Gowlland Range

Malahat () is an unincorporated area in the Cowichan Valley, with municipal-type services delivered by the Cowichan Valley Regional District (Area A). What could be considered the hub of the community is a small collection of businesses that includes the Malahat Gas station (which also serves as the Malahat Post Office) and the Malahat Chalet and the Moon Water Lodge. A steep and rugged terrain has in the past precluded any significant residential development but new subdivisions are being built around the northern end of the area around the old Bamberton cement works and in the area adjoining Elkington Forest. Most area residents live in isolated homes located off the highway. In this context "Malahat" primarily refers to the Canada Post delivery district. Fire protection to the Malahat area is provided by Malahat Fire Rescue. "The Malahat" is a term commonly applied to the Malahat Drive, a 25 km (15.5 mi) portion of Trans Canada Highway 1 running along the west side of Saanich Inlet and to the region surrounding it. The road was first cut as a cattle trail in 1861 and was then upgraded to wagon road standards in 1884. It became a paved road in 1911. Its name comes from the Malahat First Nation, whose ancestors used the caves for spiritual enhancement. The Malahat Drive climbs to a summit of 356 m (1,168 ft), and the mountain is considered one of the most sacred sites on southern Vancouver Island. The roadway has a mix of 2, 3 and 4 lane cross-sections. The highway through the narrow Goldstream Provincial Park canyon section is 2 lanes. The Malahat portion of Highway 1 has been the location of a number of fatal traffic accidents, caused largely by vehicles crossing the centre line. These accidents have led to lengthy road closures. Closure of Malahat Drive causes disruption to travel and commerce on Vancouver Island as portions of the highway are a single point of failure if closed. Detour routes around the Malahat Drive are available via the Brentwood Bay-Mill Bay ferry and the Pacific Marine Circle Route. As a result of these crashes, the Ministry of Transportation has begun a program to add centre concrete medians to separate north and southbound traffic. Since the section between Finlayson Arm Road to Summit has had a median added, 65% of Malahat Drive is divided with a concrete median.The speed limit of this highway segment is 80 km/h (50 mph) except for a short section of Tunnel Hill where the speed limit is 70 km/h (43 mph).

Gowlland Tod Provincial Park is a provincial park in British Columbia, Canada. The park protects 1,219 hectares (3,012 acres) of mixed forest of Douglas-fir, Arbutus, western redcedar, western hemlock, shore pine, grand fir, red alder, and Garry oak within the District Municipality of Highlands and the Juan de Fuca Electoral Area. Rocky outcroppings support Manzanita, Scotch broom, and Oregon grape. The peaks of the Gowlland Range, from which the park derives its name, loom over 400 m (1,300 ft) above Saanich Inlet, providing vistas of The Malahat to the west. Farther north, the park curves around inland, bounded to the north by the municipality of Central Saanich. The park also encompasses the rural community of Willis Point. There are 25 km (16 mi) of maintained trails within the park, accessible in the south from roads leading to the park from Highlands, as well as from trails alongside Tod Inlet and McKenzie Bight to the north. Trails connect to Mount Work Regional Park and Lone Tree Hill Regional Park.

McKenzie Bight is a feature on the southeast side of Saanich Inlet in British Columbia, Canada. This bight is located in Gowlland Tod Provincial Park directly adjacent to the rural community of Willis Point. McKenzie Bight can be accessed by trail from the Mount Work parking area and trailhead on Ross-Durrance road, or via a short hike from the southern end of Mark Lane in Willis Point. Nearby is a reef which is a popular shore-dive location for scuba diving. Occasionally river otters can be seen in the area.

The District of Highlands (locally known as the Highlands and also known as Highlands) is a district municipality near Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. As one of the Western Communities, or West Shore municipalities, outside Victoria, Highlands has a population of 2,225 as of 2016. The region stretches along the Saanich Inlet shoreline from north of Goldstream to Mackenzie Bight. Highlands is one of the more undeveloped areas of the Greater Victoria region; it is one of the newest Greater Victoria municipalities created within the Capital Regional District. Although the area is seen as a target for residential expansion of the Greater Victoria region, it is known mainly for its lakes, hills, and wilderness. It is home to many parks, notably large portions of Gowlland Tod Provincial Park, Mount Work Regional Park, and Lone Tree Hill Regional Park. The nearest commercial shopping areas are in the adjacent municipality of Langford. Public education is provided by the Sooke School District's elementary, middle, and secondary schools in Langford.

Malahat-Juan de Fuca was a provincial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, Canada from 1991 to 2009. It was created prior to the 1991 election from parts of Esquimalt-Port Renfrew and Cowichan-Malahat. It was abolished in the 2008 British Columbia electoral redistribution into Juan de Fuca and Cowichan Valley.

The Goldstream River (Saanich: sʔə́ləq̕ʷtəɬ) is a river northwest of Victoria on southern Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada . The river's name derives from a small gold rush in its basin during the 1860s, and was originally Gold Stream.

Bamberton is an industrial site located on the Saanich Inlet, just south of Mill Bay, around 45k kilometres north of Victoria on Vancouver Island. The community of Bamberton was first developed in 1912 when the Associated Cement Company plant was built. Bamberton was owned by the cement company and occupied by the plant, its employees and their families until the plant closed in 1980. Since the plant closed, ownership of Bamberton has changed hands multiple times and several development plans have been proposed. In 2015 the Malahat First Nation purchased Bamberton and announced a partnership with Steelhead LNG. With them, they have proposed the creation of a Liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility at the Bamberton site.

Elkington Forest is a 950-acre (3.8 km2) privately managed forest located at the southern boundary of the Cowichan Valley Regional District on Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. Sustainable development is intended for this property. In 2011, the entire parcel land was rezoned from F1 - Forestry to CLS - Community Land Stewardship zone, through which 85% of the land is designated for eco-forestry and conservation use, and 15% of the land is designated for a mix of agricultural uses and residential development. Under this zoning a majority of the residential density and agricultural uses were located on the southern or upland portions of the land. In 2011, Living Forest Communities, in partnership with the Canadian registered charity, the Trust for Sustainable Forestry purchased the southern half of the lands, and began to develop the lands. The installation of light-on-the-land services; roads, sewers, water lines, and power lines began in the summer of 2013. The residential hamlets have been designed in a more European manner, with densely clustered homes located around a community green space with a community centre and coffee shop. In April of 2017, the ownership of the southern portion of the Elkington lands transferred to the first mortgage holders and development of the community has been slow. The new owners of the land have renamed the project to Malahat Forest Estates, and as of the summer of 2022, have sold off the first 18 residential lots to third party owners. The Land Conservancy of BC continues to hold a restrictive covenant over the protected forest lands, and The Trust for Sustainable Forestry continues to own the timber rights on the portions of the covenanted lands that were designated for eco-forestry. While the new owners of the Malahat Forest Estates do not advertise this development as a conservation community, the original concept has been retained through the initial design, the use of covenants and the assignment of timber right to a registered environmental charity.

Willis Point is a small, rural community in the Canadian province of British Columbia, located in the Juan de Fuca Electoral Area within the Capital Regional District and Greater Victoria. It is located on the Saanich Peninsula and faces north toward the Saanich Inlet. The community is bounded by the District of Highlands to the south, the District of Saanich to the southeast and the District of Central Saanich to the east. It is located west of the village of Brentwood Bay and north of the city of Victoria. Willis Point is known for its natural beauty, including many hiking and biking trails that offer direct access to one of the last remaining enclaves of Douglas-fir forest on the Saanich Peninsula. The community is entirely surrounded by Gowlland Tod Provincial Park, Mount Work Regional Park and Durrance Lake Regional Park. The community is also a popular destination for local and international scuba divers and offers multiple shore-dive locations including the Willis Point Dive Site known for its easy entry and quiet, sheltered waters. The population of Willis Point is estimated to be between 440 and 450 people, living in approximately 150 homes. It is home to one of Vancouver Islands' oldest volunteer fire departments, the Willis Point Volunteer Fire Department established in 1977. A history of the community has been documented and published by local historian Bill Wright.

Westshore Motorsports Park (formerly “Western Speedway”) was a race track located just outside Victoria, British Columbia on southern Vancouver Island. It was a 4/10-mile (643 meter) paved oval track founded in 1954 and was western Canada’s oldest speedway until its closure in September 2022. The track was able to seat up to 3,000 fans and park up to 1,500 cars with a season running from April to September. The speedway hosted stock cars, late models, Old Time Racing Association, sprint cars winged and non-winged, demo cars/trucks, dwarf cars, drag races, mini figure eight cars, monster trucks, and more. The track hosted 9 NASCAR Winston West Series events between 1970 and 1982 and 10 NASCAR Northwest Series races between 1986 and 1989. The track also hosted 2 CASCAR West Series races in 2001 and 2002.

Bear Mountain is a golf resort and adjacent community straddling the boundary between the City of Langford and the District of Highlands, in the Western Communities of Greater Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. It is located on and adjacent to Skirt Mountain.Located on southern Vancouver Island, Bear Mountain Golf Resort and Spa offers two courses for a combined 36-hole design by Jack Nicklaus. The Mountain Course, a par 70 playing at 6,900 yards, sets atop a 1,100-foot mountain and has been assigned a slope rating of 142 from the back tees. The 18-hole, par 71 Nicklaus Design Valley Course measures just under 7,000 yards. Bear Mountain is also home to the Canadian training center of Golf Canada's National Development team, the high performance training centre of Canada's National Mountain Bike team, and Canada's largest indoor/outdoor clay court tennis facility supported by Tennis Canada and Tennis BC. Plans are also in the works for a professional disc golf course. The existing community alongside the resort contains approximately 1,150 homes with 3,000 people, and at build-out over 4,000 homes and the community could exceed 10,000 residents, and has been zoned for 645,000 square feet of commercial space.Bear Mountain was purchased by B.C.-based Ecoasis Developments LLP. in 2013.

Spectacle Lake Provincial Park is a provincial park in British Columbia, Canada, comprising c. 54 ha. and located southeast of Shawnigan Lake on southern Vancouver Island.