A kayaking route connecting Vancouver Island to the mainland has been designated as Trans Canada Trail – running between Victoria and Horseshoe Bay for over 250 km.
Much of the journey is for intermediate to advanced kayakers, and the long passages in open sea between Lantzville and Thormanby Island should only be attempted by advanced kayakers in the early hours of the day before the afternoon winds pick up.
The exact “starting point” in Victoria could be debated; we have marked the starting point at Clover Point, which is the Trans Canada Trail’s Pacific Trailhead, and also makes an ideal launch point due to ramps being located on both east and west sides of the Point. Starting at Clover Point also means avoiding the heavy marine traffic of Victoria’s Inner Harbour. Starting at Clover Point is an easy place to unload boats and gear, and overnight parking can be found on nearby residential streets (but not at Clover Point itself).
On the other hand, for those that wish to begin the journey from Victoria’s Inner Harbour, the logistics of doing so can be a challenge. Finding an unloading and launching spot is next to impossible, and there is no free overnight parking in the downtown core. For those insisting on starting their trip downtown, be sure to download and study the Port of Victoria Traffic Scheme attached at the bottom of this page under “Directions”; this will help you prevent straying into the path of ferries, cruise ships and float planes (yes, they do land in the harbour and can quite literally appear out of nowhere). Harbour Patrol is eager to swoop in and give a stern warning to scofflaws who ignore the rules of the road.
A possible itinerary for the entire journey from Victoria to Horseshoe Bay is listed below. We’ve attempted to keep daily paddling distances averaging about 25 km or less – although some are nearer 30 km. Of course, many paddlers may only do smaller sections of this route as the entire distance could take up to 10 days or more. A big note of caution: No official campsite with water access exists in the Sechelt area, so for paddlers planning on travelling the whole distance, this is something to think about. See our “About the Gaps” section below.
If you only have 5 days or so, consider paddling from Victoria to Nanaimo via the Gulf Islands – it’s a distance of about 120 km, averaging about 24 km per day, and avoids the long open water crossings that one would experience crossing the sea between Vancouver Island and the mainland. Or for a 4-5 day adventure, consider Victoria to the remote waters of Cabbage Island, then return from Saturna Island via BC Ferries – a voyage of 3 ferry trips!
- Day 1: Clover Point to Darcy Island (25 km)
- Day 2: Darcy to Rum to Portland (23 km) or Ruckle (+4 km)
- Alternative: Darcy to Sidney to Portland (24 km) – a bit more sheltered on windier days.
- Alternate Spur: Darcy to South Pender, Saturna and Cabbage Island (+2 days, 39 km one-way)
- Day 3: Ruckle to James Bay to Pirates (30 km)
- Alternate: Portland to James Bay to Montague Harbour (22 km), camp, then Montague to Chivers (15 km)
- Day 4: Pirates to Decanso (17 km)
- Alternative: Pirates to Nanaimo, finish journey here (26 km, total distance 108 km)
- Day 5: Decanso to South Ballenas (30 km)
- Day 6: South Ballenas to Home Bay (20 km)
- Day 7: Home Bay to Buccaneer Bay (17 km)
- Day 8: Buccaneer Bay to Sechelt (24.5 km – Warning! No campsite developed!)
- Day 9: Sechelt to Plumper Cove (21.5 km)
- Day 10: Plumper Cove to Horseshoe Bay via North Bowen (20 km)
Total distance from Victoria to Horseshoe Bay: 233 km (or more)
Our mapping lists the many legs of the journey with recommended campsites at each end. Quite a few more campsites exist in the area. We have spaced possible rest stops about 5-8 km apart on the map, marked with stars.
Anyone planning on travelling along the eastern coast of Vancouver Island should educate themselves on currents and tides; strong currents, eddies and rips can be encountered in the Salish Sea, but are particularly noticeable around the Gulf Islands.
This Alternate scenic section for the TCT mostly takes in the Boundary Bay Regional Greenway, Mud Bay Park, Watershed Park, and Burns Bog. This is quite an easy mostly flat route that can be done in about 3 hours.
The Galloping Goose is named after the gasoline-powered freight railway cars that once chugged along this corridor, built during World War I to serve the communities west of Victoria.
This picturesque trail moves through urban, rural and wilderness scenery on its 55 kilometre journey from Victoria to the ghost town of Leechtown (north of Sooke) – you can even travel an additional 4 km past Leechtown to the termination point (a large fence blocking the trail) for a total of 59 km. While in operation, the railway continued north towards Shawnigan Lake and over the Kinsol Trestle in the Cowichan Valley. The entire trail was once designated as part of the Trans Canada Trail. However, the portion along Sooke Lake (north of Leechtown) has been closed to the public, as this is now the regional water supply – and the lake has been dammed and portion of the railway have been flooded. Although the portion of the trail between Victoria and Langford is still part of the Trans Canada Trail, the portion that continues from Langford to the terminus at Leechtown at Sooke Lake is no longer part of the “main route” as it cannot continue towards the Cowichan Valley.
The entire trail is surfaced with high quality, finely graded gravel. You can cycle, stroll, run, or even ride a horse through the rural sections. At the switch bridge in Victoria, “The Goose” intersects with the Lochside Regional Trail, a 29 kilometre former railway line from Saanich to Sidney.
While it is possible to cycle from Victoria to Leechtown and back in one long day, at about 118 km, it’s a challenge. Some options are finding accommodations in the Sooke area, camping at the Sooke Potholes (adjacent to the Goose before Leechtown) or riding out to Highway 14 and picking up a BC Transit bus (you can mount your bicycle on a rack on the front of all BC Transit buses). More information about these options is included below (under Accommodations and Transportation)
This section of trail offers an alternate between the City of Vancouver and the ferry terminal in Tsawwassen – effectively the most scenic and most enjoyable way to travel between Victoria and Vancouver, when combined with the Lochside Trail once on Vancouver Island. Along the way it features among several parks Trout Lake, Burnaby Central Park, Metrotown and the Queensborough and Alex Fraser Bridges.
Science World to Richmond on the south side of the Alex Fraser Bridge is 14.3 km. It is another 35 km to the Tsawwassen Ferry Terminal from Science World for a total of 50 km.
While not an official Trans Canada Trail alternate route at this time, this route is meant to connect the TCT in Langley with the Lochside Trail to Victoria. It offers a shorter route on the TCT in and out of Victoria to the Lower Mainland and vice versa.
The 61-km Alternate Route described here connects back to the main route of the Trans Canada Trail at the Golden Ears Bridge in Langley via Delta and Surrey. Mainly off-road routes are also possible to connect back to the City of Vancouver to rejoin the main route of the TCT.
This corridor connects regional greenways, municipal and regional parks, and forests taking advantage of dikes and utility rights of ways.
From the Tsawwassen Ferry terminal one is pleasantly greeted by a causeway with the Salish Sea washing up on both sides. Next is the Tsawwassen FN with its breakwater, half km boardwalk over marshland, the reserve itself, and finally the huge Tsawwassen Mills commercial centre. East of downtown Tsawwassen, the 16-km dike Boundary Bay Greenway overlooks a large bay all the way to White Rock and Bellingham in the United States. Bird watchers abound on these dikes. The dikes run into Mud Bay Regional Park, again a great bird watching area with wetlands. From there heading north the route takes in the Delta-South Surrey Greenway with its Watershed Park and the edge of the famous Burns Bog.
Through Surrey the trail mainly follows a hydro right-of-way and passes through Green Timbers Urban Forest to later experience Tynehead Regional Park.
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