Sitting Lady Falls 21/31 weeks

Post Mt. Work swagger.

Mark and I were alone this Sunday at Sitting Lady Falls for our 21st hike. Its May Long Weekend and most everyone is busy or gone for the holiday. We decided to take a trip to a CRD park that is a bit further away from our usual stomping ground.

Sitting Lady Falls as seen from the Lagoon Trail

Sitting Lady Falls is part of the larger Witty's Lagoon structure. We used to live in Colwood and visited the park a couple of weekends each month. We have only hiked the Beach trail and picnicked on the point facing out to Haystack Islets on Parry Bay. While exploring there we nicknamed a waterfront area 'Sea Glass Beach' because the buffered glass washing ashore is so numerous.
We have forgotten how beautiful and fresh this entire area is. Witty's Lagoon has a number of interesting places to see and experience. From the Nature Center on Metchosin Road there are two trails that split to descend on either side of the falls. The Beach trail is a 1.3 km hike down to the water along the lagoon's edge. On the Lagoon trail side, we were also walking just along the lagoon and could hear fellow hikers on the other side.

As we passed through the park we came across the outdoor classroom of the Montessori School. The trail winds just on the other side of the schoolyard fence and is accessible to the students. There is also a teaching structure by the outlook point on the Lagoon trail. Its hard not to love this part of the world witnessing the commitment to youth and the environment woven so well. 
 
Witty's Lagoon is an incredible park with a variety of activities; trail, beach, rocky coastline, picnic facilities, meadows and forest. One of the most popular features here is the beach. It is a long flat expanse of sand that is rare to see in this part of the rocky coast. All summer during low tide people can be seen skim boarding. A short, oval shaped board is tossed onto the wet sand then jumped on and ridden as far as possible. It looks a little like surfing without the surf and is fun to watch. Be sure to look out for the boards if you get to this park during lowtide.

The length of the lagoon; the beach is beyond the far trees.

Sitting Lady Falls

These two were preening as they drifted down the arm of the lagoon.

You could just pop in here and take a short hike. Sitting Lady Falls is so close to the Nature Center it can be heard almost immediately on the trail. My recommendation is to devote a good chunk of your day to this park. Pack a snack and explore the entire place. While you are in Metchosin, enjoy that as well. There are lots of farm stands in beautiful countryside so arm yourself with some loonies and toonies. We were lucky enough to visit on the day of the Metchosin Farmer's market and found a few new guests for our gardens.
We enjoyed the morning so well we decided to devote one sunday a month to a western communities visit. It will give us the chance to visit the beautiful parks and trails in that direction and get some shopping done.
Next week: Bear Hill in the afternoon