People who know me know that I’m not very outdoorsy. On weekends you’re more likely to find me curled up with a good book than see me hiking up a mountain. But the great thing about Victoria, BC, is that it’s possible for a bookworm like me to look like I’ve climbed a mountain, even though the climb took about 10 minutes.

One evening my husband and I decided to climb Christmas Hill, part of the Swan Lake Christmas Hill Nature Sanctuary. It was almost sunset, but we knew we were close to the trail, so we gave it a shot. And we made it up to the top with time to spare.

As the light changed, we saw gorgeous views of Victoria from above. Each moment, the deepening sunset highlighted another aspect of the landscape.

We couldn’t believe our short, relatively easy hike led us to this height! Not bad for a couple of bookworms! 🙂 But that’s the special thing about this nature sanctuary, nestled in the midst of a residential area.

According to the sanctuary website, the rock faces were moulded by glaciers, which gives them a stunning texture.

We snapped photos as long as we could, until the light became dim and we needed to make our way down. If you’re in Victoria and would like information about hiking Christmas Hill, I highly recommend the Victoria Trails website. It has a map and some great tips for enjoying the nature sanctuary.

And if you enjoy photography, it’s one of those places where you can almost close your eyes, point the camera anywhere, and be guaranteed a beautiful picture.