Esquimalt Lagoon is a wonderful stretch of beach that extends two kilometres, separating the lagoon from the ocean. The beach is made up of wonderful, powdery sand and driftwood logs. Looking out from the beach you as you sit on a massive and ancient, driftwood tree, with weathering that makes it dry, smooth, gleaming white. A perfect seat to take in the view.
Easy access, idyllic beachOften serenely quietScuba dive steps from your car!Long beach with scenic driftwoodParadise on a sunny day!Next to Fort Rodd HillBeach view is sensationalLook across to the United States
Beach fires not allowedNo pub or cafe nearby 
Avatar Grove Bear Hill 
East Sooke Park 
Elk/Beaver Lake Esquimalt Lagoon 
Fort Rodd Hill Francis/King Galloping Goose Goldstream Park Gowlland Tod Grass Lake John Dean Park Juan de Fuca Trail Lone Tree Hill Mill Hill Mount Douglas Mount Tolmie Sooke Potholes Spectacle Lake Thetis Lake Witty's Lagoon
Day 1 Pachena to Darling Day 2 Darling to Tsusiat Day 3 Tsusiat to Carmanah Day 4 Carmanah to Walbran Day 5 Walbran to Cullite Day 6 Cullite to Camper Day 7 Camper to Thrasher 
Michigan Creek at 12k Darling River at 14k Orange Juice Creek at 15k Tsocowis Creek at 16.5k Klanawa River at 23k Tsusiat Falls at 25k Cribs Creek at 42k Carmanah Creek at 46k Bonilla Creek at 48k Walbran Creek at 53k Cullite Cove at 58k Camper Bay at 62k Thrasher Cove at 70k
The view you see is a perfect stretch of sand, littered with improbably idyllic driftwood logs. In the unexpectedly close distance you see the United States. Snowy mountain peaks of the Olympic Range in the fuzzy distance. Partway between these mountains in the US and the Lagoon where you sit, a jut of land stretches out similar to the distant mountains, but dark coloured, instead of fuzzy grey. The few kilometres greys the view, whereas the three or so kilometres to the jut of land at the end of the beach does not. It contrasts with the distant mountains in a hypnotizing way. The Lagoon is officially called the Esquimalt Lagoon Migratory Bird Sanctuary. But for those of us that grew up in the area, it is simply the Lagoon. A place where you surreptitiously went to drink beers with your friends when you were 16. Or a decade earlier, watch your dad scuba dive from this same ancient driftwood log seat. He would walk into the ocean and disappear. We would trace the smooth, dark surface for 15 minutes until finally a ripple in the surface down the beach. He would back out of the water to the beach and the yellow, mesh bag full of sea creatures. When you are 6 years old and a Dungeness Crab is pulled from the ocean and set in front of you on the sand it is something you never forget. Like a giant, armored spider, its claws extend menacingly toward you. It crab walks back to the ocean, all the time facing you with those giant claws. More crabs come out of the bag, and bright purple starfish. Occasionally dad would return with monstrous Lingcod he savagely speared with his speargun. What a marvel of creatures live just beyond view, under the surface.
The Lagoon, you soon discover growing up here, is not the only one. Further down the beach, about 4 kilometres away is another similarly beautiful bit of paradise, Albert Head Lagoon Regional Park. Albert Head, the large finger of land that stretches out into the ocean has another lagoon just beyond it. Witty's Lagoon is another hidden bit of serenity. A hidden wilderness world that somehow managed to survive development and become a park. A wonderful park, hidden well inside Metchosin, a rural suburb of Victoria.
Avatar Grove Bear Hill East Sooke Park Elk/Beaver Lake Esquimalt Lagoon Fort Rodd Hill Francis/King Galloping Goose Goldstream Park Gowlland Tod Grass Lake John Dean Park Juan de Fuca Trail Lone Tree Hill Mill Hill Mount Douglas Mount Tolmie Sooke Potholes Spectacle Lake Thetis Lake Witty's Lagoon
Day 1 Pachena to Darling Day 2 Darling to Tsusiat Day 3 Tsusiat to Carmanah Day 4 Carmanah to Walbran Day 5 Walbran to Cullite Day 6 Cullite to Camper Day 7 Camper to Thrasher Michigan Creek at 12k Darling River at 14k Orange Juice Creek at 15k Tsocowis Creek at 16.5k Klanawa River at 23k Tsusiat Falls at 25k Cribs Creek at 42k Carmanah Creek at 46k Bonilla Creek at 48k Walbran Creek at 53k Cullite Cove at 58k Camper Bay at 62k Thrasher Cove at 70k
