People who are living in Victoria are lucky regarding outdoor activities. Across most of Canada many of our favourite things to do in the great outdoors would be considered summer activities, but here we are able to pursue outdoor recreation year-round.Urban outdoor activities are those that we can do in or close to town, making them accessible to a large portion of the local population.
Topping the list of popular urban outdoor activities is golf. Greater Victoria is awash in golf courses, both public and private, where duffers and pros can enjoy hitting the links. From the highly ranked Olympic View Golf Club all the way to Mattick’s Farm Mini-Golf, there’s a game for everyone!
Walking trails abound in every corner of the Greater Victoria area, from short strolls like the walk along the breakwater at Ogden Point, to epic hikes along the famous Galloping Goose Trail, which runs from Sooke into Victoria, and linking with the Peninsula Trails system which you may follow all the way out to Swartz Bay. Many of these trails are suitable for and open for traverse on in-line skates, bicycle, and even horseback, should you be so lucky as to have an equine buddy.
For skateboarding enthusiasts, there are skateboard parks at:
- 4100 Lambrick Way in Gordon Head next to the Recreation Centre;
- 1975 Bee Street behind the Oak Bay Recreation Centre;
- Esquimalt Rd east of Catherine St at Victoria West Park;
- Kelly Rd at Brittany Dr in Langford;
- 9780 8th St. Sidney BC, and
- 6522 Throup Rd. across from Journey Middle School in Sooke.
Then there’s parkour! This relatively new outdoor activity is a sport/art in which practitioners, called traceurs, run, jump, climb, and roll rhrough rooftops, gaps, pipes, practically anything in an urban environment. You can check out some cool video here but you might want to turn your speakers off if you are easily offended by profanity.
Whether you prefer an afternoon on the golf course, traipsing through the countryside, or free-running around the city Victoria offers almost limitless options for urban outdoor activities.
