Victoria: Horse Carriage Beacon Hill Park & Dallas Rd Tour

4.71

(136 reviews)

What’s the experience like?

I didn’t expect to feel so oddly calm sitting behind a pair of horses in downtown Victoria — you’d think the clop-clop would be noisy, but it’s actually kind of soothing. Our driver, Anne, had this gentle way of pointing out things I’d never have noticed on my own. She waved at a couple walking their dog near the Empress Hotel and told us about the old ships in the Inner Harbor. I caught a whiff of salt air mixed with something floral — probably those wild roses growing by the fence.

Rolling into Beacon Hill Park, it got quieter except for birds and the occasional laughter from kids chasing ducks. Anne slowed down so we could look at the ponds (one duck was just floating there, totally unbothered). The gardens here are almost too much — colors everywhere, but not in that perfect postcard way. It felt more like someone’s backyard if they really loved flowers and didn’t mind a bit of chaos. We passed under these huge trees, and for a second I forgot we were still in the city.

We headed out toward Dallas Road next, which is where you hit Mile 0 of the Trans Canada Highway — honestly, I thought it’d be bigger? But then you turn your head and there’s this wide-open view over the Strait of Juan de Fuca with the Olympic Mountains beyond. The wind picked up here; I had to hold onto my hat. Anne said sometimes you can see whales if you’re lucky (we weren’t). After that we wound through some old neighborhoods — big porches, gardens that looked lived-in. Someone was painting their fence and gave us a little wave as we went by. That stuck with me for some reason.

The tour ends back where it started near the Parliament buildings. There’s something about seeing Victoria from this slow, slightly bumpy seat that makes everything feel less rushed. I still think about how quiet it got under those trees in Beacon Hill Park — might try walking there next time just to see if it feels different on foot.