Sooke Potholes Provincial Park is a 7.28 hectare

provincial park Ischigualasto Provincial Park A provincial park (or territorial park) is a park administered by one of the provinces of a country, as opposed to a national park. They are similar to state parks in other countries. They are typically open to the ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. It is adjacent to the Sooke River and

Sooke Potholes Regional Park Sooke Potholes Regional Park is a 63.5-hectare (157-acre) nature park along the Sooke River, near Sooke, British Columbia. It is known for its rocky pools and canyon-like features and is a popular destination for hiking and swimming. The Land C ...

, near Victoria, B.C. Intended primarily to provide access to the Sooke River and the associated potholes, it also offers wildlife viewing and other day-use activities.

Environment

Sooke Potholes Provincial Park, in the Leeward Island Mountains Ecosection, is primarily focused around a set of naturally-occurring, water-carved potholes along the Sooke River. Although the river is a popular swimming spot, it is also an important spawning river for chinook and

coho salmon The coho salmon (''Oncorhynchus kisutch;'' Karuk: achvuun) is a species of anadromous fish in the salmon family and one of the five Pacific salmon species. Coho salmon are also known as silver salmon or "silvers". The scientific species name i ...

and is a main

wildlife corridor A wildlife corridor, habitat corridor, or green corridor is an area of habitat connecting wildlife populations separated by human activities or structures (such as roads, development, or logging). This allows an exchange of individuals between ...

between the Sooke Hills and Capital Region greenbelts. Sierra wood fern and streambank lupine, both threatened species, are important plant species that can be found in the park, as well as old-growth

Douglas firs The Douglas fir (''Pseudotsuga menziesii'') is an evergreen conifer species in the pine family, Pinaceae. It is native to western North America and is also known as Douglas-fir, Douglas spruce, Oregon pine, and Columbian pine. There are three va ...

. Park animal species include the

black bear Black bear or Blackbear may refer to: Animals * American black bear (''Ursus americanus''), a North American bear species * Asian black bear (''Ursus thibetanus''), an Asian bear species Music * Black Bear (band), a Canadian First Nations group ...

, cougar and the

Roosevelt elk The Roosevelt elk (''Cervus canadensis roosevelti)'', also known commonly as the Olympic elk and Roosevelt's wapiti, is the largest of the four surviving subspecies of elk (''Cervus canadensis'') in North America by body mass (although by antle ...

. The

Sooke Flowline The Sooke Flowline is an abandoned concrete aqueduct that snakes through the Sooke Hills from Sooke Lake to the Humpback Reservoir near Mt. Wells Regional Park. From this reservoir, a buried, riveted steel pressure main transported water to ...

, constructed in 1915, snakes through the nearby hills around the Sooke Potholes and travels all the way to the Humpback Reservoir near Mt. Wells Regional Park. It can be found east of the Sooke River.

Activities and Services

The park is primarily designed to provide access to the potholes and the Sooke River for swimming, picnicking, fishing, and other recreational activities along the river. Because the potholes are located outside of the park boundaries, the park is primarily designed to allow access through the park to the Sooke River and does not have washrooms, trash bins, or other service facilities to allow anything other than day use. There are multiple trails and two parking lots to allow easy access to the potholes and the river.

References

External links

BC Parks: Sooke Potholes Provincial Park
Greater Victoria Provincial parks of British Columbia Protected areas established in 1972 1972 establishments in British Columbia {{BritishColumbia-park-stub