Bylaw 3682 Parks Regulation
A bylaw to regulate the use of regional parks and trails.

Bylaw 3890 Parks Services and Facilities Fees and Charges
A bylaw to amend bylaw no. 3675 which provides for park use permit fees and charges payable for regional parks services and facilities within the capital regional district.

Bylaw 1857 Ticket Information Authorization
A bylaw that authorizes Capital Regional District Bylaw Enforcement Officers to issue tickets for fines for offences against bylaws. See Schedule 18, page 25.

• Parks and Recreation Bylaws

CRD Regional Parks protects and manages more than 13,000 hectares of spectacular and easily accessible natural areas in 33 regional parks and trails in the Capital Regional District.

The parks system covers southern Vancouver Island and the Southern Gulf Islands.

• Parks System Map (PDF)

In 2014, our parks received more than 6 million visits. Here are the visitation statistics to the most popular parks:

Regional Park/Trail	2014 Visits
Albert Head Lagoon	68,499
Brooks Point	5,655
Coles Bay	24,162
Devonian	49,358
East Sooke	145,361
Elk/Beaver Lake	1,476,159
Francis/King	76,381
Galloping Goose	1,948,525
Gonzales Hill	42,144
Horth Hill	65,944
Island View Beach	366,424
Jordan River (Sandcut Beach)	12,107
Lochside	1,120,138
Lone Tree Hill	9,455
Matheson Lake	47,555
Mill Hill	35,087
Mount Parke	5,760
Mount Wells	34,591
Mount Work	166,491
Sea to Sea (Harbourview)	31,250
Sooke Potholes	107,226
Thetis Lake	432,300
Witty's Lagoon	68,370
Total	6,338,941

Effective April 1, 2015 there will be more outdoor clean air spaces available for everyone in the Capital Regional District.

Smoking tobacco is prohibited in all regional parks, beaches that are a part of a regional park, playgrounds, playing fields, public squares, bus stops and bus shelters.

What is considered a park? A park means land acquired, reserved or dedicated as a regional park or community park in accordance with the Local Government Act or Community Charter.

Is smoking allowed in the parking lot of a park? No. However, it is permitted inside a vehicle in a parking lot unless it has a youth under the age of 16 in the vehicle.

Is smoking allowed in a regional park campground? CRD Clean Air Bylaw prohibits smoking anywhere in parks except in private vehicles.

• Clean Air Bylaw Information

Boating is permitted in the following lakes, with some restrictions:

• Beaver Lake: 10 horsepower maximum
• Durrance Lake: electric motors only
• Elk Lake: 10 horsepower maximum (over 10 horsepower in area marked by buoys only)
• Matheson Lake: electric motors only
• Prior Lake: no power boats
• Thetis Lake: electric motors only

Our most popular brochures can be downloaded from this web site. From Find a Park or Trail, click on the park that interests you.

All CRD Parks publications are also available at our office: 490 Atkins Avenue in Langford. Office hours are Monday –- Friday, 8:30am – 4:30pm.

CRD Regional Parks operates three self-contained RV and tent campgrounds at Island View Beach Regional Park in Central Saanich, Jordan River Regional Park in Jordan River and Sooke Potholes Regional Park in Sooke.

All other regional parks and trails are day-use only. No overnight camping is permitted.

For details, visit the Cycling & Walking Routes page. Cyclists are welcome on CRD Parks' two connected regional trails, built on former railway lines. The 55-kilometre Galloping Goose Regional Trail connects downtown Victoria with Sooke. The 29-kilometre Lochside Regional Trail begins in Saanich and ends at the BC Ferries terminal at Swartz Bay.

Cycling is also permitted:

• in the Hartland mountain biking area of Mount Work Regional Park
• on the western portion of the 10K Trail at Elk/Beaver Lake Regional Park
• on designated multi-use trails at Thetis Lake Regional Park
• on the E&N Rail Trail, which is currently under construction

Cycling is not permitted on other trails or in other regional parks. Please lock up your bikes and explore the parks on foot.

Visitors are welcome to bring their dogs to most regional parks and trails, as long as the dogs are on the trail and under control. CRD Parks recommends you keep your dogs on leash in all high use areas.

Dogs are required to be on leash on the Lochside Regional Trail and on the Elsie King Trail at Francis/King Regional Park.

Dogs are allowed to pass through but not stay in designated beach and picnic areas during the summer (June 1 - September 15). They are required to be on a leash while passing through.

For more details, visits the Pets in Parks page. Watch for signs on trails and in parks where specific dog regulations apply.

Yes. CRD allows the use of electric bicycles on regional trails. Electric bicycles must meet the BC Motor Vehicle Act definition of "motor-assisted cycle" and display the required sticker.

For a detailed description of motor-assisted cycles, visit:

• ICBC web site
• View fact sheet about electric bicycles

No. Open fires are not allowed in regional parks. Check with your local municipality to find out where open fires are allowed in the Capital Region.

Yes. CRD recognizes geocaching as a recreational activity in regional parks and trails.

• Geocaching in CRD Regional Parks Guidelines 

Parking is free in most regional parks and trails. At Sooke Potholes and Thetis Lake regional parks only, pay parking is in effect from May 1 to September 30.

Reservations of group picnic shelters are available at Elk/Beaver Lake, East Sooke Park and Island View Beach. To reserve a shelter, call Parks Headquarters at 250.478.3344.  Read more >>

Each park listing provides directions to the park by public transit where applicable. You can also download the information sheet listing all parks accessible by bus.

• CRD Regional Parks Accessible by BC Public Transit

The Vancouver Island Health Authority is responsible for monitoring the quality of recreational water. They monitor the water quality at beaches in the summer months only and post the reports on the VIHA website.