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Thetis Lake Regional Park , appearing on the right 11km out of the city, is good for swimming, with forested trails and sandy beaches on two lakes backed by high cliffs; there's a busy beach near the car park, which is quieter round the shore, or beyond at the bottom of the hill at Prior Lake. Prettier still is Goldstream Provincial Park , 5km beyond Langford and 20km from the city centre, where you'll find an ancient forest of Douglas fir and western red cedar and a large provincial park campsite with good facilities and a visitor centre (summer $18.50, winter $8). There's also a network of marked trails to hilltops and waterfalls designed for anything between five minutes and an hour's walking. Try the paths towards Mount Finlayson (three-hour's hard walk if you go all the way to the summit) for views of the ocean - views you also get if you carry on up the highway, which soon meets Saanich Inlet, a bay with a lovely panorama of wooded ridges across the water. Look out for the Malahat Summit (31km from Victoria) and Gulf Islands (33km) viewpoints. To stay , the small Malahat Oceanview Motel (tel 478-9213, oceanview@coastnet.com ; $60-80), 35km north of Victoria, is best sited to catch the sea and island vistas. A scenic diversion off the main road takes you 7km to Shawnigan Lake , fringed by a couple of provincial parks: West Shawnigan Park on the lake's northwest side has a safe beach and swimming possibilities. If you're biking or are prepared to tackle pretty rough roads, note the logging road that links the north end of the lake to Port Renfrew on the west coast (check access restrictions at the Victoria infocentre).
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