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A Long Weekend in Victoria

1 November 2025 • 491 km / 305 mi (map)

Added to Eric Scouten :: Travel on 11 November 2025
Canada 13

Lisa and I took a long weekend together in nearby Victoria, British Columbia.

A carved and painted First Nations totem pole stands in the foreground on a grassy lawn at twilight, with the dome of the British Columbia Parliament Buildings illuminated by thousands of small lights in the background. A Canadian flag is displayed on the central facade and the moon rises in the deep blue evening sky.

Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

On Thursday, we took a short road trip and a very small ferry ride.

A coastal marina at Brentwood Bay under a gray, overcast sky, with sailboats moored in the harbor and a row of colorful kayaks stored on a rack beside a sign reading “Kayaks” for Seahorses Cafe. Wooden docks lead to waterfront buildings including a red and a green-roofed boathouse on stilts, with evergreen trees and homes lining the far shore.

Brentwood Bay, British Columbia, Canada

A quiet marina at Brentwood Bay on an overcast morning, with numerous sailboats and motor cruisers moored along weathered wooden docks. In the foreground a white sailboat with a tall mast and green-covered boom sits beside a small boat under a dark cover, while low clouds hang over the tree-lined hills across the calm water.

Brentwood Bay, British Columbia, Canada

Did I say small ferry? Yeah, I meant small. (Like maybe 20 cars?)

A small white-and-grey ferry crosses the calm grey water of Brentwood Bay on an overcast morning, with a forested hillside dotted with houses and low cloud behind it. In the foreground at right, the masts, rigging and covered decks of moored sailboats fill the marina, and a bird perches atop a wooden piling on the left.

Brentwood Bay, British Columbia, Canada

But the views were fun!

Several sailboats and a small motor yacht moored on the calm gray waters of Brentwood Bay under a heavy overcast sky, with low forested hills and a small islet visible across the water.

Brentwood Bay, British Columbia, Canada

A small forested island covered in evergreen and autumn-tinged trees sits in calm grey waters under a heavily overcast sky, with faint hills visible on the distant shoreline.

Brentwood Bay, British Columbia, Canada

A small white motorboat crosses calm grey water in front of a forested hillside near Mill Bay, British Columbia, where autumn-coloured trees in orange and yellow mix with dark green evergreens around a few waterfront houses. Low cloud and fog drape the upper slopes, with a communications tower just visible poking above the misty ridgeline.

south of Mill Bay, British Columbia, Canada

Now back in Victoria and …

Wait … what? Is that Darth Vader? Playing violin?

Apparently that’s a thing here.

Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

A calm harbour at dusk with rows of sailboats and motor yachts moored along docks, their masts silhouetted against a pale blue and grey sky. In the foreground a red and black canoe with Indigenous Coast Salish artwork named ‘Salish Seawolf’ sits on the still water, with a low-rise city skyline in the background.

Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

This place is a favorite of ours:

A narrow, wet pedestrian alley at dusk strung with canopies of warm fairy lights overhead, lit by an ornate black multi-globe lamp post in the foreground. On the right, a glass-enclosed patio sits under awnings beside a blue neon-lit sign reading “The Tapa Bar Restaurant,” while a lone figure walks down the lamp-lit alley in the distance against a deep blue sky.

Trounce Alley, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

The British Columbia Parliament Buildings in Victoria at night, their domed facade outlined with thousands of small white lights against a dark sky. In the foreground, glowing globe street lamps line a roadway near the Inner Harbour, with a few pedestrians, an information sign, and a parked bicycle.

Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

On Saturday, armed with some surprisingly nice weather, we took a longer road trip (~two hours) out to Port Renfrew and Botanical Beach Provincial Park and enjoyed a nice hike into the woods and onto the beach.

A rugged coastline of mossy, grooved gray rock leading out to crashing white surf and a deep blue ocean, with windswept evergreen trees clustered on the rocky shore to the right under a bright blue sky filled with large white clouds.

Botanical Beach Provincial Park, south of Port Renfrew, British Columbia, Canada

Waves crash and break into white foam against dark, wet rocky shoreline in the foreground, with the open ocean stretching to a hazy horizon under a dramatic, partly cloudy sky. Sunlight glints off the water on the right side, and faint hills are visible in the distance.

Botanical Beach Provincial Park, south of Port Renfrew, British Columbia, Canada

A gnarled, twisted tree with a hollow, looped trunk and tangled mossy branches stands in a misty coastal rainforest, with soft sunlight filtering through evergreens and a wet, muddy trail winding past dense green undergrowth.

Botanical Beach Provincial Park, south of Port Renfrew, British Columbia, Canada

A muddy forest trail through dense, mossy temperate rainforest, with a single wooden plank laid across a wet, boggy section to serve as a makeshift footbridge and a low wooden boardwalk visible at left. Moss-covered tree trunks, ferns, and green undergrowth surround the path, with dappled afternoon light filtering through the canopy.

Botanical Beach Provincial Park, south of Port Renfrew, British Columbia, Canada

A close-up of a thick, glistening brown bull kelp stipe topped by a rounded bulb whose translucent surface is cracked and peeling, exposing yellowish-amber inner tissue, with a crown of branching frond stubs spreading from the top. The blurred background shows green leaves and a tangle of dry twigs and brush in dappled afternoon sunlight.

Botanical Beach Provincial Park, south of Port Renfrew, British Columbia, Canada

A wide expanse of weathered, sea-worn rock shelf at low tide, dotted with shallow tide pools reflecting the cloudy sky, with the ocean and breaking waves beyond. A forested headland with driftwood meets a sandy beach in the distance to the left under a partly cloudy sky.

Botanical Beach Provincial Park, south of Port Renfrew, British Columbia, Canada

A rugged Pacific coastline at Botanical Beach with tall evergreen trees crowning a low bluff on the left and seaweed-covered rocky tide pools in the foreground, while a few small figures stand on the rocks near the water as a large wave crashes under a partly cloudy sky.

Botanical Beach Provincial Park, south of Port Renfrew, British Columbia, Canada

Poulsbo, Washington, to Victoria, British Columbia, Canada · 491 km / 305 mi
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