Jurassic Park look to some parts of the river canyon, not in terms of the size of the river or the series of small waterfalls, but in how rocky, steep, wild looking the canyon carved out by the river is - for something that is easily accessible on a day trip basis, not far off the highway, not far from Sooke or Victoria.
Some apparently drive to these parks in the summer to adventure swim in the "pothole" rock pools at the bases of the small waterfalls. Or maybe the two girls we saw, way down there in the canyon, slowly picking their way up and over rocks from the lower end of the river toward the higher pools, maybe they were local. Raised by wolves, perhaps, in a canyon with a wild, geological ages gone by look to it.
Heard it can be busy with children when school is out in the summer, but when we were there in late June there were just those two kids climbing up through the bottom of the canyon toward the higher rock pools.
This can be a somewhat confusing destination to research online. Because of how many similarly named outdoor recreational facilities are located in close proximity to each other.
There are two adjacent parks plus a campground along Sooke River Road:
first, Sooke Potholes Provincial Park, 7 hectares
then, Sooke Potholes Regional Park, variously reported as either 55 or 63 hectares
then the campground. Which, to add to the confusion, can be found under multiple names - Sooke Potholes Campground/Sooke Potholes Spring Salmon Place Campground/T'Sou-ke Nation KWL-UCHON (spring salmon place) Campground.
The two parks, essentially the same park in that they are one immediately after the other along the road, have walking trails and high views, from staircase accessible lookout points, of the series of small waterfalls and pothole type rock basin water pools.
Numerous stairs and dirt footpaths involved if you're going to see and photo the canyon, waterfalls and pools from every possible high lookout or vantage point. I wouldn't recommend it to those with mobility problems. There are some cliff edges, not far off the well travelled paths, which could present a fatal attraction for unsupervised and too daring children.
Pit toilets in the parks, bring your own paper and sanitizer.
The campground just past the parks isn't exactly a wilderness campground, given that it is on a road a short distance off of a highway, but it isn't a full service sort of campground either - check the website for what services are available.
There is a brick and concrete "ruin", actually not that old, of a builder's folly, an attempt to build a canyon top, canyon edge resort hotel. From when the property was privately owned at one time. Fenced off now, presumably to keep it from becoming either a squat or a party palace. Covered in graffiti. I tend not to like most graffiti, because so much of it is badly done, but in this case it adds something to the atmosphere of the ruins. Worth following the fence to see what can be seen of the graffiti from outside the fence. But be careful, it gets real steep eventually, along there. And there are park rangers who will getcha if you climb the fence into the ruins.
On the other side of Sooke River Road from the river canyon parks and campground is the approximately 60 km long Galloping Goose Regional Trail - a walking, biking, horse trail that follows a former rail line. This portion of it runs parallel just meters/yards away, at some points, from the east side of the road.
Besides those two very similarly named parks plus campground along the Sooke River Road, there is the much larger 4000 hectare Sea to Sea Regional Park on the east side of the Galloping Goose Trail. Accessed from a different road off of the highway,...
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