Why Visit Beacon Hill Park in Victoria With Kids

Playgrounds, beaches, wild birds, goats you can pet, and the best soft-serve ice cream in the city? That’s probably enough to convince you to bring your kids to Beacon Hill Park in Victoria, BC. But there’s more!

At almost 200 acres, Beacon Hill Park is the largest park in the city of Victoria on Vancouver Island. Designated as a park in 1859, it’s home to multiple playgrounds, lakes, monuments, gardens, and even a children’s farm and petting zoo.

Best of all, the park is free to enjoy and walking distance from Downtown Victoria!

We spent a morning at Beacon Hill Park when we visited Victoria this summer and it was a highlight for our whole family. Our toddler, Baby C, loved running around and meeting the animals at the Beacon Hill Children’s Farm.

And even for my husband, Colin, and I, it was nice to be able to sit back in nature, enjoy the views and admire the unique scenery that makes Beacon Hill Park so beloved, like the Moss Lady (more on her below!).

So if you’re visiting Victoria, BC with your family, I highly recommend putting Beacon Hill Park on your itinerary!

Visiting parks like this are some of my favourite things to do as a family traveller; it’s a great way to slow down, let your kids be kids, and experience a place like a local.

Below I’ll share four great reasons why you and your kids will want to visit Beacon Hill Park, plus give you my tips for what to see and how to make the most of your time at the park.

1. Beacon Hill Petting Zoo & Children’s Farm

Without a doubt, the highlight of a visit to Beacon Hill Park is the Beacon Hill Children’s Farm and Petting Zoo!

Opened in 1985, the Children’s Farm is all about teaching children a respect and love for wildlife through education and really cute interactions. It reminded me a lot of the city farms we visited when we lived in the Spitalfields neighbourhood of London.

On our visit, we walked around the farm meeting the resident pigs, ducks, chickens, alpacas, donkeys, guinea pigs and room full of birds. Each enclosure had a sign that introduced you to the animals and gave you some of their history.

I particularly enjoyed the hilarious names some of the animals had. Check out these chicken names – such good puns!

Then it was onto the main event, the Beacon Hill Petting Zoo. This is where children (and their adults) can interact with the farm’s goats, who were very friendly. There are rules posted about how to interact with them and a hand-washing station.

The petting zoo area was a little chaotic, as we were there with a school group of pre-teens who were being a bit loud. Some of the baby goats had only been born a couple of weeks ago, and so were quite rambunctious running around, jumping on people, etc.

But even with the chaos, our daughter loved the experience! After a minute of taking it all in, she bravely pet the goats and even picked up one of the brushes to help with their grooming.

The farm also hosts a weekly Farm Friends Storytime and a weekly Animal Talks series. There are daily goat stampedes and lunchtime feedings you can also watch. Learn more about these special events here.

The farm is open seasonally (mid-May to mid-October) from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM seven days per week. Click here for the most up to date opening days/hours.

Admission is by donation; you can also contribute more by sponsoring an animal.

And after your time at Beacon Hill, head over to the Royal BC Museum where kids can learn more about BC wildlife and history!

2. Multiple playgrounds

If you’re anything like me when travelling with a small child, I’m going to bet you’re always on the lookout for playgrounds. And lucky for you, Beacon Hill Park has two great ones!

There’s the Beacon Hill Park Playground and Beacon Hill Park North Playground, both of which are only a five minute walk from Beacon Hill Children’s Farm. So within a 10-ish minute walk you could visit two playgrounds and a petting zoo!

Both playgrounds have climbing equipment, slides, swings, benches and picnic tables, and bathroom facilities nearby. There are also sports fields and courts next to both.

The biggest difference seems to be the North playground has a splash pad water area and the other playground has a small zip line.

We played at the Beacon Hill Park North Playground, mostly because we entered the park from the northwest side so stumbled upon it first.

Baby C had a great time playing on the slides, driving in the little car structure, and looking longingly at the splash pad (we forgot her swimsuit!).

3. Trails, beaches and lots of space to run

Besides the playgrounds and children’s farm, you’ll find lots of other space in Beacon Hill Park for your kids to let off some steam, run around and enjoy beautiful nature.

As we were entering the park, I was struck by how pretty it was. Right away we saw lots of little ponds and lakes, fountains, and different types of flowers and greenery.

Many of the trails we walked down were shaded and stroller-friendly, so perfect for families! And there are beautiful gardens to walk around too, like the Rose Garden and Sun Clock.

The park is home to tons of birds, especially ducks and peacocks. Baby C loved seeing huge flocks of birds gather on the fields, as did every other kid we saw at the park. (Just remember: Don’t feed the wildlife!)

There are a few art installations throughout the park too, like the Giant Watering Can and Moss Lady. These huge installations are very kid-friendly, since you’re seeing giant art in nature rather than a quiet museum hallway.

And perhaps the coolest part of Beacon Hill Park is its rugged ocean coastline – which I believe we may have seen when we flew into Victoria by seaplane!

The park even has its own beach, Finlayson Point Beach, which locals say is often uncrowded. Some say that it can be an unofficial nudist beach, so keep that in mind if you’re bringing your kids!

And if you’re travelling to Victoria with your dog, dogs are welcome in most areas of Beacon Hill Park (see more details here).

Dogs are not allowed in playgrounds, the petting zoo or a designated heron-nesting area by Goodacre Lake. Otherwise, they’re allowed everywhere else in Beacon Hill Park on a leash (including the rest of the children’s farm!) or in the designated leash-optional area south of Dallas Road.

4. Great restaurants nearby

My friend, Jane, who visits family in Victoria regularly let me in on a local tip: the best soft-serve ice cream is served at Beacon Hill Drive In Restaurant, right next to the park!

Sadly, we visited the park in the morning and thought a 10:00 AM ice cream with a toddler would not be the best idea, so we skipped it. But that’s just another reason to go back!

We did find a delicious restaurant for brunch near the park though. Heron Rock Bistro, a few blocks west of Beacon Hill Park, served one of our favourite meals in Victoria.

The food was delicious! Colin and I shared two Eggs Benedicts – one with chicken and bacon on waffles and another with crab and shrimp. Both were huge servings and really tasty.

Baby C got a kid’s breakfast that was very flavourful (rare for kid’s meals!) and also a great portion size. I was expecting a place like this to only serve drip coffee but they made me a vanilla latte that was perfectly strong and sweet!

On top of that, our server was so sweet and there was lots of space to spread out. So all in all, I’d highly recommend Heron Rock Bistro to families looking for a good meal by the park.

Other highly-rated restaurants around Beacon Hill Park include:

• For light bites: Piggy & Paisley (which serve an afternoon tea!) and Discovery Coffee (a well-loved chain of coffee shops in Victoria)
• To the east of the park on Cook St there are a number of recommended restaurants: Benjo’s Tacos, Taisho on Cook, Pizzeria Prima Strada, Thunderbird Korean Fried Chicken and Cold Comfort Ice Cream for dessert
• Even the BC Legislative Dining Room at the BC Parliament Buildings is only a 10 minute walk from the north side of Beacon Hill Park

5. There’s stuff for adults at Beacon Hill Park too!

There are a few spots in the park that aren’t kid-unfriendly; they’re just likely more interesting to adults than kids. I love the idea of visiting a city park so your kids can run around, but still finding lots of areas of interest for us parents too.

Just to the west of Beacon Hill Park is Carr House National Historic Site, where famous Canadian artist Emily Carr once lived. You can pay to tour the home-turned-museum or just admire it from the outside like we did.

The Beacon Hill Totem Pole was once the tallest free-standing totem pole in the world, standing an impressive 128 feet (39 metres) tall. The pole was erected in 1956 and crafted by Mungo Martin, a Kwakwaka’wakw chief and master carver, and his team.

The Mile Zero Monument is one you won’t want to miss in the park. This is the official start of the Trans-Canada Highway that spans 8000 km (4971 miles) across all of Canada.

You’ll also see a statue of Terry Fox here; a Canadian hero who attempted to run across Canada to raise funds and awareness for cancer research. He was battling cancer himself and running on one leg, having lost the other to cancer at just 18 years old. The Mile 0 Marker was his finish line.

Sadly, Terry Fox was unable to complete his run as he passed away from his cancer battle at 22 years old. He had made it roughly halfway across Canada before he had to end his race and is a revered Canadian legend to this day, inspiring millions of people and fundraising dollars every year.

Parents can also look out for a putting green (BYO putter and golf balls) and other historic sites along the coast, such as the Marilyn Bell Monument.

Wrapping up: Put Beacon Hill Park on your kid-friendly Victoria itinerary

I think it’s fair to say that Beacon Hill Park is a must-do if you’re visiting Victoria, BC with kids. It’s a huge park that’s free to visit with everything kids love: playgrounds, beaches, a petting zoo, ice cream, and tons of space to run and play.

But Beacon Hill Park is much more than your average kid-friendly park. The nature all around you is stunning and there are pieces of history and art throughout the park.

Spending a morning at Beacon Hill Park on our recent family trip to Victoria, BC was such a highlight for us. It was one of those rare places that is actually fun for the whole family, while being budget-friendly, easy to get to, and a part of both local life and the city’s history.

So absolutely don’t miss Butchart Gardens, the BC Parliament Buildings, the Royal BC Museum, Fishermen’s Wharf, shopping on Government Street and afternoon tea while in Victoria. Those things are so fun and iconic on a trip to Victoria!

But especially if you’re visiting Victoria with kids, I highly recommend adding Beacon Hill Park to your itinerary. Head a few blocks south of the downtown core and enjoy a peaceful bit of Victoria local life that’s free and fun for the whole family!