canceling in the wet forecasted weather report for sure, I myself do not like hiking in rain. I must say 50 emails later of either people canceling or adding their name is a bit of a comedy. I changed it to Mt. Richards as Duncan was mid way between Victoria and Nanaimo. I want to thank Danial for braving the weather and coming out from Nanaimo. As it turned out we got no rain, and we had a wonderful hike. I did a different route from what Danial did before and he was very pleased.
Mary Hof
April 9, 2022
~ submitted by Mary Hof
Wow, just wow, what a day for a hike today. Joint trip with Island Mountain Ramblers and the OCV. We did 21.3km, 1103m, in the Sooke Hills.
July 10th, 2021
~ submitted by Mary Hof
It was a hot day to hike 16km, 850m elevation gain in the Sooke Hills Saturday, July 10th. Lead the hike for Island Mountain Ramblers and the Outdoor Club of Victoria.
We hiked from Charters River fish hatchery up Monument Mountain, had a well-deserved snack, and then headed to Grassy Lake, where the lilies were a spectacular sight. A quick break here and off to Mary’s Peak, 3 hours from when we started. A well-deserved lunch and I told them how I got a name on the map. I told them many years ago there was not much of a trail there, and at a difficult time in my life, I found peace there never seeing anyone there. After few times of going there, I mentioned to a few people how I just felt so good here, and the next thing I knew Mary’s Peak was on Open Street Map.
I have led many groups up here, and each time I am here a feeling of happiness comes to me, and I think everyone on the hike shared that happiness with me today.
After some pictures, we hiked back to Grassy Lake and heading down the Grassy Lake Trail back to our vehicle. It took us 6 hours.
It was good to share the day with so many that have never hiked here before, some that came from quite the distance. I have been leading hikes for over 25 years and I am always thankful to show people the beauty in every hike I lead.
~ submitted by Mary Hof
April 20, 2019
A beautiful day for a hike on Empress Mountain in the Sooke Hills.
Six of us set off at 9am, by 10:30am we arrived at Grassy Lake. After a snack, we headed up to Mary’s Peak, then Puzzle, Dumbbells, then steep down and up again to Empress.
May 27, 2018
May 27th was a good day for a hike. Seven of us started off at Charters Creek (Sooke) and headed up to Grassy Lake. The lake was beautiful, after a snack we headed up to Mary’s Peak. The views were beautiful. After a lunch break we came down, headed toward Grassy Lake again, then turned off and headed to Monument. Reaching Monument we came down the slippery trail from bikers and headed back to Charters Creek. Total km 16.5k and 752m elevation gain. Hike took just under 6 hours. A wonderful day, with wonderful people.
