Paddle Light

Esquimalt Gorge Park to Portage Inlet

A circumnavigation of Gorge Waters and Portage Inlet

When Thursday, May 6, 2021 9:30 AM – 3:30 PM
Location Esquimalt Gorge Park
3 of 12 open Free
Destination Portage Inlet
Trip style Day
Distance 5 nm
Route plan A

Launching from Victoria Canoe and Kayak Club, we will take a look at the state of Tillicum Narrows, with some paddlers possibly making their way back and forth. We will then head up the west side of the Gorge and circumnavigate Portage Inlet, making our way partway up Colquitz Creek. Those who wish to have lunch will do so in the park across from VCKC.

Route plan B

Launching from the beach at Gorge Park we will head directly north on the west side of the Gorge and circumnavigate Portage Inlet, exploring the entry to Colquitz Creek.

Safety reminders

Always dress for the possibility of immersion and please bring a drybag containing a spare change of clothes. The drybag goes in your kayak with you, not in your car at the launch site. Please bring a lunch or snacks and sufficient beverage to keep you hydrated, as well as a thermos of something warm. Your paddle leader will introduce the plan and make sure everyone is comfortable with the requirements. Please stay off the water until the group is ready. If you have a VHF radio please bring it with you.

Esquimalt Gorge Park tide/current reference

Sources & licences

Tide & current predictions

CHS provides tide heights and current predictions. Secondary current stations are estimates; large-tide estimates are identified separately. Tide turns and slack water are independent. Conditions along the route vary with location.

CHS atlas & lookup licences

Canadian Atlas of Tidal Currents, Volume 3: Juan de Fuca Strait to Strait of Georgia (2016), Canadian Hydrographic Service, Fisheries and Oceans Canada. © Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada, 2022.

Map images are reproduced from the CHS publication and selected for the date and time shown. The publication permits noncommercial reproduction in any format; commercial reproduction requires prior written permission from CHS. This viewer is not an official CHS publication and is not to be used for navigation.

Current Atlas Lookup Tables: Juan de Fuca Strait to Strait of Georgia by Emanuel Borsboom. SISKA adapts the tables to show selected hours and atlas page numbers. The original tables and these adapted tables are provided under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.5 Canada (CC BY-NC-SA 2.5 CA).

Dewey atlas attribution

Salish Sea Tidal Current Atlas and calendar lookup tables by Richard K. Dewey, self-published. The selected volume and map number are shown in the viewer. SISKA displays extracted map images and selects them using the author's lookup tables.

For recreational reference only. Not for navigation. These products are not endorsed by CHS or NOAA and are not official Canadian or US government publications. Use current official charts and publications for navigation.

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SISKA · Paddle · Light

Printed Nov 9, 2026 11:03 AM · siska.ca/activities/1219

Esquimalt Gorge Park to Portage Inlet

Thursday, May 6, 2021 · 9:30 AM – 3:30 PM

Launch
Esquimalt Gorge ParkEsquimalt Gorge Park
Destination
Portage Inlet
Distance
5 nm
Leader
Bj Porter

Route plan A

Launching from Victoria Canoe and Kayak Club, we will take a look at the state of Tillicum Narrows, with some paddlers possibly making their way back and forth. We will then head up the west side of the Gorge and circumnavigate Portage Inlet, making our way partway up Colquitz Creek. Those who wish to have lunch will do so in the park across from VCKC.

Route plan B

Launching from the beach at Gorge Park we will head directly north on the west side of the Gorge and circumnavigate Portage Inlet, exploring the entry to Colquitz Creek.