Mount Work Regional Park

Mount Work

One of the most varied and beloved parks in the Capital Region, Mount Work features lush, cool forests, scenic rock outcroppings, clear lakes, and excellent trails. The park offers numerous recreational and leisure activities. Mount Work itself sits at the southern end of the 639 h park. Hiking to the 449 m peak is part of an excellent 11 km north to south trail system that is rated as moderate to challenging.

There are three lakes in the park: Durrance, Fork and Pease. All offer canoeing, swimming and fishing. Durrance is the biggest and most accessible. Submerged logs and dead trees on the boggy south side of the lake provide important breeding habitat and a foraging area for a number of wildlife species. An easy trail leads around the perimeter of the lake. In the Hartland area on the eastern slopes of the park, mountain bikers can find everything from gently rolling terrain to the most difficult grades in the region’s first designated mountain biking park.

In geological terms, Mount Work is a portion of very tough, erosion-resistant rock called a monadnock. It still bears the skid marks left behind by massive glaciers that shaped the surrounding topography. Mount Work’s appeal is enhanced by being adjacent to Gowland-Todd Provincial Park.

Camping:
There are no camping facilities. The park is for day-use only.

Location and access:
There are four access points to the park:

Main Entrance
Follow the Pat Bay Highway from Victoria, and take the West Saanich Road exit. From West Saanich Road, turn left on Wallace Drive, and left again on Willis Point Road. Turn left on Ross-Durrance Road, which leads to the park entrance on the left.

Durrance Lake Entrance
Follow the directions above to Willis Point Road. Turn right on Durrance Close, which leads to the park entrance.

Hartland Entrance
Follow the directions above to West Saanich Road. Turn left on Hartland Avenue, which leads to the park entrance on the right.

Fork Lake Entrance
Follow the Trans-Canada Highway from Victoria, and take the Helmcken Road exit. Turn left on Burnside Road West, then right on Prospect Lake Road. Turn left on Munn Road, which leads to the park entrance on the right.

Allow approximately 40 minutes driving time from Victoria.