AMAZING views from Malahat SkyWalk
AMAZING views from Malahat SkyWalk
We visit Vancouver Island's newest tourist attraction
One of the BEST parts of living on BC’s Sunshine Coast is our proximity to places and attractions that are destinations in their own right. At the end of July, we hit the road and visited Vancouver Island and one of our stops was the Malahat SkyWalk, a new attraction that’s about 40 minutes north of Victoria. It promised incredible views of the surrounding area, including Finlayson Arm, Saanich Inlet and Saanich Peninsula, and even Mount Baker south of the border.
At first, we were concerned that it’d be a “tourist trap” but it turned out to be a very cool experience. We spent about three hours at the Malahat SkyWalk but normal people that aren’t shooting a video and taking a million photos would probably be there closer to two hours.
Admission and tickets
We bought our tickets online and one day prior to our visit and would recommend that you do the same. Visitors buy tickets at the Welcome Centre and then provide those tickets to an attendant that lets you into the park. While you can buy tickets at the park, there was a bit of a line up when we visited and the online tickets we bought ahead of time let us skip that line and go right to the ticket taker. Tickets were $31.95 each and we thought the experience was well worth it.
TreeWalk
Past the ticket taker is the TreeWalk. This is an elevated pedway that leads you through an arbutus forest. We think the TreeWalk has a bit of an incline as we felt we were getting higher above the forest the further we walked.
While the park wasn’t jampacked full of tourists, it was fairly busy but even then, traffic along the pedway moved quickly and efficiently. Three wide spots spaced out along the way allow you to stop, catch your breath, and observe the forest below you. Diagrams and displays at these spots teach you about the forest and there are even some guessing games for younger guests.
Spiral Tower
At the end of the forest pedway, you emerge from the trees and discover a 10-storey spiral ramp that ultimately delivers you a spectacular viewpoint that’s 250 metres above sea level. As you ascend, you get really good views from every level. Views get better and better the further up you go.
Because of the relatively gentle grade of the ramp, the elevation kind of sneaks up on you. Val doesn’t LOVE being up high but she said that as long as she didn’t let her mind think about what she was doing, she was fine! But she cautions that as you travel up the tower, each level gets a little bit higher and a little bit windier. If those kinds of things exacerbate your fear of heights, you can limit yourself to only climbing up one or two levels and still be rewarded with amazing views of the surrounding area.
If you DO make it all the way to the top, you’ll be rewarded with some astonishing views. You’ll get ocean views, including Saanich Inlet, Gulf Islands, San Juan Islands, and the Coast Mountain range.
You’ll also have forest views, too. There are a lot of arbutus trees to see and those are always very pretty. When we were there, we saw eagles and other birds. All in all, it’s a one-of-a-kind spot for enjoying in the fresh air.
Spiral Slide and Walk in the Sky
On the top level, there’s a 900 sqft net that you’re able to walk and jump on. When you’re on the net, you're suspended over the empty space in the middle of the Spiral Tower.
There’s also a 65’ spiral slide that’ll take you from near the top right down to ground level. Paul was going to ride it down but there was a bit of a line up and he didn't feel like waiting. The people that did take the slide seemed to love it!
Malahat SkyWalk visitor info
WEB: https://malahatskywalk.com
PHONE: 1-833-625-2428
ADDRESS: 901 Trans-Canada Highway, Malahat, BC, Canada
INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/malahatskywalk/
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/malahatskywalk/