Victoria, British Columbia is a cool city with a lot to do and see. But since it is a place that you’ll likely have a rental car, it is also easy to get out of town for a day to see a bit more of the southern portion of Vancouver Island.

The Victoria region is really the only city to speak of on Vancouver Island, with about 350,000 people in the metro area. Second is Nanaimo, with around 100,000, and the list falls off steeply after that. But the highway that connects Victoria with Nanaimo is a good one, being part of the Trans-Canada Highway, which oddly includes a ferry between Nanaimo and Vancouver as part of its route. So this corridor (it’s about a two hour drive between the two) is relatively accessible for day trips, not requiring either tiny roads or a loss of cell signal.

So what is there to do? As I’ve mentioned a few times, the wonderful folks at Destination Victoria provided me with a Victoria Attractions Pass. To my surprise, several cool looking things were outside the metro area itself. One of those was the relatively newly completed Malahat Skywalk. So that seemed to be a good start to a day out of town.

Malahat Skywalk consists basically of two parts: an elevated walkway (roughly 600 meters or so) through forest canopy and a funnel-shaped tower with an observation deck overlooking the Saanich Inlet. Admission without the attractions pass is a bit steep, but if pristine wilderness viewing is something you enjoy, it will be worthwhile.

The tower is the highlight, rising 32 meters from the ground to an elevation of 250 meters over the sea below. It is fully accessible, being a relatively mild spiral ramp, leading to an observation deck with views all the way into Washington state. For the more adventurous, the top also includes a cargo net overlooking the interior of the tower.

But the highlight – for those who can physically do it – is the descent. Rather than taking the ramp back down, one can ride a 64 foot tall, 173 foot long, spiral slide. You’ll be given a blanket that has a pocket for your feet (so neither your clothes nor shoes cause any friction) and sent down the roughly eight second ride. It is glorious!

Malahat Skywalk is built on the land of the Malahat First Nation, one of the tribes of the native Coastal Salish peoples who inhabited the lands of British Columbia and Washington. Signage along both the elevated walkway and a ground-level non-accessible trail highlights the flora and fauna of their tribal lands, and wood carvings accent both the incredible diversity of species and some mythology.

A visit can run anywhere from an hour (walking to the tower, climbing it and sliding down, and walking back) to several, as one can make repeat climbs and slides, take the longer trail back, or even have a picnic on tables and chairs at the base of the tower overlooking the view. On a chilly October day, my visit is on the short side. That, however, helps me to add a second attractions-pass-included stop to my day out of Victoria.

Just fifteen or so minutes from Malahat Skywalk is the Merridale Cidery and Distillery, and my Victoria Attractions Pass entitles me to a tour and a tasting. Guides here are basically storytellers, more entertainers than mere information-givers, and I am led through a journey of apples and the amazing things Merridale creates from them.

The farm boasts two orchards, one with English apples and one with French. And a majority of those are destined to become cider. Merridale has a very diverse line, ranging from the very dry (with a mouthfeel that resembles a high tannin red wine) to sweet, some with additional flavors added. After a flight of five, I am both better at recognizing notes, and warmer as the alcohol heats me up from inside. This is good, because it is time to head into the fall chill to see the property.

I am led through the orchard, shown damage to trees from bears (though I didn’t get to meet one during daylight hours), and ultimately taken into a barn that doubles as a distillery, to be introduced to Merridale’s extensive spirits line.

Spirits here are made with apples as their base, so yes, the herb-infused gin (it is purple from the addition of butterfly pea) is made from apples. So is the raspberry liqueur. (It was sold out, and the final bottle was being used for my pours, or it would have been worth checking luggage – something I never do – to bring a bottle or three home.) And the honey rum (they spell it rhumb to not confuse it with sugar cane rum) is also made from, yes, apples. Remnants are recycled as mulch. Pure grain alcohol runoff is used for sterilizing the equipment. This is an operation that prides itself in being sustainable.

After these two rounds of tastings, I opt for a pizza at the outfit’s solid cafe before heading back into Victoria down the Trans-Canada Highway, making it back to the city before traffic truly does me in. (Rush hour here is a thing to be avoided if at all possible.) With less than two hours of driving in all, and beautiful scenery greeting the entire route, I was able to see two cool places and have two wonderful experiences as a day trip out of Victoria. That makes for a good day in my book.

Thank you again to Destination Victoria for the Victoria Attractions Pass that made this day possible for me!

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