emailElk/Beaver Lake Regional Park
Learning Centre
Natural History
Visitors to Elk/Beaver Lake who prefer quiet walks and a closer look at the world around them will discover remnants of diverse natural habitats once found in the region.
Open Water
The open water is the habitat of many species. Mergansers, Canada geese and buffleheads share the calm surface. Overhead, bald eagles and osprey look for rainbow trout, smallmouth bass and pumpkin-seed sunfish.
Wetland
The wetland serves as a transition from lake to shore. River otters swim among the yellow pond lilies, and red-winged blackbirds balance on cat-tails.
Grassland
The grassland is a quiet refuge. Savannah sparrows share the serenity with Columbia black-tailed deer.
Forest
The forest is lush with life. Stands of cottonwood, Pacific crabapple and red alder shelter red-legged frogs and provide homes for cavity-nesting birds. Douglas-fir and western red cedar form a canopy for yellow warblers and chestnut-backed chickadees. Lucky visitors may even hear a screech owl at dawn.
Aliens at Elk/Beaver Lake
Over the years, plant and animal species — many of them harmful to the park's ecosystem — have been introduced into the lakes. The giant bullfrog, for example, has multiplied in large numbers, crowding out native amphibians. Do not release any fish or other animals into Elk/Beaver Lake.
Cultural History
Elk/Beaver Lake Regional Park is rich in natural and cultural history. For thousands of years, the Coast Salish people inhabited the Saanich Peninsula. The Songhees and the Saanich used the area for hunting, fishing and collecting plants. They ate camas bulbs as root vegetables, used cattail reeds to weave baskets, gathered licorice ferns for cold remedies and waterproofed baskets with cottonwood gum — all as recently as 150 years ago.
But in the 1850s, the Saanich Peninsula was purchased from the Coast Salish people for 386 wool blankets. Since that time, the area of Elk/Beaver Lake has undergone many changes.
In 1872, Elk/Beaver Lake became the water source for Greater Victoria. Elk and Beaver Lakes, once separate, were joined when Colquitz Creek was dammed. In 1896, filter beds were constructed after Victoria residents complained of fish and tadpoles in their drinking water. The lake remained a water source for some areas of the region until 1977.
Meanwhile, railways moved across Vancouver Island, including the Victoria & Sidney Line. From 1894 to 1919, the "Cordwood Limited" travelled one of the more scenic, and dangerous, passages along the west side of Elk/Beaver Lake, where the tracks hugged the shoreline and the train took many sharp turns.
When the railway closed, people found other ways to travel to Elk/Beaver Lake. Horse and carriage, public transportation and eventually the automobile brought skaters in winter, and swimmers, boaters and picnickers in summer. The area became known as the "Freshwater Playground of Victoria," and in its heyday, the 1930s and 1940s, boasted a tea room, roller rink, outdoor dance hall, automobile camp and chocolate factory!
By the 1950s, however, times had changed. The Pat Bay Highway had been completed, and protecting the area as green space became a priority.
Elk/Beaver Lake was designated a Regional Park in 1966.
