People swimming in Sooke Potholes. Right: Sooke Potholes Provincial Park.
This Opinion article is part of a Narcity Media series. The views expressed are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Narcity Media.
There's an emerald green swimming hole on Vancouver Island, deep within a forest full of old-growth trees, that makes for one of the most stunning hidden gems near Victoria.
On a recent trip to the island, my friends and I drove from Victoria to Sooke Potholes Provincial Park, where we dove into the clear water of the potholes.
It's not you're typical swimming hole either, and not just because of the magical colour of the water.
Person swimming at Sooke Potholes. Morgan Leet | Narcity
The green-tinged river that flows through the park is full of unique rock formations that look like they're out of The Little Mermaid.
According to the BC Parks website, this is thanks to glacial action in the last ice age, when "the moving, melting ice packs stripped the surface area and carved a path deep into the natural bedrock. Then massive boulders came down the river and "were swirled against the canyon walls and consequently carved out the potholes that can be seen today."
As we swam along the river we saw different formations deep below the surface, and others that were shallow enough that you could rest on them.
People swimming at Sooke Potholes. Morgan Leet | Narcity
It was like nothing I'd seen before, and even though the water was super chilly, I kept diving back in to swim to the different potholes.
Getting to the Sooke Potholes
We decided to head to the potholes during our week-long trip to Vancouver Island, and it made for a quick day trip from Victoria.
Looking online it was hard to figure out exactly how to reach the potholes, so we decided to drive to Sooke Potholes Provincial Park and figure it out from there.
The drive there was only 45 minutes, and once you enter the park you're surrounded by stunning trees and lush greenery. After staying in the hustle and bustle of the city, the quiet serenity of this park was just what we needed.
Because we went during the week, it wasn't too busy so we pulled into one of the first parking lots we saw.
Thankfully there were some locals who pulled up next to us, so we asked them how to get to the swimming area.
Person walking by the river in Sooke Potholes Provincial Park. Morgan Leet | Narcity
It turns out, you basically can't miss the potholes. The river is long and has potholes throughout, so from the parking lots you just walk down one of the paths off to the side and you'll spot the bright water quickly.
Sooke Potholes Provincial Park. Morgan Leet | Narcity
We went down from the first parking lot, which led us to a large swimming area with lots of space to lay out on the sides.
After enjoying the sun for a bit, we braved the cold water and jumped in.
Sooke Potholes Provincial Park. Morgan Leet | Narcity
Swimming between rock formations with tall cliffs on each side, made me feel like I was somewhere far away. It's easy to forget how many magical places are right in Canada when you live here, and this spot was definitely a good reminder.
Since we were freezing our butts off, the big rocks in the middle of the river gave us a little break. We climbed on them to warm up, and it was hard not to feel like Ariel. Except we were shivering from the cold and soaking wet — so not exactly Disney Princess ready.
Towards the end of the day more people poured in, scattering on rocks along the sides of the river. Some even were jumping off the rocks into the deepest parts of the water, which was a little too scary for our taste.
For a hot summer's day away from the city, I don't think there was a better spot to be.