Saanich Peninsula
The Saanich Peninsula offers many activities from golfing, hiking & cycling, waterskiing or fishing in the
fresh water lakes. Elk/Beaver Lake Regional Park is ideal for the whole family with a beach, picnic areas,
a wheelchair-accessible fishing dock, and a 15-kilometre (10 mile) walking, jogging, and riding trail. Elk
Lake is an excellent location for kayaking, canoeing and wind surfing.
Golfing in the Saanich Peninsula include the Glen Meadows Golf Course, Ardmore Golf Course in North
Saanich, the Sunshine Hills Golf Course in Central Saanich, Cordova Bay Golf Course, Prospect Lake
Golf Course, and Royal Oak Golf Course.
Several popular attractions located here include the world-famous Butchart Gardens, and a winery
producing prize-winning wines from grapes grown on a beautiful 26 acre property.
The Dominion Astrophysical Observatory and the Saanich Historical Artifacts Society offer an excellent
family attraction on a 29-acre site. A fascinating museum with antique farm equipment such as a 1907
Sawyer and Massey Portable steam engine, a huge model train track, nature trails and restored heritage
buildings. The Sandown Harness Raceway, also on the Saanich Peninsula, offers live harness racing or
you can stroll amidst hundreds of exotic butterflies flying free in an indoor tropical rainforest, and for the
ultimate high try skydiving - jump from 5,000 feet.
The Institute of Ocean Science, the Pacific Geoscience Centre, and Canadian Hydrographic Centre
share facilities and services including the use of ships and equipment. The Institute is a working research
centre where scientists fom all over Canada study climate chemistry, ocean ecology and ocean physics.
There are 90 minute public tours of the facility Monday to Friday at 11:00 am. Call 363-6518 for more
information.
The Saanich Fall Fair in Central Saanich, held every Labour Day weekend, has three times more exhibits
than the PNE, and more than 5,000 entries in 26 sections. For more information about activities at the
Saanich Fair call 652-3314.
Many country roads criss-cross the Saanich Peninsula making this a cyclist's paradise, leading past
parks, farms, beaches and bays as well as the Peninsula Trail System which connects to the Galloping
Goose Trail in Victoria. A map of the Galloping Goose and Peninsula Trails can be picked up at the
Visitor's Infocentre in Victoria's Inner Harbour.
Shop at roadside fruit and vegetable stands for fresh, locally grown produce and stop in at the village of
Brentwood Bay which offers shops, restaurants and marina facilities.
A multitude of bed and breakfasts, inns, resorts and motels can be found in the Saanich Peninsula as
well as restaurants, bistros, and eateries to suit every taste. Air and boat charters and rentals are
avalable as well as sailing, kayaking, fishing and diving adventures.
The Victoria International Airport, the Swartz Bay Ferry Terminal with links to Vancouver and the Gulf
Islands are located here. Bus and taxi services and car rentals are available. The ferry terminal for the
route from Sidney to the San Juan Islands and Anacortes in Washington are located here as well.
Victoria and Vancouver Island Accommodations
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