District of Sooke
—  District  —
File:Sooke harbour.JPG
Location of Sooke in British Columbia
Coordinates: 48°22′34″N 123°44′16″W / 48.37611°N 123.73778°W / 48.37611; -123.73778Coordinates: 48°22′34″N 123°44′16″W / 48.37611°N 123.73778°W / 48.37611; -123.73778
Country	Canada
Province	British Columbia
Region	Vancouver Island
Regional district	Capital Regional District
Incorporated	December 7, 1999
Government
• Mayor	Wendal Milne
• Councillors	Bev Berger, Herb Haldane, Rick Kasper, Kevin Pearson, Kerrie Reay, Maja Tait
Area
• Total	56.72 km2 (21.90 sq mi)
Elevation	50 m (160 ft)
Population (2011)
• Total	11,435
• Density	201.6/km2 (522/sq mi)
Time zone	PST (UTC-8)
Highways	14
Waterways	Strait of Juan de Fuca
Website	District of Sooke

Sooke is a district municipality situated on the southern tip of Vancouver Island, Canada. About a 45 minute drive from the city of Victoria (the capital of British Columbia), Sooke is considered the westernmost of the Greater Victoria region's "Western Communities." It is situated to the north and west of the Sooke Basin.

Education[link]

Sooke is a part of the School District 62 Sooke. There is one high school, Edward Milne Community School, and one junior high school, Journey Middle School. Efforts at community/adult education are delivered by the Edward Milne Community School (EMCS) with day, evening and weekend programs.

Tourism and recreation[link]

Sooke's popularity as a scenic tourist destination has existed for generations. Well-known destinations in Sooke, such as Whiffin Spit Park, the Sooke Potholes Regional Park, and adjacent Sooke Potholes Provincial Park attract visitors both locally and from around the world. Sooke is also home to the Sooke Region Museum and Visitor centre; where visitors and locals are able to get information on regional attractions and history. The area's popularity has increased as a base for visiting the wilderness parks of Vancouver Island's southwest coast — the West Coast Trail and the Juan de Fuca Provincial Park which includes the now highly popular Juan de Fuca Marine Trail.

Back country recreation, or off-road recreation brings a constant stream of 4X4s, quads, ATVs, dirt bikes, and home built off-highway vehicles through Sooke as people search out back country access. Hundreds of kilometres of logging roads thread through the hills north of Sooke in the Rural Resource Lands of the Juan de Fuca electoral area, enabling access to several community lakes and small reservoirs. Two large reservoirs, Bear Creek and Diversion, are popular destinations north and west of Sooke. The acquisition of large areas of formerly logged land for CRD regional park use in 2000 terminated vehicular access to the nearest four community lakes north of Harbourview; Shields, Peden, Grass, & Crabapple, provoking a public outcry in the community.

Mountain biking is growing in popularity in British Columbia, and Sooke is establishing itself as a destination for the sport. Local advocacy groups are working to have areas such as Broom Hill set aside as parkland.

The Galloping Goose Regional Trail, part of the Trans-Canada Trail, runs through Sooke and is a popular cycling route to Victoria.

The Sooke Flowline constructed in 1915 snakes through the nearby hills around the Sooke Potholes and travels all the way to the Humpback Reservoir near Mt. Wells Regional Park.

The Arts Community in Sooke[link]

The vibrant arts community of Sooke enjoys the annual Sooke Fine Arts Festival (in its 23rd year in 2009) which brings hundreds of tourists to Sooke each summer by featuring the adjudicated art of local and regional artists. Sooke is known for its plethora of painters, writers, sculptors, potters, fabric artists, jewellery crafters, and more. The Sooke Community Arts Council plays a large role in fostering art in the region. The Sooke Harbour House art gallery is a main display opportunity for many local artisans.

Real Estate in Sooke[link]

In Sooke, prices rose then fell in 2011 -- from January to March prices climbed from $428,383 to the $447,000 range, but reached a low of $368,480 in May and settled at $395,120 by December (though in December 2010 the price was similar at $380,020). As per "The Sooke News"“Last year, 199 single family homes sold in Sooke, including East Sooke, Shirley, Jordan River and Port Renfrew. The average sale price was $423,642. This is lower than 2010, which saw 230 single family homes sell, with an average price of $454,695.

Neighbourhoods of Sooke[link]

(in order from east to west)

• North Sooke
• Saseenos
• Milne's Landing
• Sunriver Estates
• Sooke Town Centre or "UpSooke"
• Broom Hill
• Whiffin Spit
• Otter Point
• Kemp Lake

Neighbouring Communities[link]

• Metchosin - East of Sooke
• East Sooke - South of Sooke
• Otter Point - West of Sooke

Publications in Sooke[link]

The weekly newspaper is the Sooke News Mirror published by Black Press. The quarterly news magazine is MapleLine Magazine published by Brookeline Publishing House Inc. The Rural Observer is a non-profit newsletter published by the Juan de Fuca Rural Publication Society. Several tourism publications are distributed in the region.

External links[link]

• The Sooke Region Museum and Visitor Centre
• Travel and Tourism information for the Sooke area
• The District of Sooke municipal government website
• Sooke News Mirror newspaper
• MapleLine Magazine - quarterly Sooke news issues magazine
• Rural Observer

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