Checking out the Malahat Skywalk

By Keith and Heather Nicol

On our way back from a recent visit to Victoria we decided to check out the Malahat Skywalk which opened a couple of years ago in the summer of 2021. We were joined by my brother Bruce and his wife Mary Ellen from Victoria who had bought season passes last year and suggested we join them on this tour. As the name suggests it is just off the hilly Malahat section of highway between Victoria and Duncan. As we found out there is much more to the Skywalk than a 40 meter high tower that has been constructed to provide amazing vistas of Sannich Inlet and beyond.  You start out on a 600 meter long  walkway that is elevated 20 meters above the ground so as you walk you are in the tree tops of some of the arbutus and douglas fir trees typically found in the area.  As well, along the way are artistic driftwood constructions of various animals you might see in the surrounding wilderness like cougars and owls. 

                          Heather looking at some of the Interpretative Panels with Sannich Inlet below

Once you get to the tower itself you follow a gradually ascending ramp that is stroller and wheelchair accessible that winds to the top of the 40 meter viewing platform. Once you get to the top you can get a 360 view of the surrounding area which includes scenic Sannich Inlet Fjord, forested hills and our day we could even see to distant Mt Baker in Washington State. The platform is situated on a promontory so you can view the steep sided Sannich inlet from many different vantage points. There are interpretative panels in many places and even a fairly rigid adventure net that you can walk out on and look straight down to the base of the Skywalk structure. 

                           The Adventure Net in the foreground lets you peer down 40 meters to the base

 Once you have finished taking pictures and appreciating the view you have 2 options for getting to the bottom of the platform. You can walk down the ramp or take the spiral slide to the bottom! This takes just a few seconds as you quickly slide down the twisting enclosed tube to the base.  What a great way to finish your tour. We opted to try the slide since it looked like alot of fun and we were told by one of the attendants  that the oldest participant so far was a 97 year old! So it is not just for kids. On the walk back to the car we followed a road past various large pieces of art and more interpretative panels explaining how the tower was constructed. Allow about 90 minutes to fully appreciate this new attraction and for more info and specials check out : https://malahatskywalk.com/    We fully recommend it and suggest that if you are visiting Victoria from Duncan and points north (like we were coming from Courtenay) that you visit the Skywalk on your way north since exiting and entering the Malahat Highway is easier this way.  Check it out!

                                                  View of distant Mt Baker from the Malahat Skywalk

                             To get down you can either take the ramp or the tube slide seen on the right