Galloping Goose Regional Trail

The Galloping Goose Regional Trail is a 55-kilometre (34 mi) rail trail between Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, and the ghost town of Leechtown, north of Sooke, where it meets the old Sooke Flowline. Maintained by the Capital Regional District (CRD), the trail forms part of the Trans-Canada Trail, and intersects the Lochside Regional Trail. The section from Harbour Road in Esquimalt to the Veterans Memorial Parkway in Langford is also part of the Vancouver Island Trail.

Galloping Goose Regional Trail
A restored train station on the Galloping Goose Trail near the Sooke Potholes
Length55 km (34 mi)
LocationBritish Columbia, Canada
TrailheadsVictoria
Leechtown
UseHiking, Running, Cycling, Skateboarding, Horse Riding
Hiking details
Trail difficultyAccessible to Easy
HazardsRoad Crossings
Galloping Goose
0
Johnson Street Bridge
Point Ellice Bridge
Selkirk Trestle
Gorge Road
Burnside Road
Tolmie Lane
Switch Bridge
Lochside Trail
Tillicum Road
Burnside Road
McKenzie Avenue
5
Saanich
View Royal
10
View Royal
Colwood
Helmcken Road
Burnside Road
Hwy 1
Six Mile Road
Hwy 14
15
Sooke Road
Colwood
Langford
Langford
Metchosin
20
25
30
Metchosin
Sooke
Matheson Lake Park
Roche Cove Park
35
40
45
Charters Trestle
Todd Trestle
50
55
Leechtown

The trail is a popular route both for commuting and recreation, including within urban areas of Victoria (Vic West and Burnside-Gorge). It is frequented by people walking, running, cycling, skateboarding and (in places) riding horses. It connects up with many other trails and parks in the area.

The trail was created in 1987 on the former right-of-way of the Canadian National Railway, and runs through the communities of Sooke, Metchosin, Colwood, Langford, View Royal, Saanich, and Victoria as well as the unincorporated community of East Sooke.

The trail surface is paved between the west terminus (Johnson Street Bridge) to Wale Road in Colwood, approximately 13 km, or one quarter of its total length. It connects to a multi-use path across the bridge and bike lanes along Pandora Avenue.

In 1996 two important connecting links were opened. The rebuilt Selkirk Trestle across the Selkirk Water and the Switch Bridge over the Trans-Canada Highway.

The trail was named after the local gas-powered passenger car (No. 15813) that ran on the line from 1922 to 1931. However, the name is disputed by the Sooke Region Museum and longtime Sooke residents who say that the term Galloping Goose was not used for the old rail line; it was applied by CRD marketing staff to the trail.

Although maps show Leechtown as being the end of the trail, since 2007 this area is restricted as part of the Greater Victoria water supply. In 2010 a warning sign and locked gate greet hikers before the end of the trail. Leechtown is not accessible.

References

    • "Equipment gas car no. 15813". Canada Science and Technology Museum. Archived from the original on October 17, 2013.


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