My Favourite Places on Vancouver Island: Roche Cove and Matheson Lake

Matheson Lake

In my books, Vancouver Island takes the cake when it comes to Canadian hiking experiences for 3 reasons, gorgeous landscapes, an abundance of hiking destinations and, last but not least, a welcome lack of mosquitoes. Until we moved out here I'd never dream of spending extended amounts of time in the outdoors without a healthy supply of Deet, but I soon learned to save some weight and leave the stuff at home. It was one habit I was very happy to break.

Hiking options on the Island include the world-class West Coast Trail, the scenic Juan da Fuca and the technically challenging North Coast Trail (my favourite long distance trail on the Island). Many day hikes are easily accessible within a short drive of the Island's main centres. One of our favourite go-to short hikes is a just a five-minute drive down the street from our place.

Matheson Creek

Even though we've been out here for 4 years and hike on a regular basis, we still often come across new hikes to explore. This past weekend, we spent an afternoon enjoying the trails at Roche Cove and Matheson Lake. The two parks share a border in East Sooke and combined make for a great mid-length hike with trails that range from easy to moderately difficult. Most of the trails wind through a cool and shady rainforest with occasional views of the lake and the cove.

As an added bonus - the kicker that makes this one of my favourite spots on the Island - when you're ready to take a break you can scope out a nice, quiet swimming spot as you make your way around the Matheson Lake loop. Great for cooling off on a hot summer day!

If you still have some energy after the hike, you might want to drive the short distance to close-by Aylard Farm at the trailhead to the East Sooke Coastal Trail and do a little beachcombing before heading home. It's gotta be said that Roche Cove and Matheson Lake's close proximity to East Sooke is the main reason we haven't visited this trail sooner. I won't say anything further about it here, but you can read more about the East Sooke Coastal Trail in this post.

Trip Info

Roche Cove Trailhead on Google Maps
Route: Cedar Grove to Galloping Goose to Matheson Lake Loop Trail, return via Galloping Goose
Hike length: Approximately 8km
Hike duration: 2-3 hours, 4 hours with a swim at Matheson Lake
Roche Cove website
Matheson Lake website

Read more about my favourite places on Vancouver Island.