The Galloping Goose Regional Trail is a

rail trail A rail trail is a shared-use path on railway right of way. Rail trails are typically constructed after a railway has been abandoned and the track has been removed, but may also share the right of way with active railways, light rail, or streetc ...

between

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, for ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...

, and the

ghost town Ghost Town(s) or Ghosttown may refer to: * Ghost town, a town that has been abandoned Film and television * ''Ghost Town'' (1936 film), an American Western film by Harry L. Fraser * ''Ghost Town'' (1956 film), an American Western film by All ...

of Leechtown, north of

Sooke Sooke is a district municipality on the southern tip of Vancouver Island, Canada, by road from Victoria, the capital of British Columbia. Sooke, the westernmost of Greater Victoria's Western Communities, is to the north and west of the Sooke ...

, where it meets the old

Sooke Flowline The Sooke Flowline is an abandoned concrete aqueduct that snakes through the Sooke Hills from Sooke Lake to the Humpback Reservoir near Mt. Wells Regional Park. From this reservoir, a buried, riveted steel pressure main transported water to ...

. Maintained by the

Capital Regional District The Capital Regional District (CRD) is a local government administrative district encompassing the southern tip of Vancouver Island and the southern Gulf Islands in the Canadian province of British Columbia. The CRD is one of several regional ...

(CRD), the trail forms part of the

Trans-Canada Trail The Trans Canada Trail, officially named The Great Trail between September 2016 and June 2021, is a cross-Canada system of greenways, waterways, and roadways that stretches from the Atlantic to the Pacific to the Arctic oceans. The trail extend ...

, and intersects the Lochside Regional Trail. The section from Harbour Road in

Esquimalt The Township of Esquimalt is a municipality at the southern tip of Vancouver Island, in British Columbia, Canada. It is bordered to the east by the provincial capital, Victoria, to the south by the Strait of Juan de Fuca, to the west by Esqui ...

to the Veterans Memorial Parkway in Langford is also part of the Vancouver Island Trail. 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, rollerblading, 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 Right of way is the legal right, established by grant from a landowner or long usage (i.e. by prescription), to pass along a specific route through property belonging to another. A similar ''right of access'' also exists on land held by a gov ...

of the

Canadian National Railway The Canadian National Railway Company (french: Compagnie des chemins de fer nationaux du Canada) is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. CN i ...

, and runs through the communities of

, Metchosin, Colwood, Langford,

View Royal View Royal is a town in Greater Victoria and a member municipality of the Capital Regional District of British Columbia, Canada. View Royal has a population of 10,858 residents. With over of parkland, View Royal includes Thetis, McKenzie, Pik ...

, Saanich, and Victoria as well as the unincorporated community of East Sooke. The trail surface is paved between the west terminus (

Johnson Street Bridge Four known bridges have spanned the narrows between the Inner Harbour and Upper Harbour of Victoria, British Columbia, connecting Johnson Street on the east shore with Esquimalt Road on the west shore. The current bridge is Canada's largest sin ...

) 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, this area has been restricted since 2007, as part of the Greater Victoria water supply. In 2010, a warning sign and locked gate were erected before the end of the trail. Leechtown itself is not accessible. File:Galloping Goose Regional Trail, Saanich, British Columbia, Canada 17.jpg, Saanich Area File:Galloping Goose Trail - a restored train station near the Sooke Potholes.jpg, Sooke Area File:Pedestrian bridge next to Uptown, Saanich, British Columbia, Canada 16.jpg, Switch Bridge area File:Charters Creek Trestle on the Galloping Goose Trail - panoramio.jpg, Charters Creek Trestle File:Galloping Goose Trail. VIEW IN PANORAMIO FOR DESCRIPTION - panoramio.jpg, Biking File:Galloping Goose Trail. INFO IN PANORAMIO DESCRIPTION - panoramio.jpg File:Cyclist on Galloping Goose Trail. VIEW IN PANORAMIO FOR DESCRIPTION - panoramio.jpg, Cyclist trail File:Galloping Goose cycle trail at Switch Bridge. VIEW IN PANORAMIO FOR DESCRIPTION - panoramio.jpg, Switch Bridge area File:Galloping Goose trail near Glen Lake. INFO IN PANORAMIO DESCRIPTION - panoramio.jpg, Glen Lake Area File:Looking down at Millstream Creek old bridge foundation. VIEW IN PANORAMIO FOR DESCRIPTION - panoramio.jpg, Millstream Creek Area

References

External links

Capital Regional District's Regional Trails Brochure
*

{{Canadian Trails Rail trails in British Columbia Historic trails and roads in British Columbia Transport in the Capital Regional District Bike paths in British Columbia