Mount Wells Regional Park

In all the years that I have lived in Victoria, for some reason, I never made it over to Mount Wells Regional Park. While I had driven through the park many times taking the Humpback Rd cut-across from Goldstream to Sooke Rd or vice versa, I never took the time to go back and hike some of the trails including a climb to the summit of Mt Wells itself. The hike begins at the parking area below the Humback Reservoir dam, which is also worth a little exploring.

The Humpback Reservoir

A Brief History of the Humback Reservoir

Humback Reservoir dam was originally built in 1913 as part of the City of Victoria’s drinking water supply. The main reservoir was at Sooke Lake and it was connected to the Humpback Reservoir a 42-inch diameter concrete aqueduct. From the Humpback Reservoir, a 36-inch steel pipe carried the water the remaining 17 km to Victoria.

The Humback Reservoir & dam

In 1954, with the population of Victoria rising, it became necessary to add a 39-inch main from Humpback to a new balancing reservoir on Mount Tolmie. Sections of this pipe can still be seen as you start the Mt Wells climb. In 1995, after the reservoir was contaminated, it was removed from the drinking water supply. The reservoir is now fed by several creeks in the Colwood Creek watershed, and the reservoir forms the headwaters of Colwood Creek.

The old concrete pipe leading away from the reservoir

The Hike to Mt Wells Summit

The hike to the summit is rather challenging. It has some very steep, rough sections. The beginning of the trail is a relatively consistent upward grade on a smooth dirt trail, climbing through beautiful second growth Douglas fir and cedar forest.

Second growth Douglas fir forest at the start of the summit hike

You eventually come to a very steep near vertical section. At the top of steepest part they have placed an anchored cable as a safety hand hold. If you’re not prepared for some near vertical climbing or don’t like heights this trail won’t be for you. Once you’re passed this section the forest opens up and you start to get some stunning views over Goldstream and the Sooke Foothills. Here you are passing through Garry Oak meadow and in the spring the wildflowers are supposed to be quite beautiful.

Climbing the steepest section of the trail

Once up out of the forest the views are stunning! that’s the Humback Reservoir

The trail continues fairly steeply up over exposed smooth bedrock. The hiking isn’t bad, but if conditions are wet, the smooth rocks can be a quite slick…I found this out the hard way, nearly taking out my camera and tripod as I literally began skiing uncontrolled down a rocky section! They have placed posts and chains along the path to try and keep people on the path and not trampling the sensitive vegetation found up here, but it also provides a convenient ‘railing’ to hold onto as you climb.

Exposed bedrock on the higher reaches can be a bit treacherous when wet!

Once on the summit, the views are amazing. The summit is quite open and composed of largely exposed bedrock. On the day I was there the fog was blowing obscuring most of the views but also making it quite mysterious and beautiful in a different kind of way!

Mount Wells Summit

Cloud closing in on the summit makes for a mysterious feel

The route back to the parking area is the same as the route up. There are other trails across and around the summit and leads down the other sides of the mountain both to Ravensview Dr on the east side and to Awsworth Rd on the southside. Check the excellent Alltrails website for more information and maps for these trails.

Arbutus trees & hairy Manzanita are common near the summit

Hanging onto a cable aid at the steep section of the trail on the way down

Amenities

At the parking area there is a informational kiosk and a pit toilet.

How to get There

There are a couple of ways to access the parking area at the Humpback Reservoir. Both are shown on the map. Google maps doesn’t like to show a continuous route across the rail line in Goldstream but it is there, so either route works.

More Images

If you would like to see more images of Mount Wells Regional Park & Humpback Reservoir or to purchase images found on this website, click this link:  Mount Wells Photos

More Explorations around Victoria