Beacon Hill Park and Mile 0

Beacon Hill Park is Victoria's great green space and the best free experience in the city. It covers about 75 hectares just south of downtown, a walk of about fifteen minutes from the Inner Harbour, and it has been protected land since 1858 and a municipal park since 1882. The park is a mix of tended and wild: manicured flower beds, stone bridges and ponds full of ducks, swans, turtles and herons give way to open meadows of native Garry oak, which flower with camas in spring, and to the hill itself, which looks out over the Strait of Juan de Fuca to the Olympic Mountains. Peacocks wander freely and are part of the park's character. One of the tallest totem poles in the world stands here, a pole of about 39 metres carved from a single cedar by the Kwakwaka'wakw master carver Chief Mungo Martin with his son David and Henry Hunt and raised in 1956. At the park's south-west corner, by the sea on Dallas Road, a monument marks Mile 0 of the Trans-Canada Highway, a favourite photo stop. Along the southern edge, the Dallas Road waterfront path runs along the clifftops above the beaches, and is one of the best walks in the city. The park is owned and run by the City of Victoria.

Getting there and around: walk from the Inner Harbour past the Royal BC Museum and along Douglas Street, which leads to the park's western edge and down to Mile 0 by the sea. Paths loop through the whole park, so you can plan a circuit taking in the ponds, the totem pole, the hilltop view and the Dallas Road clifftops in an hour or two. There is some parking inside the park and along Dallas Road, and the park has public washrooms. Entry is free and the park is open every day.

In November and winter: the meadows are green rather than in flower, but the ponds, the totem pole and the sea views are just as good, and the clifftop path is often bright and breezy after rain. The children's petting farm in the park operates seasonally, so do not plan on it in the off-season. Dress for wind along Dallas Road, and watch for storm-watching days when big swells roll in from the strait.

Making it count: start at Mile 0, walk east along the Dallas Road clifftops, then turn inland up Beacon Hill for the view and down through the ponds and gardens to the totem pole. Dogs are welcome on leash in most of the park, with off-leash areas along part of the waterfront; check the City of Victoria rules for where. The park pairs naturally with the Royal BC Museum and a stroll back to the harbour for dinner.