Victoria’s Beacon Hill Park is a city park that features 200 acres of forests, gardens, children’s play areas, a petting zoo, ponds, sporting facilities and coastline.

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Park Location | What’s at Beacon Hill Park? | Tips and Advice | Other Information

Beacon Hill Park

Located just south of Victoria’s downtown core, Beacon Hill Park is free, beautiful any time of the year and definitely one of the Victoria’s most popular places to visit.

Park Location

Beacon Hill Park is located just south of downtown Victoria. It is bordered by Douglas Street to the west, Superior Street to the north, Dallas Road in the south and Cook Street to the east. Its northern tip is only a short walk from the Victoria Convention Centre, Empress Hotel and Royal BC Museum.

Beacon Hill Park Playground — Children’s Playground at Beacon Hill

What’s at Beacon Hill Park?

Beacon Hill has dozens of amenities and things to see and do including the following:

Children’s play area – one of Victoria’s best playgrounds located in the north-central part of the park.
Sporting facilities – the park has a baseball diamond, tennis courts, lawn bowling, walking trails and couple of sports fields.
Off-leash dog area – dogs are permitted off-leash at the southern end of Beacon Hill Park south of Dallas Road between Douglas Street and Clover Point. Whether you have a dog or not, this area is one of Victoria’s nicest places for a stroll.
Cameron Bandshell – also known as “the stage,” the venue operates from June to September. It includes seating for over 500 and hosts multiple free concerts and events in the summer.
Gardens – Beacon Hill Park features a number of beautiful gardens including a Rose Garden and Alpine Garden. Although not as extensive or impressive as the world-famous Butchart Gardens, the gardens at the park are still beautiful and worth seeing, especially in the late spring and summer.
Totem Pole – in the southeastern part of the park there is a giant totem pole that was first erected in 1956 and was once the world’s tallest.
Ponds – Beacon Hill is home to a number of ponds of varying sizes, including Goodacre Lake in the northern quadrant of the park just off Douglas Street, as well as Fountain Lake, Rose Lake, Duck Lake and Deer Lake that are tiny but beautiful ponds in the middle of Beacon Hill that are popular with ducks, turtles and human visitors alike.

For a map of Beacon Hill click Park Map.

Beacon Hill Park Trail — A Walking Trail at Beacon Hill Park

Tips & Advice

Beacon Hill is a large urban park with a variety of things to do and see. It also has a range of terrains including oceanfront cliffs, a Garry Oak meadow, large open lawns and a small lake. You can visit one part and spend just a short period of time, or you can explore the whole area and fill up an entire day.

TIP #1: Go on a sunny day and take a picnic. It’s a first-class park so stay a while and enjoy!

TIP #2: Located at 126 Douglas Street across from the western side of the park is the Beacon Drive-In. For generations this landmark has been a favourite place for locals to get a meal or a treat. It’s been voted Victoria’s Best Ice Cream for over 25 years in a row and has a large assortment of flavours as well as sundae toppings and milkshakes. It is open all year, except from December 18th to 26th in 2023, and features a covered patio with heat to keep its patrons warm in the colder months.

TIP #3: Check out the Beacon Hill Children’s Farm which features a variety of animals including rabbits, sheep, goats, donkeys, birds, and more. The farm is designed to encourage children to interact with animals in a respectful way. Admission is by donation with a suggested amount of around $5 per person. The farm closes during the winter season. When it does open, it is daily from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm from early March until October.