Boulderwood Hill Park

Walk score: 51

Transit score: 51

Street parking: Deventer Drive, Boulderwood Rise, Cherry Tree Bend

Dogs permitted off-leash, MUST be on-leash through the Royal Oak Burial Park

Boulderwood Hill park is on the west side of McMinn and Grant Parks, all of which are connected via wooded trails through the Broadmead/Cordova Bay neighbourhood, and allow for a longer hike, and some spectacular vantages of the peninsula and city without having to go too far from town.  Its another great example of the ways in which the municipality of Saanich (Parks and Recreation) has been working to create connected greenspaces that promote walking within neighbourhoods.

Boulderwood Hill itself sits at the top of Amblewood Drive in Broadmead, and at its peak, looks out over the Royal Oak Burial Park, but there is also a  larger network of trails and parkland through the hill below, and surrounding the entire acreage of the Burial Park, with a wide range of forest streams, ponds, and up to rocky cliffs and garry oak meadows.

History

The Broadmead and Royal Oak neighbourhoods actually have a fairly long history in Victoria, despite being considered wild and inhospitable lands at the time.  The lands comprising much of North and South Saanich, were acquired by the Husdon's Bay Company in 1852 via a treaty between the Songhees Indians and Sir James Douglas. Seven years later, 899 acres, most of present-day Royal Oak and Broadmead was deeded to to Alexander Grant Dallas, subdivided only when the Pat Bay Highway was constructed, as it needed to pass directly through.  The larger portion on the east side, about 719 acres of what is currently Broadmead and Rithet's Bog was maintained by Alexander Dallas as "Dallas Farm", until his death in 1891, at which time R.P Rithet purchased the property.

About the same time as the larger acreage was deeded to Dallas, John Heal, one of the original settlers in the area, purchased 135 acres in the area and built a family home at 813 Royal Woods Place (interesting fact - this home also served as a post office in its early days). On his death, the land was divided up and passed to his sons Walter and Harry, and and a portion of this original parcel eventually became the current day burial park.

Walking the trails:

There area few trail loops that can be hiked easily within one to two hours within the larger park. Unfortunately, none of these trails are wheelchair accessible, and some have some quite steep and rocky terrain in spots.

If you are looking for vantages of the city and peninsula, you can go right to the top of Boulderwood Rise, and hike a loop that skirts the top of the hill.  There is a condominium complex right in the middle of the summit, with a wide buffer of parkland and trails on all sides.  There are clear, uninterrupted views out over Cordova Bay and Mount Doug on the east side of the hill, and on the west side, you have a bird's eye view of the cemetery and West Saanich.

Alternately, you can start at the bottom of the hill, from the trailhead at Deventer Drive.  This takes you through the lower forested areas, and up the hill skirting the backside of the sidestreets off Amblewood Drive.  If you follow the trails around towards the west, you will connect up with the trails that make their way into the Royal Oak Burial Park.

You can also make a full loop of the burial park, by starting at the end of Cherry Tree Bend, off Haliburton Road. There is a trail that heads due east, following the northern end of the parkland, where you will see glimpses of the backside of properties off the sidestreets off Haliburton Road, eventually connecting up with Boulderwood Hill park proper at the eastern edge of the park.  If you follow the trails around, to the south, you will find yourself heading back down the hill, through the woods to Deventer Drive, Royal Woods Place, and Falaise Road - some of your hike back will be on paved roads with sidewalk, but at the end of Falaise Drive, another trail picks up for a quieter stroll past the mausoleum and back to Cherry Tree Bend where you started.

On our last visit there, we found THIS curious tiny structure - shrine, memorial? or fairy hut? we're not sure, but it certainly had us stop and take notice.

Flora and Fauna

You will encounter a range of habitats while hiking these trails.  At the lower elevations, there are streams and wetlands filled with skunk cabbage, ferns and fast growing trees such as alder and poplar.  In the fall, you may even see patches of wild mushrooms!

Maples, hemlock, fir and cedar are abundant through the forested areas with their typical understory of salal, sword ferns and oregon grape.  These forests gradually transition to arbutus and garry oak meadows at the higher elevations.  Some areas are overgrown with ivy, but it appears they are slowing being rehabilitated, and spring wildflowers such as fawn lilies, shooting stars, and trilliums can be seen not far off the main trails.

  

You will also see and hear a wide variety of birds on your hike - on our visits we've encountered flickers and pileated woodpeckers, ravens, and even owls!  You will also see and hear many smaller birds such as nuthatches, finches, and wrens.

As with much of suburban Greater Victoria, this park also shelters semi-wild animals such as deer and racoons, which you may hear, but not see in the denser underbrush.  If you are hiking with your dogs, while they are permitted off-leash on the trails, if they are prone to wandering and getting into trouble, you may want to keep them on-leash to avoid any nasty altercations.

Links: 

Saanich Parks info on Boulderwood Hill Park\
The history of a Pioneer Family: the Heals of Royal Oak
Goyette Family History (compiled by Rene Carroll, 1999)
An Eclectic History of Broadmead, Valerie Green for the BARA Bugle, 2006
"Broadmead was owned by the Hudson's Bay Company", except from the Broadmead Story, BARA, 2010

All images © 2014 Janice Mansfield

Horth Hill

Walk score: 8

Parking lot on Tatlow Road

Dogs permitted off-leash

Horses permitted. no bicycles

Just a smidge west off the Pat Bay highway before you reach the ferry, you'll find Horth Hill park.   Tucked close to the border of Sidney and North Saanich just off Wain Road, this 36 hectare park provides a variety of walking and horseback riding trails through the woods up to the summit, and some spectacular wildflower displays in spring. There are pit toilets located near the parking lot.

History:

Horth Hill park is named after the Horth brothers - early pioneers who arrived from England and settle in North Saanich in the mid-late 1800's.  The family was active in local politics, and the family home of Rufus and Alice Horth (nee Wain) which was built in 1912, can still be seen at the corner of Deep Cove and Downey Roads.

This park was established in 1966 and is maintained today by the CRD.

Hiking trails:

Horth Hill has several clearly marked trail loops - the Ridge trail leads up to the summit with a view of the Saanich peninsula, Gulf islands and the San Juan islands. Trail difficulty is moderate, but the loop up to the summit and back can be easily done in under one hour, even if you are making stops along the way to birdwatch or take a closer look at the flora.

The lower levels of the hill are more densely wooded with Douglas fir, cedar and hemlock, and the typical Vancouver Island understory of sword ferns, salal and oregon grape.  The upper elevations open up onto rocky outcroppings with wildflower patches, Arbutus and Garry Oak meadow.  Several portions of the park are currently undergoing restoration allow the native wildflowers to reestablish themselves.  (These are clearly marked as no-go areas).

This park is also a prime birdwatching spot.  On our visit on a cool February day, we saw flickers and woodpeckers, and saw and heard many different songbirds.  We also saw a number of turkey vultures and an eagle circling overhead.  With the lower levels being more of a wetlands environment, you may catch a chorus of frogsong at the start and end of your journey.

Horth Hill park is technically an off-leash park although dogs must be under control at all times, and restricted to the trails.  Horseback riding is permitted on designated trails. Bicycles are not permitted on the trails, so if you cycle out here, you will need to leave your bike locked in the parking lot.


Links:
North Saanich Guide to Parks, trails and Beach Accesses
CRD information about Horth Hill

All images © 2015 Janice Mansfield

Vantreight Park and Ferndale Forest

Walk to score: 13

Transit to score: 36

Parking:on Vantreight Dr.

Crushed gravel trails are wheelchair accessible

Dogs: permitted off leash (dogs mush be on-leash in the upper playground area)

Gordon Head is steeped in agricultural history, and parks such as Vantreight park are reminders of the many homesteading families that farmed the land in this part of the city in the early days of Victoria.

We spend a lot of time at Vantreight Park, as it is just down the hill from us and on the regular dog-walk route. It is also part of a set of interconnected greenspaces throughout Gordon Head, where one can walk partly through trails and partly through lower-traffic neigbourhoods, right from Arbutus Cove, through to Glencoe Cove, to Vantreight Park, to Margaret's Bay and on towards Mount Doug Park.

History 

In 1884, John Vantreight purchased a fair chunk of Gordon Head - a farm stretching inland from the bluff of Glencove Cove (also called Deadman's Cliff, or North Bay) - as far inland as Tyndall Road behind the large family home that still stands today.

Vantreight Farm at North Bay circa 1890, Saanich Archives

Through the years, this property has gone through a few bouts of development, and during the subdivision of what is now Leyns Road, this piece of parkland was deeded to the municipality.

Through the 1970's and 1980's it contained some playground equipment - swings, and teeter totters - and had baseball diamonds set up where a local baseball league practiced.  As the neighbourhood evolved, baseball was moved to Lambrick Park and Majestic Park, and the diamonds removed leaving the large level field on the lower level of the park.

Park highlights

Today, the park has new playground equipment installed at the upper level, and has a few strategically placed trees and a picnic table.  It remains a popular gathering spot for larger parties looking for a quiet picnic spot, or families looking for a space to kick the soccer ball around.

The lower field is a popular off-leash space for neighbourhood dog owners looking for a place for their pooches to stretch their legs and play.  During warm summer evenings, you can hear bats flitting about, and see swallows swooping and diving across the field, and occasionally see the eagles that nest further down the beach at Margaret's Bay.

Beyond the playground on the upper level of the park, there is a stretch of small forested area, containing Douglas Fir and other native species.  There have been a few fir seedlings planted in this area, to replace a few larger, older trees that have gone down in recent windstorms.  Across Vantreight Road, you step into the more heavily forested area known now as Ferndale Forest.

A few years ago, the municipality created a wheelchair-accessible pathway on one side of Vantreight Park, leading past the playground and onto Leyns Road at the other end. This has become a popular walking route in the neighbourhood year-round.

Kimiko loves to birdwatch in the forest

The Forest portion of this park is currently undergoing rehabilitation and re-wilding.  Volunteer crews working with Saanich Parks staff, are spending time pulling ivy and other invasive species in order to allow the native understory plants to re-establish themselves.  As you walk through the forest, despite the strangling influence of the ivy, you can still see thimbleberries, chokecherries, red huckleberries, wild rose, salmonberries, spirea, trailing blackberries, salal and the occasional saskatoon bush. Expect to see these burgeoning in the next 1-2 years as the volunteer crews work their way through this stretch.

Saanich Parks info on Vantreight Park
History of land ownership in Gordon Head, Saanich Archives http://www.saanich.ca/discover/artsheritagearc/heritage/pdf/ttwalkingtourweb.pdf


All images © 2014 Janice Mansfield

Chinese Cemetery at Harling Point

Walk-to score: 20

Transit-to score: 38

Parking: on street

not wheelchair accessible

Dogs: not permitted

If you wend your way along the waterfront of Victoria towards Oak Bay, and detour towards Harling Point, you will find the Chinese Cemetery right at the water's edge at the end of the road. This cemetery is the oldest Chinese Cemetery in Canada, and was designated as a National Historic site in 2008. This is a bit of a departure from the forested parks I've taken you to in previous posts, but is a very interesting public space, and the community at large is encouraged to visit the site through the trail network that connects the Cemetery with Trafalger Park and Walbran Park on Gonzales Hill. On a windy day, it feels quiet and calm, even though it is surrounded on the back side by residences.

The Cemetery sits on a parcel of land with a large open, grassy field, flanked by a rocky outcropping on the eastern side.  With Gonzales Hill rising up behind it, a view across the Strait of Juan de Fuca, a south-west orientation giving it protection from heavy winds, and no roads pointing directly at the graves, it has all the desired feng shui elements for a cemetery site. The rocky outcropping on the eastern side is covered with camas, salal, shooting stars and trailing blackberry, and drops down to the shoreline where you can see glacial formations such as "Harpoon Rock" which appear in the traditional stories of the Songhees Nation.

This cemetery site was purchased in 1903 by the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association, and is the oldest Chinese Cemetery in Canada. It contains approximately 300 individual grave markers and 13 mass grave markers aligned parallel with the water and the large funeral altar. It was in use up until the 1950's and formally closed in 1961. Since that time, many of the gravestones and grave markers have been broken or destroyed due to vandalism and many have been covered by grass over the years, but surveys conducted by the CCBA show there could be as many as 970 graves of Chinese pioneers.  In  2001, the site underwent a first round of restoration work, and that restoration effort continues today (Note: no dogs or bicycles are permitted in the cemetery due to this)

History

The Chinese community has a troubled history in British Columbia and Canada that has only recently been formally recognized by government. Chinese workers came to British Columbia as temporary workers for the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway - almost all without their wives or children. After the railway was built, many stayed in British Columbia, and moved to Victoria.  As a result, by 1884 Victoria's Chinese population was the largest in Canada.

It was at this time that the provincial government set the head tax in motion in order to discourage immigration, thus removing any hope for existing Chinese residents to reunite with their families by bringing them to British Columbia.  For those who died in Victoria, custom required them to be buried temporarily in Canada, until their remains could be transported back to China, giving some rest to their spirit when their bones returned home, and the Consolidated Chinese Benevolent Associated - formed in 1884 to assert their rights in light of racist policies and practices - assumed burial responsibilities for those in Chinese community.

In death, as in life, Chinese pioneers were segregated from the rest of the community.  The first Chinese graves in Victoria appear in a corner of Pioneer Square, and were not even marked with names, but rather refer to "Chinamen Number 1, Chinamen Number 2 ..."  In 1873, the Ross Bay Cemetery opened, and a section near the water was designated for Chinese.  Not only did this site possess bad feng shui, but it was also too close to the water, meaning that some of the graves got washed away during heavy storms.

In 1891, the CCBA scouted out potential new cemetery sites with more auspicious feng shui, and purchased a piece of property on the southern slope of Christmas Hill. Unfortunately they encountered racism and extreme resistance by farmers in the area who did not want the Cemetery near their properties, and so the site sat unused for 10 years, until the CCBA sold it in 1902 and purchased the Harling Point site in 1903.

In 1907, a small brick structure was built onsite to house the bones of those whose remains were being transported back to China.  The practice at the time was to bury the deceased for 7 years, then exhume the remains, clean and dry the bones, and pack them up in crates to be shipped back to China.  This practice continued until 1937, when the Sino-Japanese war broke out, and shipments could no longer be made. The CCBA performed this task, along with maintenance of the cemetery and honouring of the graves with joss sticks and sacrifices of food and money during festivals. You can still see evidence of this today on individual graves and the altar.

Through the 1920 and 1930s, there were periods of tension between neighbours, the municipality and the CCBA over the appropriate use of the land, and at several points since, developers and other interested parties have attempted to shut down the cemetery.  Since 2001, there has been a commitment by government to support the CCBA's restoration efforts, and recognize the cultural importance of maintaining this site as a cemetery. Its current designation today as a National Historic Site ensures it will not be removed or replaced with urban development.

Natural history

This geography of the cemetery is unique, in that two separate pieces of the earth's crust meet at Harling Point. This meeting formed a natural channel for glaciers to flow through in millennia past, which formed deep grooves as they moved across the rock, and also left large boulders such as "Harpoon Rock" in their wake. As a result of its unique natural features, the site figures prominently in local Songhees stories and songs.

The glacial formation has also given rise to the perfect location for many wildflower species, including Camassia spp, Erythronium and Frittilaria.  It is also home to patches of Limnanthes macounii - a rare form of meadowfoam considered to be a species at risk, and the stand at Harling Point is one of less than 30 remaining natural occurrences of the plant.    

Location:

Links:

Parks Canada info on the Chinese Cemetery at Harling Point

Oak Bay info about Harling Point

"The Chinese Cemetery in Victoria", David Chuenyan Lai, BC Studies #75, Autumn 1987

Cemeteries, Spiritual homeland of Chinese Canadian Ancestors, (website) Asian Canadian Working Group, University of Victoria

Chinese Cemetery: Old Cemeteries Society of Victoria (website)

"Limnanthes Macounii, Species at Risk in Garry Oak and Associated Ecosystems", Garry Oak Ecosystems Recovery Team, 2004

All images © Janice Mansfield, 2004

Bow Park

Walk-to score: 67

Transit-to score: 49

Parking on street

Wheelchair accessible trails in Bow Park area, steeper gravel trails towards Mackenzie Avenue

Dogs permitted: on leash

You might have driven down Mackenzie Avenue around Braefoot Park and idly wondered about that pedestrian overpass - wondering why anyone would put an overhead walkway to seemingly nowhere.

But the fact is, that overpass does lead somewhere! Right off the overpass, you find yourself on Ferndale Trail, heading up the hill towards to Bow Park, a superb example of how the hard work of volunteers working with the municipality can help preserve and restore natural ecosystems in suburban Victoria in a very short space of time!

Bow Park is also accessible off of Cedar Hill Road via Hopesmore Drive, and with Brodick Park is a habitat reclamation area smack-dab in the middle of a residential area that has rise up around it over the years. Its somewhat unique in that its Garry Oak groves sit in the midst of a boggier area, rather than the rocky, camass-covered outcroppings we typically see. There is small pond right in the middle of Bow Park (complete with ducks and frogs!), surrounded by Cottonwood, and the the understory of this Park is largely chokecherry, salmonberry and some Rosa Nutkana.

Park Highlights:

The stroll around the pond itself is a lovely walk, with benches placed strategically at a couple of spots.  If you go in late spring/early summer, you might be able to spy a nesting duck, or ducklings sunning themselves by the edge of the pond.  A number of residences back right onto the park by the pond, and then the trails make their way deeper into the forest, which is teeming with birds.

History:

Brodick and Bow Parks were first established around the time of the first round of subdivisions in the area.  One end of Bow Park opens up onto Brodick which is an open field area, with a small playground with an "old school" slide and swings.

More recently though, with its commitment to connected greenspaces, Saanich began more intensive work on the parks in this area, including Bow Park.

"In the spring of 2011 Saanich Parks began a project to reduce the grade of a connector trail that travels through Feltham Park and Bow Park to connect Mckenzie Avenue with Cedar Hill Road. Throughout the summer and early fall, Saanich Park staff along with Pulling Together volunteers, removed invasive species such as Himalayan Blackberry and English Ivy within a stand of Garry Oak, Bitter Cherry, Indian Plum, and Black Hawthorn trees. On Tree Appreciation Day Saanich staff and more than 50 community volunteers planted hundreds of native trees and shrubs along the portion of the trail from Livingstone Avenue to Bow Road. This area will be an ongoing restoration area and support from the community for maintenance is required." Our Backyard, a Newsletter on the Natural Environment in Saanich, Vol 11 Issue 4, 2011, pg 5

You can see signs throughout the park highlighting the areas where trees have been planted, and can see evidence of the invasive species removal crews at work.  It is amazing to see the effects that just 3 years of focussed work has had to move this area to a more naturally balanced mix of flora.  In the lower parts of the trail that connect to Mackenzie Avenue, you can see the return of horsetail, skunk cabbage and wetlands species in the understory of the cottonwoods and alder, and in the upper areas closer to the pond, the chokecherries and salmonberries are thriving.

Final note: If you take the time to stroll through the park on a warm evening, make sure you come armed with mosquito repellent!





Links:
Saanich Parks info on Bow Park
Our Backyard, A Newsletter on the Natural Environment in Saanich, Volume 11, Issue 4

All images © 2014 Janice Mansfield

McMinn Park

Walk-to Score: 18

Transit Score: 36

Parking, Wheelchair Accessible trails

Dogs: on leash

I'm beginning with this little park because in the most literal sense, it all goes back to the beginning for me.  McMinn Park is one of Saanich's newer parks, and sits on the site of the former McMinn Riding Stables - literally right next door to where I grew up!

I grew up here in Victoria, BC in Cordova Bay - not quite at the dawn of time, but yes, harking back to a time when Cordova Bay was considered "the sticks".  With only a handful of buses coming through each day, if you didn't have a car, you were pretty much stuck there.

I grew in up a time when kids went free-range before it was a "thing", so it didn't really occur to us until we neared our teen years that we were isolated. Much of our days were spent in nearby fields generally mucking around, foraging for berries or stealing apples, or down on the beach prying oysters from the rocks at low-tide.

The history

 The subdivision we moved into in Cordova Bay was built on former raspberry farms, and was still surrounded by agricultural enterprises such as the original Firbank and Galey farms, and the McMinn riding stable right next door! There were fields with goats, a substantial amount of undeveloped trail (and by trail, I mean the re-wilded CNPR railway right-of-way, complete with decomposing railway ties).  I can remember "training" for a hike on the West Coast trail by hiking with a backpack filled with books through that stretch of trail where the horses would peek through the fence and the trees to see what was going on.

McMinn Stables provided riding lessons and boarding services, and was a fixture right beside our house at the end of Maxine Lane. The original entrance along with the McMinn residence and barns, off Symphony at the end of Maxine Lane, have long since been removed and replaced with subdivision, but the bulk of the property, including the area with the large riding ring (now meadow), was purchased by Saanich in the early 1990's to preserve as parkland.

Park highlights

This little park has a great mix of recreational space and natural habitat.  On a sunny day, as you walk through the forested areas, you can hear an abundance of birds chirping in the trees, and there are frogs in the stream areas.  It contains play structures on a sand surface, and 2 fully fenced tennis courts, and a portion of the meadow area is regularly mowed for impromptu soccer games, BUT the bulk of the park is minimally maintained (meaning there will be flowering grasses in late spring/early summer for those of you with allergies).

One of the original planted sequioas remains on the property in the middle of the open meadow area and while I can't be sure, I would hazard a guess may have come from the old Layritz nursery, which supplied many of the larger gardens in Greater Victoria with their tree seedlings, back in the day.

Beyond the meadow area, there is a fairly wide range of native species, many of which can be seen through as you meander through the trails in the forested areas of the park.  I noted Douglas fir, Grand Fir, Hemlock, Bigleaf Maple, Western Red Cedar and Alder trees, and a variety of edibles shrubs such as Elderberry, Thimbleberry, Oregon Grape, Chokecherry, and much more.

The trail circuit within the park itself, opens out to several spots in the neighbourhood, and you will regularly see local residents walking as families through the park. This park is also well connected to the Lochside Regional Trail system which is easy going on bike or foot.

Getting here

This is not the easiest park to get to if you were not familiar with it.  If you have cycled down Lochside Drive/Trail, you have gone right by it, and if you are going by car there is an entrance right off Lochside, although there are limited places to park.  The main entrance off Maplegrove, is just one turn off off Sunnygrove Terrace, a 5 minute walk from the bus stop on Cordova Bay Road (#32 for those of you travelling by bus).

Next time you are out in the Cordova Bay area, or cycling down Lochside, take a moment to stop in the park! It has great nostalgic value for me, given the original stables were right next door growing up.  Sentimental value aside, I think its a great example of the direction the municipality of Saanich is taking with its parks and greenspace policies.

Links:

Saanich parks info for McMinn Park
Lochside Regional Trail (official guide)

All images © 2014 Janice Mansfield