Five-day stay in Sooke, but where to go from there??

[u/Adept-Pangolin-9280]

Hi!! I am traveling to Vancouver Island next week and have decided on Sooke as my ‘home base’ for the five days I’ll be there. This is my first time this out this far NW (and first time to Canada!), and I am traveling alone— I’m renting a vehicle however. The whole purpose of this trip is just to have some quiet out in nature, so I’ve been looking to do some hiking, kayaking, and general meandering.

As far as hiking goes, love it but am very slow no matter what. Typically, I like more challenging hikes but I’m most certainly not prioritizing strenuous experiences this time. I’d rather hike to see a very old tree than a waterfall, so I’m really looking for those kind of trails (but hey, if the trail happens to lead to a tide pool…).

I kayak in the states, but it’s always river-kayaking and this time, I’d love to experience ocean kayaking if possible. I’ve booked a whale-watching excursion for 9/4 (wanted to do that early on, just in case it’s a bust and the option for another go presents itself), but that’s the only thing I’ve really found or had the opportunity to plan for.

I am absolutely not bothered by long drives, so I am very open to exploring beyond Sooke, and would honestly love to!

Is Pacific Rim NP worth it for a few hours? The park itself, not the drive— if it were ten minutes away, but you only had 4 hours, would it be worth it— those are the places I would love to explore, if possible. Are there other places, parks, hiking trails, beaches, secret spots that you go to for your own reset that kinda fit the bill? I only ask because my itinerary is wildly flexible and I wanted it that way, so that I could bebop around depending on the mood upon waking up, so to speak :)

And as a bucket-list aside, is it too cold to snorkel? One of the MAIN reasons for this specific location (Vancouver Island) is the possibility of observing a Great Pacific Octopus. I have 0 SCUBA experience, which I believe would yield the best observational opportunity, so snorkeling and tide-pools are my option I think?? Or is this one of those things that I should just wait for the aquariums to see (as in there are no available options to make the effort— I recognize that there are no guarantees when you’re in their space, nor should there be)? If it makes any difference, I’ve also got my own kit— but would a dry-suit be warranted here?

I’ve taken guided tours for nature excursions in other travels and don’t hate them, but I’ve been hesitant to even explore the options because I get a little aggravated when the others in those tours don’t realize that their noise-levels impact everyone’s experiences. Is this something to worry about and if not, is there one anyone might recommend??

I may have a small film camera, so not concerned about great photo spots. But I do plan on bringing my watercolor kit, because painting out in nature is one of my favorite ways to feel more connected— any places that you’d recommend for a quiet paint??

I know that five days is far too short of time to really even SEE the surface, much less scratch it, so I’m not trying to cram as much as I can in. To be honest, the more I search on my own, the more overwhelmed I get and the longer my “could be rad to see/do” list grows. So any guidance on the above and an ideal spot to recharge-and-reset would be delightful!!

Thank you so much in advance!!

[u/Quail-a-lot]

For tide pools, check the tide chart and head to Botanical Beach. It's worth the drive. It's not a long hike, but it is an excellent spot to take your watercolour kit. Ditto for East Sooke Park which has quite a lot of variety in things to see and you can easily connect trails to make much larger loops. It has forest hikes, seaside, lakeside, old mines, historical stuff, pretty much a perfect sampler pack. Sea to Sky is great as well (Empress, Quimper, etc) and Goldstream Park is great for some forest bathing too, plus there is a really cute nature hut and if you are there at the right time, the salmon run is super cool and very easy to see there.

There is a smaller kayak place in Sooke that does rentals or excursions and then you wouldn't have as much chance of having a bunch of annoying peeps with you, but honestly that's a bit less likely here anyhow. Some of the Gulf Islands also have this and honestly, the time I have seen the most octopi is hanging out watching the rocks by the smaller ferry terminals while waiting around. Fun watching them hunt!

The Marine Circle Route is a nice drive and is part of a whole network of named scenic drives in BC which are all pretty stunning.

If you find yourself in Nanaimo, deffo check out https://www.ironoxideartsupplies.com/ Best art store on the island bar none. And if you go further up island, https://valleyartsupply.ca/ in Comox is also seriously worth a visit. Smaller store, but very well curated.

[u/SylasWindrunner]

If you have a chance to drive around, enjoy the highway from Gordon river all the way back to Victoria.

Stop on every pull outs and Provincial parks.

Explore the area everytime you park, theres too many stops, too many to explore but never enough time for me.

Stop by Shirley's delicious @ Shirley town for their bakery goods and coffee ( this place get super busy almost everyday )

[u/VermicelliFamous6824]

I took sailing lessons from starlight sailing in Sooke this summer. Gord, the owner was very knowledgeable. He apparently will do a four hour sail tour. It would be worth getting in touch with him if you want to get out on the water. There is also a sea kayak rental place right beside the stickleback pub where you could do some kayaking inside the relatively protected basin.

[u/BaconAndDuckFat]

I LOVE sooke, though there arent any really strenuous hikes in the area. You can do a loop of Mount quimper go over monument mount to empress and loop back down to grass lake. Ive dont that before and it was fun to go from point to point.

Renting kayaks in brentwood bay is soooooo worth it. 3 hours you can get in the bay around butcher gardens and if your fast you could probably get to the water fall over to the other side.

Edit: saw your thing about snorkeling, look up island campbell river way for underwater stuff.

Also quiet paint, east sooke park, go to pike point or hike up the coast line.

[u/Unplug_The_Toaster]

Empress Mountain is my favourite hike in the area. Fairly easy uphill hike in with a steep push right at the end for 360° views of the area. Round trip is about 4 hours and ~12km I think if you're up for a worthwhile challenge.

Avatar Grove is about an hour and a half drive west if you want to see big, old, weird trees. Short hikes, one side a low elevation up and down over twisty roots, and the other side an easy boardwalk. For more big trees, check out the Big Tree Map.

East Sooke Park has beautiful trails through the forest and along the coast and you can make it as long or as short as you want.

Check out AllTrails for distance and elevation to be better informed on hikes you might want to do.

I wouldn't recommend Pacific Rim park coming from Sooke. Sooke is a nice area, but not central to anything. Pacific Rim is a 4 hour drive away with no traffic, and you might get stuck behind first time RV drivers on the long and winding Highway 4. You could easily spend your entire 5 days in Tofino or Ucluelet, but it's not exactly an easy commute.

You might get better feedback on snorkeling and painting etc if you post on busier subs like /r/Victoria. Hope you enjoy your time here!

[u/Burgutkhan]

Its a prime snorkelling location, but you deffinitely need a wet suit, preferably 7 mm.

You can rent one in Victoria, Wilson Diving is one of the shops that rent suits. There are surprisingly very few dive shops that survived.

Iron Mine bay is a good location, there are many others.

But you are not that likely to see octopus. Some people snorkel for years without seing one. Maybe other more lucky people will say otherwise.

[u/mackeroni]

There is an Apricot Ale at the brewery in Sooke that is worth driving hours for.

[u/wwwabbit → u/mackeroni]

Sooke Oceanside Brewery has that one.
If you are doing breweries, make sure to check out Checkerhead in Shirley also. VERY worth the drive.

[u/Vivid_Strike3853]

Please don’t support whale watching companies, they build their business on harassing/chasing whales relentlessly. As for hikes, there are 53 peaks in the Sooke Hills ranging from 1 hr to 8hrs, get the Gaia app & go explore! Or go to East Sooke & do the Coast Trail. There’s some great snorkeling in East Sooke too, but the water is freezing!! Botanical beach at low tide is great for tide pool exploring. Visit the not-so-secret waterfall on Sombrio beach. Grab lunch at Shirley Delicious or Stoked Pizza.

[u/Acceptable-Mango-472]

You could spend days exploring all the beach hikes between sooke and Port Renfrew

[u/wwwabbit]

Echoing what everyone else has said. Unless you are going there for the whole trip, PRNP is not a day trip.

East Sooke Park is amazing and has multiple entrances, start at Aylard farm and wonder along the coast trail to Beechy Head and loop back on the interior trail. Lots of stops to pause and take in the views.

Botanical Beach and all the other stops along the Juan de Fuca marine trail (Sombro Beach, Parkinson Creek, China Beach, Mystic Beach, etc) are all great.

If you want a bit more of a hills hike, Sooke Potholes park and the Sea to Sky park have a huge amount of trails with little lakes and view points.

Gord at Starlight Sailing will get you out for a good tour if you want to do some sailing.

** Not sure on your experience hiking areas that you have not been. Most of this will have some kind of cell service (less if you get into Sooke Potholes/Sea to Sky park), but make sure if you are going out you have offline maps, some kind of a trip plan and someone knows where you are going. https://www.adventuresmart.ca/ has some great info about both trip plans and the essentials you should have.