The Galloping Goose Regional Trail developed from a disused railway line begins at the Johnson Street bridge in downtown Victoria and goes in two directions. One direction goes to the Vancouver ferry terminal at Swartz Bay, 35km away. And the other 55km through the Western Communities, out past Sooke ending near the ghost town, Leechtown.
Well defined, wide 55 kilometre trail!Formerly a railway lineBeautiful trail all the way to Sooke!Stunning trail Victoria to Sydney!Passes several beautiful parksVery bike friendlyMuch of the trail is pavedStarts near the Inner HarbourImpossible to get lost
Frequent construction closures
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
The Big Tree Trail 
Hot Springs Cove Lone Cone Nuu Chah Nulth Radar Beach Radar Hill Vargas Island 
Virgin Falls Wild Pacific Trail
The downtown portions of the trail are paved, however, past that the trail is packed down gravel and hard dirt trail. There are convenient kilometre markers all along the trail emanating from the Johnson Street starting point. As popular for joggers as it is for walkers, hikers and cyclists, from downtown Victoria the Galloping Goose Trail is immediately impressive. The Selkirk Trestle, a ridiculously extravagant and long bridge spans the ocean inlet that branches off from the Inner Harbour. This beautiful, 300 metre long and several metres wide bridge is almost entirely constructed of wood. Large fir and hemlock beams that are perfectly suited to the start of a trail rich in history and in a city that is almost always beautiful. It doesn't matter if it is a gorgeous sunny day or a dreary and rainy day. Crossing the Selkirk Trestle in any weather is pretty, and that is just the first 5 minutes of the marvellous Galloping Goose Trail. A hugely popular bike trail, the Galloping Goose gets its name from the train that used to run between Victoria and Sooke, a century ago. The train tracks are long gone, but the route remains.
Now the Galloping Goose is part of the enormous Trans Canada Trail. The 15000 kilometre, multi-use trail stretches from coast to coast. There are endless variations to hiking, biking, walking and running the Galloping Goose Trail. There are dozens of good access points and many of them have dedicated free parking lots(see the maps for parking). Heading out from downtown Victoria you pass by several of Victoria's best hikes and hiking attractions. Fort Rodd Hill National Historic Park is just a short detour from the Galloping Goose Trail and well worth it. On a bike, the detour to Fort Rodd Hill is just 10 minutes.
