Portage Park

Portage Park in View Royal offers forested trails leading to a beach with scenic views, rich history, and family- and dog-friendly spaces.

To play, press and hold the enter key. To stop, release the enter key.

Location

View Royal
Google maps (this link takes you to the town hall, there is a parking lot for the park next to the town hall)

About

Once used by First Nations as a canoe portage route between Esquimalt Harbour and the Gorge Waterway, this area is now known as Portage Park.
Portage Park is 6.2 hectares and is located in View Royal.
You can find parking beside View Royal’s town hall.
It’s a favourite spot for dog walkers and you’ll find a playground in the park.
The park is filled with Douglas fir and Garry oak trees. You’ll find Cooper’s hawks, dark-eyed juncos, and woodpeckers as you explore.
As you wander the trails, you’ll end up at a beach looking out on Thetis Cove.
When the tide is low, the beach comes alive with little treasures like crabs and shells. But during high tide, the shoreline nearly disappears, so make sure to check the tide schedule before you head out.
You’ll also see Richards Island, which is accessible by personal watercraft. Apparently the south side is easiest to land on, depending on the tides.
Richards Island is named after Lieutenant Fleetwood John Richards, an officer who served aboard the HMS Fisgard from 1843 to 1847 (source).
The E&N Rail Trail, which passes nearby Portage Park, traces the path of a railway that once put the entire Canadian Federation at risk. Back in 1871, B.C. agreed to join Canada—but only on the promise that a railway would be built on Vancouver Island.
Years passed, and the federal government kept delaying. Tensions grew so high that 800 citizens stormed the legislature in Victoria, and local politicians openly threatened to pull BC out of Confederation.
Amid the standoff, businessman Robert Dunsmuir struck a deal: he would build the railway in exchange for a massive land grant—about twenty percent of Vancouver Island.
From that agreement, the Esquimalt and Nanaimo Railway was born, completed in 1886.