Trip Report/ Victoria BC Bike Pack Ride-From-Home (July 2026)

Note: “ride-from-home” means we bike from our house and stay overnight somewhere else, the first one of which we did to Salish Lodge & Spa in Snoqualmie, trip report here. To jump to the photo gallery below for this post, click here.

Going on 40 years ago, Ann and I got our bikes from Seattle to Victoria, BC (we can’t remember exactly how), the “plan” being that from there we’d ride 117 km (73 miles) on Route 14 until it dead-ends in Port Renfrew. We only made it to our destination before dark on account of yet another friendly Canadian who let us throw our bikes in the back of his pickup, and drove us the last dozen miles or so. (The only other detail we recall is finding out that our rustic bunkhouse didn’t serve food, so dinner consisted of potato chips, pepperoni sticks, and beer at the bar.)

Fast-forward many years, we decided to once again put our fate in the hands of the Canadians—this time riding from home on our fancy e-bikes, cruising on the Victoria Clipper, and staying at the swanky Parkside Hotel and Spa in downtown Victoria with our good friends Dave and Rebekah. Somehow, it was even more enjoyable knowing we had roughed it when we were young, adventuresome, and less concerned about creature comforts (and espresso).

Travel Notes

• Depart Kirkland 8am Sunday morning, bike to Spring District light rail station, catch the 2 Line train to Pioneer Square, Seattle.
• Ride the Yesler bike lanes to the Seattle Waterfront trail, then north to Pier 66 where the FRS Clipper departs from. Remove bags from bikes and check in for 11am sailing (they load and stow the bikes, which require a separate reservation, on the back of the ship).
• Slightly under three hours later, arrive Victoria, BC, where the accommodating local officials accept our WA Enhanced Drivers Licenses for cross-border travel.
• Two days later, the return trip departs at 5pm, arriving Seattle before 8pm for the final ride, rail, and ride home.

Highlights
Victoria is one of the most bike-friendly cities I’ve ever been to, with separated bike lanes, and best of all, rail-trails:

• Galloping Goose Trail to Sooke (up to 55 km/ 34 miles one way). Beautiful trail, we rode out to Fort Rodd Hill park, which has a nice causeway along the sea. We made a pleasant clockwise loop of it by first riding out the E&N Rail Trail, then taking the Goose back to town.
• Lochside Trail to Sidney (29 km/ 18 miles one way). Another beautiful rail-trail, which we rode back on after following the coast east then north from downtown.
• II Terrazzo restaurant. Recommended by Signe & Hank, has amazing Italian food in a uniquely eclectic setting. If you visit Victoria, make a reservation here.

Historical Note
For anyone still reading at this point, the passenger ferry to Victoria crosses the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and on the trip home they handed out Dramamine for the sea swells coming in from the Pacific Ocean. Curious about the strait’s namesake, turns out it started with a Greek sailor named Apostolos Valerianos who claimed in 1592 to have found a route which lead all the way to the Atlantic Ocean—petitioning (unsuccessfully) the kings of Spain and England for compensation on account of his “discovery.” A tall tale of geographic proportions, this nonetheless resulted in his immortal memorialization, albeit in the form of a weird transliteration of his real name. Goes to show, geographic names can be an unreliable record of history (just ask the American “Indians”). Source.

Photos

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