 Location
The park is located on the east side of Saanich Inlet on Southern Vancouver Island. There are three park accesses: Tod Inlet, Mackenzie Bight and Caleb Pike.
The Tod Inlet access is located near Brentwood Bay, off Wallace Drive; Mackenzie Bight access is located off Rossdurrance Road, off Willis Point Road; the Caleb Pike access is on Caleb Pike Road, off Millstream Road near Langford. Gowlland Tod Park can also be accessed by boat via Tod Inlet.
Nearby communities include: Brentwood Bay, Saanich, Sidney, Langford, Colwood, Victoria
Gowlland Tod Provincial Park provides excellent day-use recreation
opportunities for hiking, nature appreciation and picnicking. More than 25
kilometres of trails, varying in degree of difficulty, offer spectacular views,
as well as the chance to view animals in their natural environment. In spring
and early summer, the moss-covered rocky knolls come alive with a carpet of
colourful, vibrant wildflowers.
Located near Victoria on southern Vancouver Island, the park preserves a
heritage of green space for present and future generations. It encompasses
nearly the entire east side of Saanich Inlet, stretching from Goldstream to
Brentwood Bay and the world-famous Butchart Gardens.
Gowlland Tod protects a significant part of the Gowlland Range, one of the
last remaining natural areas in Greater Victoria, and a significant portion of
the natural shoreline and uplands of Tod Inlet. The Gowlland Range is a
particularly rich area of biodiversity, with more than 150 individual animal and
plant species identified. The protected area preserves a rare, dry coastal
Douglas fir habitat that features grassy meadows, rocky knolls and old-growth
forest.
The Gowlland Range towers 430 meters over Finlayson Arm, a unique fjord that
only replenishes its marine waters once a year. Species that are rare elsewhere
in the world flourish in this isolated and stable habitat. The abundance of
marine activity attracts scuba divers from around the world, as well as boaters
seeking the calm waters and sheltered anchorage of Tod Inlet.
 Visitors to the park will find reminders of the areas early pioneer
activity, as well as remains of settlements associated with the Vancouver
Portland Cement Company, which thrived here in the early 1900s. The area has
been, and continues to be, important to First Nation peoples, who utilize areas
of the park for medicinal, ceremonial and spiritual purposes.
Picnicking
This park has three day-use
accesses: Tod Inlet, Mackenzie Bight and Caleb Pike. All three areas have pit
toilets. Only Tod Inlet and Caleb Pike have picnic tables. Parking lots are
available at Mackenzie Bight and Caleb Pike.
Camping
There is no
camping at Gowlland Tod. Nearby Goldstream Provinicial Park offers camping.
Fires
There are no
campfires allowed at Gowlland Tod.
Nearby Parks
There are many Regional, Provincial, and National Parks in the greater Victoria area. Nearby Provincial Parks include Goldstream Provincial Park and John Dean.
Rules and Regulations
To
see the complete list of opportunities and regulations for this park please see
the BC Parks Parkfinder
For the general rules and regulations for all
Provincial parks please see BC Parks General
information.
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