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

Outdoor Activities

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 area's 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.