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Our 3 Awesome Days in Sooke: Inspiring Family Road Trip to Vancouver Island

Our inspiring family road trip to Vancouver Island: tips on how to spend 3 absolutely awesome days in Sooke, BC. Epic hikes, day-trips, things to do in Sooke, where to stay, and more!

For most international travelers Vancouver Island is associated with the city of Victoria – the capital of the province of British Columbia. For BC locals – Vancouver Island is all about Tofino and its magnificent long beach. But what if I told you that there is so much more to Vancouver Island?! Tucked away on the southwest coast of Vancouver Island, Sooke is one of the best-kept secret destinations for active outdoorsy families to explore near Vancouver BC. Among the treasures, it is hiding are the magnificent wild beaches, stunning waterfalls, vibrant wildlife, fresh local seafood food, outdoor activities, and out-of-this-world sunsets! Sooke, BC is the perfect place for the ultimate weekend getaway no matter the season! Below are notes from our recent Vancouver Island road trip and tips for you on how to spend 3 days in Sooke BC, including things to do, day trips, and a perfect place to stay at.

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You may also be interested in:

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To help our active parents who can't seem to figure out how to get their kids to enjoy hiking, we have prepared this post: Five Tried-And-True Outdoor Activities To Get Kids to Absolutely Love Hiking – find many creative ideas, kids outdoor activities, treasure hunts, and nature experiments within!

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Vancouver Island Road Trip | Day 1: Explore Sooke, BC

Sooke, BC

Sooke, BC is a village located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada, just about 45 min west of Victoria. The town is a perfect “hub” for exploring Juan De Fuca’s south shore trails, Sooke Potholes Provincial Park, East Sooke Regional Park, and more! 

There is one large plaza in Sooke with all the action – at Sooke Rd and Otter Point Road. Park anywhere in the area and explore little cafes, bakeries, and local artisan shops.

Sooke BC even has its own museum, check it out: Sooke Regional Museum.

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Whiffin Spit Trail, Sooke BC

Conveniently located just between the Sooke Harbour and Juan de Fuca Strait, Whiffin Spit Trail is one of the easiest ways to get the feel for the coastline and wilderness surrounding Sooke BC. 

Hiking distance of Whiffin Spit is to-and-back of about 1.5km one way. The trail is stroller-friendly and wheelchair-accessible. 

There are many benches and small trails all around the main path, offering additional viewpoints and perfect spots to explore the rocky beach areas. At the very end of the hike, you will find a small lighthouse.

The area is popular with locals, nature enthusiasts, and bird watchers as many curious shorebirds can often be spotted along. 

Be warned: there are many dogs big or small, frequently off-leash! If your kids are scared of dogs, this may not be the best place to hike. 

There is very limited parking near the trailhead, so if you are able to get here by bike – that’s the best.

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Where to Stay in Sooke, BC?

In our opinion, Prestige Oceanfront Resort is one of the best places to stay in Sooke you can find. There are of course many other places to stay in Sooke, including some amazing AirBnB options, but none can match this location and the offered amenities. Read our detailed review of  Prestige Oceanfront Resort, as we stayed there on our last visit in February of 2020: Prestige Oceanfront Resort Review: Top Secret Best Place to Stay in Sooke, BC

The location is quite convenient, as it is in close proximity to the town’s plaza with all those little shops and cafes, and at the same time, it is just the right distance away from some of the most amazing wilderness attractions Vancouver Island has to offer.

• Sooke Potholes Provincial Park – 15 min
• East Sooke Regional Park – 20 min
• French Beach Provincial Park – 20 min
• Juan De Fuca Mystic Beach – 40 min
• Juan De Fuca Sombrio Beach – 1 hr
• Port Renfrew – 1 hr 15 min
• Botanical Beach Provincial Park – 1 hr 20 min

Better still, if you are into watersports or boating – Prestige Oceanfront Resort has direct access to the ocean and boat launch. So if you are still looking for where to stay when in Sooke, look no further!

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Enjoy Marine Wildlife

Regardless of where you are staying, Sooke has direct access to the ocean through many private and public piers and boat launch areas. These are the best to watch and interact with the many marine wildlife inhabitants – seals and sea lions! 

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If you want to go a step further, Sooke has many Whale Watching tours to offer. 

The Straight of Juan De Fuca is home to BC Orcas – a critically endangered southern resident killer whale population. There are currently about 30 small pods of orcas in the area, and the best viewing season is May – October.

Pacific Gray Whales migrate north along the west coast of Vancouver Island during March and April. 

In addition, if you are lucky you can spot Humpback Whales, Minke whales, Pacific White-sided dolphins, Harbour porpoises, Dall’s porpoises, Harbour seals and Steller‘s sea lions, as well as many species of birds.

Sunset Cruise

While whale watching is a seasonal activity, Sunsets are absolutely delightful all year round! 

If, as we did, you end up staying at Prestige Oceanfront Resort, make sure to find yourself at the restaurant patio during the sunset hours – the view is simply spectacular! 

Otherwise, consider taking one of many offered Sunset Cruises with or without the dinner. 

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Vancouver Island Road Trip | Day 2: Day-Trip to Port Renfrew & Hiking Juan De Fuca Trails

The best way to start your “Grand Hiking” Day-trip is to drive all the way to Port Renfrew and then slowly making your way back to Sooke.

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Port Renfrew

Port Renfrew, located about 1hr and 15min away from Sooke, BC, is one of many Frontier towns on the West Coast, a logging town and the home of the Pacheedaht First Nation. 

The town itself is frankly not much to see, but there are a few spots you can have a good meal after hiking Botanical Beach trails since you will be driving through it on your way back to the next adventure.

But the road to Port Renfrew is one of absolute beauty!

One moment you drive above the ocean, the next – you are weaving through tropical forest serpentine with tiny waterfalls along the road. These “jungle” portions of the road strongly remind me of the Road to Hana in Maui, Hawaii.

A word of caution: bring your speed down as there is much wildlife and anyone can jump out on the road at any time. We’ve seen deer, racoons, rabbits, and some large birds.

There are many high elevation viewpoints along the way too, so you can take spectacular photos of the ocean!

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Botanical Beach, Port Renfrew

Botanical Beach Provincial Park and the beach hike trailhead is about 5 min away from Port Renfrew. The area is being called Botanical Beach because of so many seaweed species that grow on its coastline – they say over 270 species! 

Regardless of whether you are a marine biology enthusiast or an adventurer on a hunt for an epic photo, Botanical Beach Provincial Park has it all!

Best time to visit is at the time of low tide. Conveniently you can find the tidal schedule at the parking lot where the hike starts. There are picnic tables and washrooms at the parking lot, by the way, bot no source of water, not any food options or other amenities.

You can take the hiking trail in two directions: either to Botany Bay, or to Botanical Beach – both are well-maintained and I would even say somewhat stroller-friendly in the good weather. 

There is a tiny trail along the coast connecting the two – that one is NOT stroller-friendly. We visited in February, and although the conditions were decent, the path was quite messy, full of muddy puddles and slippery tree roots. I would not recommend attempting it in “white instagrammer shoes” – proper hiking footwear is required. 

We’ve started at Botany Bay, which has the iconic Island that is the epic postcard place and the main association with Botanical Beach. Indeed, the view was stunning. I ended up comparing the island with the Spirit Island at Maligne Lake, Alberta – only ours is more “moody” or “stormy” if you will. 

Next, we made our way to Botanical Beach and enjoyed the “marine garden”. Seaweeds everywhere, seashells growing in clusters under the feet, cute tiny crabs crawling all around, little fish stuck in the tidal pools – our toddler had so much fun exploring it all!

Overall, with a 4yo son and plenty of time to fly our drone, it took us 2.5 hours on the Botanical Beach trail. The full loop is about 4 km with little to no elevation gain – an easy level hike. If you are spending a weekend on Vancouver Island, definitely try to add Botanical Beach Provincial Park to your Sooke road trip itinerary!

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Juan De Fuca Mystic Beach

Our next stop on day 2 of the Vancouver Island road trip was Mystic Beach with the goal to watch the setting sun. 

With the trailhead is located right in-between Port Renfrew and Sooke BC, the hike is 2 km one way, so we figured it should be a quick and easy one to tackle with our 4 yo.

But here we were up for a surprise – the Mystic Beach trail conditions in February were a total and absolute mess! There is no paved path, there is not even any maintenance along the trail aside from a cute little suspension bridge mid-way and the reflector signs on the trees. Otherwise, the mud and puddles were knee-deep, we had to climb through the slippery roots and over rocks, and at the very end down to the beach along with a set of very steep and slippery stairs. Instead of an expected 30-40 min, the trail took us almost an hour and a half. We came out to the beach about half an hour before sunset. 

The views were gorgeous! There are a few large steep waterfalls shooting from above and into the ocean that I haven’t seen anywhere else. Spectacular indeed!

In the absence of a toddler with us, I’d say the hike was absolutely worth it. But since we had to hike back through the forest in the absolute mess after the sunset in pitch-black darkness – I’d skip it next time… don’t worry, we had flashlights, phones, bear spray, and signaling devices and made it out of the woods safe and sound. Even 4yo Cosmos behaved super-bravely and never complained or cried! 

One of the best perks coming back to Prestige Oceanfront Resort after a full day of hiking was the availability of a pool and hot tub into late hours, along with a gourmet restaurant West Coast Grill and their $6 for 6 oysters offer! Read my full review about our stay here: Prestige Oceanfront Resort Review: Top Secret Best Place to Stay in Sooke, BC

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Vancouver Island Road Trip | Day 3: East Sooke Provincial Park, BC

Creyke Point, East Sooke 

We’ve decided to take it easy on Day 3 of our Vancouver Island road trip, and made our way to East Sooke Provincial Park BC. There is a beautiful hiking trail loop along the coastline leading to Creyke Point.

There is direct access to the beach from the parking lot, and in the summertime the spot is popular with locals for its crystal clear waters. 

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How We Spotted a Black Bear

On the way back to the ferry, just outside Sooke Regional Museum, we spotted a black bear along the road. He was peacefully relaxing in the sun and digging through the grass. As always many cars were stopping by and people were watching him. No worries – there was a large swamp between the bear and the road, so no danger to humans nor to the bear. I of course could not resist and had my drone in the air at no time to have a better look. I will include the footage in our upcoming video about this Vancouver Island road trip and our adventures in Sooke BC – to be posted on our YouTube channel shortly.

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Notes and Planning Tips

If you are traveling with younger kids, check out this cool article: How to Survive a Road Trip With Kids.

How to Get Around Sooke, BC

Sooke is quite small, so you can walk around the town and explore it very easily! Depending on where you are staying, a great option could be to bring along or rent a bike to cycle around the village. But for everything else (visiting parks and getting to hiking trails), you will need a car. 

Sooke does not have car rental facilities. There aren’t any taxis in Sooke too. So make sure to plan ahead if you don’t have your own vehicle and rent it either in Victoria, at the airport or near the ferry terminal.

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How to get to Sooke, BC

There are few options on how to get to Sooke BC. Driving is the best option of course. 

The town is about 40-45 min drive from Victoria, and about an hour from ferry terminal and the airport. 

If you are embarking on your Vancouver Island Road-trip from the mainland, chances are you’ll take a ferry. Yes, you can get on the ferry WITH your car and even your motorhome!

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BC Ferry

Ferry Booking

Advanced reservations are strongly recommended, especially before the long weekend. You are not billed the full amount right away, only a small reservation deposit, so no worries if you have to cancel. 

You can make BC Ferries reservation here: look for a ferry from Tsawwassen Terminal to Swartz Bay Terminal and back. 

For reservations you need to come to the terminal at least 30 min prior to departure, otherwise, your reservation will be released. The total ferry ride is about 2 hours.

What to do on the Ferry

When aboard, you have a few options: sit inside, explore the outside deck, use the a la carte cafe or a lounge, have your kids play at the kids' area… yes, almost every ferry has a special kids area with a playground and videogames. 

We always use the time on the ferry to have a meal so we don't have to waste time on finding food once we docked – an especially tiresome task with a toddler. 

One of the biggest mistakes inexperienced travellers make is – they rush to the onboard food-court – Coastal Cafe. The line-up there is typically huge, prices – expensive, and not much space to sit – the place is overcrowded. Yak. But here is our lifehack for you. 

BC Ferry Food Lifehack

Every BC ferry travelling to Victoria has a special section – Pacific Buffet at the front of the ship.

You pay an entry fee (a very reasonable fee) and have an all-inclusive buffet available to you with kids under 5yo eating for free (alcoholic beverages also available but extra charge). Pacific Buffet offers good quality food, including a salad bar, a variety of main courses, fruit, dessert and beverages. 

There is typically plenty of seating. And the best part: the huge 180 degrees window facing Victoria direction – you are literally having a restaurant-quality all-you-can-eat meal with a stunning view at a fraction of a cost!

If you have kids – no worries, the space is closed off from the rest of the ferry and there is literally only one door in and out that is being closely monitored, so your child will not escape. 

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Vancouver Island Road Trip to Sooke BC Final Notes

We'll be honest, we loved our long weekend getaway to Sooke on Vancouver Island, BC.

Were the road trip and all this hiking with a toddler challenging – yes? Was the road trip rewarding and inspiring – ABSOLUTELY! Are we going to come back to Sooke and do some more hiking around the area – 100%. There is much more to see – Sooke Potholes Provincial Park, Sombrio Beach, and the Sea Lion Caves are on our list for the next Vancouver Island road trip. Stay tuned for more notes and itineraries!

Overall Canada road trips are some of the most enjoyable in the World, and some will frankly blow your mind. More road trip experiences coming!

Oh.. before I forget, here is another Tip for your Sooke Road Trip: with so much filming and photo opportunities all around you, you can easily run out of juice on your devices really quickly. Best cars for road trips are equipped with many charging plugs. If that's not the case for your car – get a USB hub for your car so you can charge all your devices at the same time!

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Kids Activities For Your Road Trip

We get it, if you have small kids, it is sometimes a bit hard to get them interested in all this walking everywhere. One of the tricks we use is are the Outdoor Treasure-hunt sheets! Cosmos got his own camera phone (my old iPhone) and he is always excited to run along the trail and collect photographs of the little treasures to get a treat at the end! Download our Treasure Hunt Sheets below for FREE. OR Click HERE for more kids' activities and parents' resources.

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Road trips are definitely a lot of fun for the entire family. Yet the frequent rides from place to place, or waiting for your room to be ready at a local hotel could be exhausting for your little ones. For this purpose our team has put together a printable activity kit specifically for road trips across British Columbia! Check it the British Columbia Educational Colouring and Activity Book.

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One of the reasons we prefer giving our toddler a camera-phone instead of a large backpack for collecting seashells and rocks is our strive to abide by Leave No Trace principles and teach these to our son from early on. One of the Principles is “Leave What You Found” – hence we allow a digital collection of artifacts!

As always, a reminder to adhere to basic safety rules when Hiking With Kids: 12 Simple Safety Rules Every Parent Should Follow; and the absolute requirement for any Great Outdoors adventure – the use of natural chemical-free sunscreen 9 Best Natural Sunscreens For Kids. Organic. Chemicals-Free.

Have you enjoyed reading through our Vancouver Island road trip itinerary and things to do in the Sooke guide? We welcome any feedback! Suggest other cool off-the-beaten-path places to visit, leave your comments, and ask us questions below! Also, check out our report on the road-trip to Lund BC on Sunshine Coast!

Are you a business or a brand who'd like to be featured on our next Vancouver Island, anywhere in British Columbia, Canada, or the World road trip or adventure? Work With Us or send us a message!

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Other Cool Little towns of British Columbia Similar to Sooke, BC

The best thing about road trips is that your family can discover marvellous small little towns that would otherwise have likely never made it to the list of purposeful destinations. Yet each such town is adorable and worth a stop.

Among some of such British Columbia‘s small “off the beaten path” towns we recommend visiting on your next road trip are:

• Cumberland, BC – on Vancouver Island
• Campbell River, BC – on Vancouver Island
• Port Alice, BC – Vancouver Island North
• Port Hardy, BC – Vancouver Island North
• Lund, BC on Sunshine Coast
• Madeira Park, BC – on Sunshine Coast
• Fort Langley, BC – on the border of Metro Vancouver and Fraser Valley
• Harrison Hot Springs – near Hope, BC in Fraser Valley
• Atchelitz Pioneer Village at Chilliwack, BC in Fraser Valley Region
• Sun Peaks Resort Village – near Kamloops, in Thompson-Nicola Region

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Check out next:

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Latest outdoors and travel experiences in British Columbia:

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Enjoy!

Cheerfully yours,

Alexandra, Alex & Cosmos

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