Whiffin Spit Park in Sooke

• Author: WantsToTravelMore
• Accommodation: Victoria

If you are in Sooke and only have time for one scenic walk, visit Whiffin Spit Park.

To find Whiffin Spit, you must head down Whiffen Spit Road, which heads south of the main road (Highway 14). Follow the signs to Whiffin Spit or Sooke Harbour House, both of which are found at the end of Whiffin Spit Road. There is a small parking lot that I imagine during high season is hard to find space in. You may need to find street parking and walk in.

According to the signs, Whiffin Spit is named for a clerk on the Royal Navy vessel Herald, which surveyed Sooke Harbour in 1846. (Honestly I think having the surname Whiffin would have generated a few snickers even in the 19th century.)

Whiffen Spit is essential to protecting the harbour from the strong winds and waves of the Strait of Juan de Fuca. On the blustery day we chose to walk the path, we were nearly blown off. It was amazingly rough on the ocean side of Whiffin Spit but almost serenely calm to the north.

We weren’t the only intrepid souls, many dog-walkers use the trail to get some air. (They are serious about you picking up after your dog to the extent that the Sooke city fathers provide plastic bags are provided.) We saw harbour seals and a variety of birds both in the air and on the water.

As you will see from the photos in the gallery, the views from the park are spectacular. I do so want to go back when the wind is more moderate and our 4-year-old can not think he’s going to blow away like Piglet in Winnie-the-Pooh.