About Saanich

An Introduction To The District of Saanich

The District of Saanich is a municipality on Vancouver Island in British Columbia. It is located north of the provincial capital, Victoria. It has a population of 108,265 people, making it the most populous municipality on Vancouver Island and the seventh most populous in the province. The municipality is named after the Saanich First Nation, and means 'emerging land' or 'emerging people'.

Saanich is part of Greater Victoria and a member municipality of the Capital Regional District.

Saanich is home to part of the University of Victoria which straddles the boundary with the neighbouring municipality of Oak Bay. Saanich is fairly large in area and contains a wide variety of rural and urban landscapes and neighbourhoods stretching north to the Saanich Peninsula. Saanich is the location of the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory near Elk Lake. The Municipality of Saanich contains a long shoreline with sandy beaches located at a number of ocean bays. Two of the beaches are Cadboro Bay Beach and Cordova Bay Beach. Cadboro Bay is known as a place to view the 'Cadborosaurus', a mythical sea monster that may or may not exist. Saanich's notable parks include Mount Douglas Park, Mount Tolmie Park (with viewpoints) and Gyro Park.

Gordon Head

Converted from an area of small farms and greenhouses into a residential area after the construction of the University of Victoria, part of which lies in the neighbourhood. Originally developed as a comfortable, middle class neighbourhood. More recently, homes in the Gordon Head area closer to the University of Victoria have been undergoing a slow but consistent conversion process from single family occupancy to shared rental homes to meet the demands of the local student population. Located east of Shelbourne Street, north of McKenzie Avenue, and west of Finnerty Rd., and bounded to the north and east by Haro Strait into which juts the landform from which the neighbourhood derives its name. Lately, there has been some very upscale housing developed at the very tip of Gordon Head called Gordon Point Estates near the north waterfront.

North Quadra

A nearly exclusively suburban area predominated by single-family homes and bounded on the south by McKenzie Avenue, the west by the Pat Bay Highway, and the east by the Blenkinsop Valley. Only at the southern margins, along McKenzie, is there any commercial activity and a few apartment blocks. The area is dominated by Christmas Hill, the summit of which is part of the Swan Lake Christmas Hill Nature Sanctuary (the lake and the hill are only connected by a narrow footpath, but are administered by the same society). The area is also home to Rogers and Lakehill Elementary (Lakehill being the former name of Christmas Hill, with its prominent views of Swan and Blenkinsop lakes - the latter actually being earlier called "Lost Lake").

Broadmead

Located east of the Patricia Bay Highway south of Cordova Bay and north of Mount Douglas Park. An upscale master planned community with contemporary west coast architecture in a wooded setting. Broadmead Village is the commercial shopping core for residents. The neighbouring area of Sunnymead is sometimes referred to in conjunction with Broadmead itself. The area was originally developed by the famous Guinness family, who also developed the British Properties in West Vancouver.

Cordova Bay

A mixed rural and residential area of newer and older homes, situated east of Elk and Beaver Lakes and north of Broadmead. It is an upper middle class area and includes a small "village-like" strip along scenic Cordova Bay Road. It also hosts its own youth soccer club, titled Cordova Bay Soccer Association.

Gorge / Tillicum

A mix of lower-middle and middle-class homes, as well as mixed industrial and commercial neighbourhoods, bounded to the northwest by Portage Inlet, to the southwest by the picturesque Gorge waterway (a narrow channel leading from Selkirk Water to Portage Inlet), to the east by Interurban and West Burnside Roads, to the north by the Trans-Canada Highway, and to the southeast by the border with Victoria, running along Harriet Road. This area has shown evidence of gentrification as homes are being renovated and upgraded.

Strawberry Vale, West Burnside, Glanford

A mixture of all kinds of residential homes and small farms, this area is host to the recently built Interurban campus of Camosun College and Pacific Institute of Sports Excellence and is experiencing rapid development.

Prospect Lake

A largely rural and wooded area, with some newer subdivisions, in the northwest of the municipality. It lies just east of the Highlands municipal boundary. It contains a number of wooded parks (notably Prospect Lake and Francis/King).

For more information visit the website of The District of Saanich.

Above: Text sourced from Wikipedia.org
Below: Courtesy of Paul Hami