Adventure & Outdoors
The lesser-known flat rail trail where you can talk the whole way, ending at Sidney's bookshops and waterfront patios as your reward.
Lochside Regional Trail (Cordova Bay access), Saanich
More infoThe Galloping Goose gets all the press, but the Lochside is the wiser date choice. Where the Goose hauls you into the hills, the Lochside runs flat and easy north along an old rail line through Saanich farmland, past Blenkinsop Lake, to Sidney-by-the-Sea. You can actually talk the whole way, and the payoff is a seaside town of bookshops, a pier and waterfront patios, roughly 24 km each way.
Jump on at Cordova Bay or Mattick's Farm and roll this flat rail-trail north through Saanich farmland and shoreline, it's roughly 24 km each way to Sidney, so turn around whenever the snacks run out. Rent downtown if you don't own bikes, pack water, and budget a half-day if you go the distance. The payoff: a seaside town with bookshops, a pier and waterfront patios begging for a reward before you head back.
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