Esquimalt, BC

Know the town

About Esquimalt

Esquimalt is a compact township on the west side of Victoria Harbour, bound up with the sea and the navy. Canadian Forces Base Esquimalt, home of the Royal Canadian Navy’s Pacific fleet, occupies much of its waterfront, and the harbour has been a naval base since the mid-1800s, when the Royal Navy first anchored here. The traditional territory of the Songhees and Esquimalt Nations, it is today a close-knit, down-to-earth community within Greater Victoria.

A harbour community

Grey warships at the dockyard, and the large federal graving dock where ships are repaired, are part of the everyday scenery here. The CFB Esquimalt Naval & Military Museum tells the story of the base and the West Coast navy. Many residents have a connection to the forces, and that history shows in local events and memorials.

Parks by the water

For such a small place, Esquimalt has a remarkable amount of shoreline to enjoy. Saxe Point Park and Macaulay Point offer rocky lookouts toward the mountains of Washington’s Olympic Peninsula, and the West Bay walkway follows the harbour edge. On the Gorge Waterway, Gorge Park includes a restored Japanese garden on the site of an early twentieth-century tea garden, and the calm water is popular with paddlers and swimmers in summer.

Village life

Esquimalt’s civic centre, with its library, recreation centre and plaza, anchors a growing village core along Esquimalt Road. Local cafés, pubs and small businesses line the main roads, and the community’s summer events draw crowds from across the region.

Getting here

Esquimalt is about ten minutes from downtown Victoria across the Johnson Street Bridge or by harbour ferry, and it borders Saanich and View Royal. The Galloping Goose Trail runs along its northern edge.

Esquimalt’s verified local businesses appear below, together with upcoming events around the harbour.

For council, permits, garbage and recycling, parks bookings and other local services, visit Township of Esquimalt.