Bear Beach
Park: Juan de Fuca Provincial Park, Jordan River
2 km one way.
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Elevations (in meters) |
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| Start | End | Minimum | Maximum | Gain |
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| 130 | 0 | 0 | 130 | 130 |
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Bear Beach Trailhead: (74k from Saanich Hall). Drive west from Victoria on highway #1 to the Colwood exit. Take this exit and continue to where the road becomes BC#14 thru Sooke to Jordan River. Approximately 8 km past Jordan river look for gravel pit on left hand side of the road (between 2 steel bridges which are fairly close together). Park on the side of the road.
Facilities available at the trailhead include:
- Campsite (6 sites)
- Water is available
Campsite is on the beach, see "Bear Beach" trail.
Uses
| Dayhike | 1 boot (easy to moderate). | 30 minutes one way. | Suitable all year. |
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Description
Walk through the gravel pit on the road and take the first road on the right. Head down this keeping to the right at the one fork. Look for a trail on your right. (There are actually two trails, the first marked with some flagging, the second marked with an orange post).
On the beach it is difficult to head west as there is a creek which (in winter at least) is difficult to cross. Heading east there is a headland to round about 15 minutes down the beach. Best to cross this on a falling tide to allow time to explore the beach to the east. Beyond the headland there is a creek which must be crossed. Currently (Nov 95) there is a log crossing of the creek. This log is somewhat slippery but can be crossed. Beyond the log there are some waterfalls. It is not possible to go too far down the beach as the next headland is impassible.
In Nov 95 it appeared that the new Juan de Fuca trail accessed the beach east of the log crossing mentioned above.
Features
This trail features beaches, forests and waterfalls.
Hazards
Hazards on this trail include some streams are crossed on footlogs and Trail thru woods has a couple of ropes to assist going down slopes. This is not too difficult. Going east on the beach there is a stream which must be crossed (at least when the water is high) on a log. This log can be slippery.
There are a number of creeks flowing in to the beach. Water should be treated.