When it comes to off-roading, finding the best spot with the best views is crucial! You want to be able to find a trail that you are confident in doing, as well as a spot that makes the trip worth taking.
For this post, I have compiled a list of some of the best spots that we have been to. Some of the trails differ in the challenge, but all of these spots have stunning views that make for great photos and memories. I will talk about the trail difficulty with a score out of 10, 1 being the easiest as in a road, 10 being the hardest, as well as the payoff of the view, 1 being not worth it, 10 being totally worth it. I’ll probably be pretty lenient for the view scale, as all the spots we’ve been to have been pretty amazing!
Tugwell Lake
To begin, we have good old Tugwell Lake! Located in Sooke. This is a trail that we frequent, as it has a pretty decent difficulty level, I’d rank this trail a 7. There are a few difficult spots with tight squeezes and awkward angles, but it’s mostly just logging road. The lake in and of itself is very pretty. It makes for a great picnic spot, and in the summer, the water is crystal clear so you can go swimming or fishing too! I will rank this spot as a 6. The lake is very calming and visually appealing, though there isn’t much else other than the lake.
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- Part of the trail heading to the lake
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- At the lake
Boulder Lake
Next we have Boulder Lake, which is actually located not too far from Tugwell Lake, in Sooke as well. To get here, you have to follow the trail up to Ranger Lake, which was probably one of the hardest trails that I have been on. I will rank this an 8. We got stuck three times and had to actually winch ourselves out! As for the views, this lake was pretty cool. We came here on a rainy day, so the lake was very misty which made for an eerie shot. I’ll rank this spot a 6 as well. Same as Tugwell, the lake is beautiful, but that’s all there is to look at!
Boulder Lake
Secret Lake
Next up, we have Secret Lake. Located in Jordan River, this is also a trail that we frequent. It is relatively easy, with a few sketchy rocky areas, I’d rate this trail a 5. The spot is actually really cool. Someone built a cabin there stocked with some survival essentials, like water, some canned goods, matches, firewood etc. There’s also a dock that someone built right on the lake. You can fish here and have a fire. It would be a pretty cool spot to stay over night, as it’s super private and relaxing. I’d rate this spot a 7, it’s a great little spot which kind of differs from the others!
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- Secret Lake
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- Cabin at Secret Lake
Oliphant Lake
Next up, we are moving up island a bit, to Oliphant Lake, located in Shawnigan. You can get here off the highway by the serious coffee. This trail was relatively easy, as it was mostly logging road. I’d rank this trail about a 5. The spot I’d rank a 6, the lake was super pretty and very relaxing, although it was pretty busy with other off-roaders, so it wasn’t as relaxing as some of the other spots are. Still gorgeous though!
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- Trail at Oliphant Lake
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- Oliphant Lake
Nanaimo Skydeck
Moving a little further up island, we have the Nanaimo Skydeck. The actual trail up to the skydeck was just logging road so I’d rate it a 3, although to get to the trail, you have to make your own trail off of the main road because all the entrances were dug up to discourage off-roaders, we got stuck on a sand dune and it took around half an hour to try and winch out, so this part was pretty gnarly, I’d rate that an 8. The view, holy moly. Rate this a 9 maybe even a 10! Super cool, you never would expect this random spot to be where it is, in Nanaimo of all places! Totally would reccomend this spot.
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- Nanaimo Skydeck
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- Nanaimo Skydeck View
Virgin Falls
Next up, we’re going even further up island to Tofino, to Virgin Falls. There are tons of great trails in Tofino, but the Virgin Falls trail is the best! It’s a pretty beginners trail, as it’s mostly just logging road, I’d rate the trail a 4. Although we did get lost a few times, and had no cell service, so we actually had to pull out our map (thank god we had it with us!). The spot was spectacular. I’ve never been able to get so close to a water fall! So beautiful, I’d rate it a 9! Because we got lost, we weren’t able to get there until around dusk, so we didn’t get the best look of it, but I’d definitely want to go there again during the day!
Virgin Falls
Jasper National Park
The last spot on the list is Jasper National Park. This is certainly a lot further away, located in Alberta. In the summer, we took a trip into Banff, and decided to spend a day exploring a place we’d never been. The roundtrip was around 10 hours, but it was so worth it! This particular spot was . I’d rank the trail a 3, it was pretty much a dirt road. But the spot, 10/10. Some of my favourite shots I’ve taken of the truck were taken here! I think that I give this spot such a high rating just because the scenery was so different than Vancouver Island. So many mountains, glacial lakes and rivers, and we even saw mountain goats and bears! I’d definitely like to travel here again, it was one of the top 10 places I’ve ever been! For my photo’s below, I chose to not put them in a gallery so you could see the full size image to know just how stunning it was!
Truck in Jasper National Park
Saskatchewan River, Jasper National Park