A Weekend on Saanich Penninsula

Vancouver Island in the summertime—if you’ve experienced it, you know. Everywhere, people are smiling as they bustle to and from farmers markets, festivals, kayaking trips, camping trips, winery visits, hiking, gardening, boating, bicycling, beachcombing and other outdoor activities.
A Weekend on Saanich Penninsula
The scenic Galloping Goose Trail, which runs from Sooke to downtown Victoria, lets bikers, joggers, and those just out for a stroll get away from the traffic. (Boomer Jerritt courtesy Tourism Vancouver Island)
6/15/2009
Updated:
6/15/2009
<a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/assets/uploads/2015/07/biking2_medium.jpg"><img src="https://www.theepochtimes.com/assets/uploads/2015/07/biking2_medium.jpg" alt="The scenic Galloping Goose Trail, which runs from Sooke to downtown Victoria, lets bikers, joggers, and those just out for a stroll get away from the traffic. (Boomer Jerritt courtesy Tourism Vancouver Island)" title="The scenic Galloping Goose Trail, which runs from Sooke to downtown Victoria, lets bikers, joggers, and those just out for a stroll get away from the traffic. (Boomer Jerritt courtesy Tourism Vancouver Island)" width="320" class="size-medium wp-image-87485"/></a>
The scenic Galloping Goose Trail, which runs from Sooke to downtown Victoria, lets bikers, joggers, and those just out for a stroll get away from the traffic. (Boomer Jerritt courtesy Tourism Vancouver Island)

Vancouver Island in the summertime—if you’ve experienced it, you know. Everywhere, people are smiling as they bustle to and from farmers markets, festivals, kayaking trips, camping trips, winery visits, hiking, gardening, boating, bicycling, beachcombing and other outdoor activities.

Vancouver Island was Voted Top North American Island by Conde Nast readers for eight consecutive years beginning in 1999. Travel and Leisure readers honoured it as the “Best Island in the Continental U.S. and Canada” in 2007.

For the sustainability-minded traveller, there are plenty of ways to enjoy this island paradise while contributing to its harmony and preservation.
Let’s take a trip down the island’s Saanich Penninsula to see what kind of eco-friendly delights await.

Here is your Green Key, Sir

Each year, Saanich Pennisula is the main gateway to Vancouver Island for millions of travelers, yet it has not lost any of its rural, small-town charm.

B.C. Ferries arrives at Swartz Bay, just a few kilometres north of the town of Sidney. The Washington State Ferries come from the San Juan Islands. For cyclists, ferry travel combined with bike racks on buses makes cycling trips to the island possible. Compared with flying, taking your car on the ferry is quite affordable, and even more so if it’s a fuel-efficient car.

Sidney, a pretty, bustling seaside town, has the Sidney Pier Hotel and Spa and the Sidney Waterfront Inn and Suites. Both carry the Green Key Eco-rating, meaning they have been audited by a third party in their fiscal and environmental performance in nine different areas. For more information on the

Green Key Eco-rating Program, go to www.Hacgreenhotels.com.

With 26 Green Key hotels in the downtown Victoria area, you can choose your own balance of luxury and cost while enjoying the scenery and history of the Inner Harbour. Or discover locally owned and operated accommodation at www.Easyrez.com. They not only deal in independent boutique hotels, bed and breakfasts, and condo rentals but are very friendly and helpful locals themselves.

The Galloping Goose and Lochside Trails

While most of Saanich Penninsula’s beauty can be accessed by car, a bike ride along the Lochside and Galloping Goose Bike Trail systems will reward the environmentally-conscious traveller. Offering exclusive access and the feeling of being a part of the landscape rather than just observing it, the Lochside Trail starts at the Swartz Bay Ferry Terminal and winds all the way down the Penninsula along flat farmlands, wetlands and beaches.

<a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/assets/uploads/2015/07/empress1_medium.jpg"><img src="https://www.theepochtimes.com/assets/uploads/2015/07/empress1_medium.jpg" alt="The historic Fairmont Empress, famous for afternoon tea served in the British tradition, faces Victoria's popular Inner Harbour.  (George Fischer Photography courtesy Tourism Vancouver Island)" title="The historic Fairmont Empress, famous for afternoon tea served in the British tradition, faces Victoria's popular Inner Harbour.  (George Fischer Photography courtesy Tourism Vancouver Island)" width="320" class="size-medium wp-image-87486"/></a>
The historic Fairmont Empress, famous for afternoon tea served in the British tradition, faces Victoria's popular Inner Harbour.  (George Fischer Photography courtesy Tourism Vancouver Island)


The more “civilized” of the two regional trails, the 33-kilometre Lochside Trail will deliver you to downtown Victoria in under three hours via a mixture of gravel and paved, on-road and off-road terrain. Along the way, you’ll pass Mt. Douglas Park, Swan Lake Nature Sanctuary and a slew of other protected beaches and parks, all of which are also accessible to drivers off the Patricia Bay Highway.

Stop and take in views of uninhabited islands and resident pods of killer whales. These overgrown nooks and coves are some of the most beloved in the world.

Once you arrive in Victoria, check out the colourful Inner Harbour, lavish Craigdarroch Castle or continue along Dallas Road for more spectacular natural scenery.

For those needing a meal off the beaten track in Victoria, check out the Heron Rock Bistro, a James Bay neighbourhood favourite that offers local fare from British Columbia`s waters and organic farms in world-class style.

While there say hello to Andrew Moffat and Ben Peterson who, in their unassuming way, will hardly be recognizable as the owners of a bistro whose dishes are commonly called “the best I`ve ever had” by guests.

“My goal is to educate our staff by bringing them to places where these products come from,” Moffat says. “We’ve already been to Merridale Farm in Duncan which provides our cider.” (www.Heronrockbistro.ca).

Like the 100 Mile Diet? Try a 100 metres diet!

As you travel the peninsula, stop by Terralicious Gardening and Cooking School on Haliburton Rd. to learn how to cultivate, harvest and cook delicious, healthy meals that are garden fresh. Tina Fraser-Baynes and Dayle Elizabeth Cosway cover the full lifecycle of food with their Seed-to-Spoon curriculum. Year-long drop-in classes include “Edible Flowers,” “Sunscaping and New Potatoes,” “Cooking With Herbs” and more.

<a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/assets/uploads/2015/07/sidney3_medium.jpg"><img src="https://www.theepochtimes.com/assets/uploads/2015/07/sidney3_medium.jpg" alt="One of the main attractions of the Saanich Peninsula is the famous sandbar, Sidney Spit. Sidney Spit has a 2-km 'loop' trail through the campsite area, bird estuary, and beaches facing the beautiful San Juan Islands. (Boomer Jerritt courtesy Tourism Vancouver Island)" title="One of the main attractions of the Saanich Peninsula is the famous sandbar, Sidney Spit. Sidney Spit has a 2-km 'loop' trail through the campsite area, bird estuary, and beaches facing the beautiful San Juan Islands. (Boomer Jerritt courtesy Tourism Vancouver Island)" width="320" class="size-medium wp-image-87487"/></a>
One of the main attractions of the Saanich Peninsula is the famous sandbar, Sidney Spit. Sidney Spit has a 2-km 'loop' trail through the campsite area, bird estuary, and beaches facing the beautiful San Juan Islands. (Boomer Jerritt courtesy Tourism Vancouver Island)


“We do things people don’t think about with veggies. You can do gourmet with these really humble veggies,” says Cosway.

Their farm market is open from Wednesday until Saturday, 11am until 5pm. It provides locals and visitors with fresh produce and a friendly, welcoming atmosphere. Staff are always delighted to give a tour of the organic farms, school, demonstration kitchen, woodland, and wetland that make up the Haliburton Farm Cooperative.

Special Courses run at $45 per participant for drop-in. “It’s very interactive,” Cosway explains. “It is our goal to get people to grow. Just make sure you’re at the farm by 2 pm. We always, always send people away with food. It’s like a little tea before your dinner.”

To get there, turn onto Haliburton Rd from either the Patricia Bay Hwy or Lochside Trail. Check the website for class schedules and availability at www.Terralicious.ca, or simply drop by before the class starts. There’s always room for a few more!

Glendale Gardens and Woodlands

More than 100 acres of protected wetlands and a huge variety of demonstration gardens are open to the public at Glendale Gardens and Woodlands. Begun in 1978 by local Victorians as a way to showcase and educate about Pacific Coast horticulture, the Woodlands now hosts events, tours, and classes, such as Sustainable Gardening on the Northwest Coast.

For $25.00 more than the $10.00 per-person entrance fee, a guide will tailor a one-hour tour to what specifically interests you about the local natural world. You can learn about local island botany, organic methods of raising plants, beneficial bugs, seasonal changes, and more. Whether you’re a novice or veteran, a rural or urban gardener, this is truly “the garden for gardeners.” It will also delight the merely curious.

Chef Carman Wright runs a Tea House in the Woodlands where you can take a light lunch made from scratch or just enjoy some sweet treats. Individual orders are available if enough notice is given. If traveling by bicycle, turn off the Lochside Trail at Royal Oak Drive and continue over the Pat Bay Highway veering right on West Saanich Rd. Then turn left onto Beaver Lake Rd and left again onto Beaver Rd which becomes Quail.

Don’t miss the Organic Islands Festival at Glendale Gardens and Woodland on July 4 and 5. About 150 vendors and exhibitors ready to show you how to “Live Green and Do Good” nestle into the vegetation at the gardens to create the largest outdoor sustainability expo in Canada.

The festival features live music, a kids’ fest, noted speakers, and cooking demonstrations. You can shop while finding out more about healthy, sustainable choices for your home, pantry, pets, clothes and beauty supplies, utilities, and more. Local farms offer their abundant fresh harvest. (www.Organicislands.ca).

[xtypo_info]Locavore destination idea: Merridale Estate Cidery, Tasting Room, and Bistro. A patio with sweeping views and local fare worth cooing over, Merridale Cider House is a wonderful ride or drive from Brentwood Bay/Mill Bay Ferry, and easily accessed from either Swartz Bay or Victoria. Enjoy guided tours of Merridale’s quaint orchard, home-spun ciderhouse, arts and crafts style tasting room, and sunny bistro with brick-oven. (http://www.Merridalecider.com/) [/xtypo_info]

[xtypo_info]Organic destination idea: Sooke Harbour House is a guest house and restaurant with enough eco- and traveller`s-choice awards to merit its own article. Sooke Harbour House overlooks Juan de Fuca Straight and the surprising natural creation called Whiffen Spit. An organic edible paradise has been planted in their gardens with inspiration from Terralicious`s founder Tina Fraser-Baynes. Take the Galloping Goose past Sooke Basin and turn off onto Sooke Road. Sooke Harbour House, featuring a wine cellar rated one of the top ten in Canada, is at the end of the road. [/xtypo_info]

 

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