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Hiking the Goldmine Trail

Langford, British Columbia

4.5/5
based on 4 reviews

Details

Distance

2.2 miles

Elevation Gain

295.3 ft

Route Type

Out-and-Back

Description

Added by Becky Simrose

Distance: 3.6 km round trip. Duration: 2hrs total (out and back). Elevation gain: 80 m. Close to Victoria (only 16 km from downtown). Waterfalls and enormous trees up to 600 years old, draped in moss. Eagles, herons, and the salmon run October/November. Goldstream Nature House (nature center and ecology education).

Goldstream Provincial Park is just a short drive from Victoria. Within 20 minutes of leaving the city center, you can be immersed in an old growth temperate rain forest.

From Victoria, take the Trans-Canada highway to the start of the Malahat. The Goldstream day use area is well marked. Stop here if the salmon run is on or you want to visit the Goldstream Nature House. In the dry season you can park here and walk along Goldstream to reach the tunnel that channels water from the Niagara stream under the highway, and cross through this tunnel. (If there has been a lot of rain there will be too much water running through the tunnel).

The Goldmine Trail starts on the other side of the busy highway and crossing on foot is not a good idea. Drive about 5 km further north on the highway to the well marked designated U-turn spot, turn around and drive back along this beautiful stretch of highway. As soon as you see the sign indicating 400 m to the day use area, look for the small unmarked parking area immediately to your right and park there.

Follow the trail a short distance along the stream to where Niagara Falls plunges down a 47.5 meter cliff to a pool below. Mossy trees hang on the cliff face and mist often shrouds the top of the Falls.

There are a couple options to get back to the main trail after checking out the Falls - retrace your steps and cross the stream along a short trail beside the highway, or along a faint trail that crosses above the tunnel. The trail then climbs steeply above the gorge, leading to a bridge crossing the stream above the Falls. Climb a little further until you reach the Goldstream trestle, spanning a dizzying 350 feet above the gorge. Just beyond the tracks is a mossy, rocky gorge that is worth exploring.

Go back down the trail the way you came a short distance and look for a trail peeling off to your right. Take this trail as it winds through forest and along the hillside, watching for the old abandoned mine shaft from the short-lived gold rush at Goldstream.

After about 2km the trail drops down to mossy grove beside the highway. Hidden Springs is a tiny beautiful waterfall worth hunting for - go to your right and look for a faint trail on the right near small, tree covered mound. Once you've explored to your fill, follow the man trail back the way you came to the parking lot.

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Features

Photography
Hiking
Dog Friendly
Easy Parking
Forest
Waterfall
Wildflowers
Wildlife

Hiking the Goldmine Trail Reviews

Was a little hard to find at first. Great views and there is an overlook. There are lots of trails so you can create your own hike

Gorgeous hike on Victoria Island. You hike up to a bridge with a very scenic overlook!

You can hike up to the train trestle and walk across if you're not scared of heights like me, like deathly scared apparently. That picture is crazy! Beautiful waterfall 5 minutes walk from the parking lot!

It is a pretty cool spot to check out if you only have a couple hours, although bad maps and signage makes it easy to get a little lost. There are many more trails than the maps show. Luckily you are squashed between the highway and rail road, so you shouldn't get lost to the point you are spending a night in the forest.

Leave No Trace

Always practice Leave No Trace ethics on your adventures and follow local regulations. Please explore responsibly!

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