Oliphant Lake

The Pitch

Victoria is full of mountain bike trails, multi-use trails, and connectors that can make for interesting loops sneaking through various neighbourhoods. What is less obvious, however, is how to ride real gravel roads like those often depicted in gravel cycling videos. Driving out of the city limits to rural places is one solution but it can also be accomplished from your front door!

Enter Oliphant Lake Ride. An approximately 100km loop that keeps you on a lot of gravel roads, a good amount of climbing, feelings of being lost in the boonies, an excellent cafe stop, and a short relaxing ferry ride.

Details

The entire route can be segmented into 4 different segments: Uptown Shopping Centre to Humpback Reservoir, Humpback Reservoir to Stebbings Rd, Oliphant Lake, and Mill Bay to Victoria.

1) Uptown Shopping Centre to Humpback Reservoir

I won't go into too much detail on this segment. This is primarily urban commuting to the Great Trail (forest trailhead). Feel free to mix this up any way you wish. As depicted, you'll ride the Galloping Goose and some lesser known gravel segments to keep the ride interesting.

2) Humpback Reservoir to Stebbings Rd

The real ride begins at Humpback Reservoir. You'll leave the city behind, snake through undulating forest trails, pass over a small suspension bridge, and climb and climb and climb until you finally emerge at the Trail Way Rd. (Wrigglesworth Pond is nearby and is worth a detour for a quick breather and a chance to refuel.). and climb a paved portion of the Great Trail before summiting the Malahat, finding the Cowichan Valley Trail and beginning your descent to Stebbings Rd. From here it is a quick paved ride to Shawnigan Lake Rd. and a subtle gravel road marked by a forestry gate and Mosaic sign.

3) Oliphant Lake

The ride gets decidedly more interesting as you turn off and venture where far fewer cyclists go. Having just descended from Goldstream Heights you will climb loose and chunky gravel in order to regain elevation. The first climb is the toughest and you will undoubtedly walk a small portion (200m?). Fear not though, this is the worst climb on the ride and will become a distant memory once you turn off onto a smaller trail (tricky to ride seasonal creek?) and find yourself with some fun singletrack to play on. These are probably old trials motorbike trails (maybe still active?), that are not documented on Trailforks, but I would estimate they are blue level trails. If singletrack on a gravel bike is not to your liking, with a little route planning you can find an alternate route.

After playing on little dirt trails, the route heads over to Oliphant Lake - another excellent place to stop, refuel, and take some photos. According to WikiLoc, "Oliphant is not a 'natural' lake, it was created in the 1930's as a water source for the Bamberton cement works." Furthermore, The Malahat Nation purchased 525 hectares in the area, which includes Oliphant Lake. The region is actively used by off-road enthusiasts so I assume respectfully accessing these lands is still permitted.

There are an abundance of options to get through the Oliphant Lake gravel road network. However, many roads are "fingers" that end in dead ends. Do some research in advance to find a route that works best for you. Largely, the roads along the lakes are flooded with very large puddles during the wet parts of the year. And the singletrack as noted on a map can't always be relied on to be rideable. The route as depicted is an effective way through the gravel network, with some great views, and is rideable almost all year (large, deep puddles can mostly be ridden around). Overall, gravel road quality will vary widely in the area, especially on climbs and descents, and can be tricky at times (not suitable for novice riders).

Once you exit the gravel roads, it's a quick descent to Mill Bay and a much needed coffee stop in town. Bru-Go's is excellent but there are many other options too (Rusticana, Tim Hortons, A&W, McDonalds, etc.).

Tip: Stop at the Mill Bay Thrifty Foods and purchase a ferry ticket from Customer Service to save yourself a little money!

Budget 20 minutes to cycle from coffee to the ferry terminal. And make sure you checked the ferry schedule well in advance, taking note of the Mill Bay departure time.

4) Brentwood Bay to Victoria

Now the return leg of the journey. Undoubtedly your legs will be uncooperative, after relaxing on the ferry, so feel free to improvise the most direct way home or climb over to the Lochside Trail. As depicted, the route will take you along Wallace Drive and connect over to the bike trail at Elk Lake, then bring you to the Royal Oak Burial Ground for a little more climbing (gratuitous I know), and finally connect to the Lochside Trail.

You did it! A proper gravel adventure from your door in Victoria!