Walks in Your Back Yard
A pocket guide to
Metchosin Parks, Playgrounds and Green Spaces
@REckard 2017
My Chosen place.
Winding country roads with cultivated and landscaped acreages and secluded seaside homes form the municipality of Metchosin in the Capital Regional District of British Columbia. Home to about five thousand people, this seventy one square kilometer area is rural community with several recreation areas and trails. Many homesteads are active farms with produce stands near their driveways. This municipality is part of the region known as the West Shore. It expands from Albert Head, just west of Esquimalt Harbour to Rocky Point, along the shoreline of Juan de Fuca Strait that connects the Salish Sea to the Pacific Ocean.
Metchosin has meandering roads leading past cultivated acreages, forests, over rocky headlands, cleared farmland and secluded seaside homes. There are several regional parks in the area as well as small neighborhood green spaces and trails. Most of the trails in Metchosin also are bridle paths.
Metchosin’s northern border is with Langford and Sooke Hills Wilderness Regional Park while to the south is the Strait of Juan de Fuca that connects to the Salish Sea to the east. The eastern borders is with Colwood while off the west of Metchosin is Sooke. You can get to Metchosin from the other areas of the CRD from Highway 1 or 1A. Specific details to get the parks are provided in each section. The parks are described from the northeast to the southwest boundaries. A brief description of the nature of each park is provided with directions.
This book describes the parks, playgrounds, and green spaces within the Metchosin. Its goal is to encourage you to explore your neighborhood by foot. Each place takes less than an hour to explore. There are stimulating walks and breathtaking sights in your backyard. It is a great way to get out of your house with limited use of your car. Walking is established residential areas have the added bonus of frequent rest stops for young and old.
Care and respect must be taken when strolling in Metchosin as the region also has a lot of open private lands and it can be difficult to tell the difference between that and parkland. The Galloping Goose Trail meanders through the municipality and is an idea place to stroll to get a feel for the area. This Trail can be combined with more hikes to explore further.
To my inspirations, you know who you are
Copyright by Roberta V. Eckard 2016
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted.
My Chosen
Contents
Albert Head Lagoon Regional Park
Metchosin Equestrian Riding Green Space
Metchosin Pavilion Green Space
Metchosin Heritage School Green Space
Metchosin Technology Green Space
Galloping Goose Trail – Metchosin
Saddleback Himount Green Space
St Marys’ Churches Green Space
Mitchell Park with Seabluff Trail
Humpback Sooke Flowline Green Space – Metchosin
Hans Helgeson Elementary School Green Space
Walks in Your Backyard 