“Eagles at Goldstream” the blue and white sign proclaimed. We’d missed the annual salmon spawning spectacle, but the cleanup crews were out in full force. In one tree eight bald eagles roosted with full bellies. A lone white-headed adult flew right overhead and dodged through the thick forest, a plate-sized strip of chum dangling from its talons. Raucous gulls plugged the stream channel, oblivious to the pungent odour wafting in the breeze.

We’d come to the park, 20 minutes north of downtown Victoria, British Columbia to stretch our legs after a snowy and damp week on Vancouver Island. Crampons in place, we walked down the plowed but still ice-covered hill leading into the Goldstream campground on the west side of Highway 1. Just past the bridge crossing the golden waters of the river, the road was choked with unplowed drifts and we changed our minds about finding the buried trail leading to Goldstream Falls.

Back in the car we headed north back on the highway to the visitor centre parking lot on the east side of the road. Boot-packed trails meandered streamside, providing excellent eagle-spotting opportunities. The short, one-kilometre trail from the parking lot leads through towering cedars scattered over a moss-covered floor.

Displays in the Freeman King Visitor Centre/Nature House included annual counts of spawning fish, correlating to the similar highs and lows in eagle numbers. There’s a delightful detritus feeder menu board with specials such as gull goulash, chunk-o-chum, fungus fingers, fermented fish casserole, and a little fish eye pudding for dessert! An estuary cam runs footage of eagles feasting in the closed, quiet zone area at the end of Finlayson Arm.

Nearby Mount Finlayson was a tempting 419-metre climb for a view of the park, but ice and snow made the steep trail more of a challenge than time permitted. We settled for leisurely strolls riverside and made plans to return to summit the peak and to check out the west coast version of Niagara Falls.

If You Go:
Goldstream Provincial Park is located 16 kilometres north of Victoria, B.C. along the Island Highway (a.k.a. Highway 1 or the TransCanada). Trail maps can be picked up at the Nature House, campground gate house or found online at BC Parks.