Secret Beaches of Greater Victoria is a comprehensive review of nearly 100 beaches on the Saanich Peninsula and in the Greater Victoria area. While some of these are well used by people living nearby, many are virtually impossible to find without combing through official maps and back-road guides. Even the seemingly well-known shoreline from Oak Bay to Beacon Hill hides its own tiny pocket beaches and obscure coves.

Just as important as finding these spots is knowing what to expect. Thus each location is accompanied by detailed information that any beach explorer should know before setting out. Is the beach a few level steps from a vehicle or down a high, steep bank? Is the beach suitable for children? Large groups? Kayakers?

All of these questions and many more are answered in this book, which includes Theo’s hand-drawn maps, photographs and artwork.

• Take a few steps off a grassy area and enter a world of miniature reefs and islets (Lansdowne Road)
• Watch boats navigating Enterprise Channel from a hidden headland (Radcliffe Lane)
• Relax on an expanse of beautiful white sand (Gonzales Beach)
• Explore a beach where you can see low-tide critters like anemones, starfish and crabs (Beaufort Road, Sidney)

Refresh your pleasure in the shore and head out to picnic, play, launch kayaks, watch winter storms or just enjoy the waves.

Theo Dombrowski is an artist, writer, kayaker, hiker, mountain biker and skier. He worked in international education for most of his career, primarily at Lester Pearson College, near Victoria, BC. Along with two guidebooks published by RMB | Rocky Mountain Books, Popular Day Hikes 4: Vancouver Island and Seaside Walks on Vancouver Island, he has also worked with Heritage House Publishing as the author of the Secret Beaches series of guidebooks and as the illustrator for two children's books, Quests for Fire: Tales from Many Lands and A Book of Tricksters: Tales from Many Lands. He donates some of the profits from his book projects to charity, principally the Georgia Strait Alliance and Médecins sans frontières (MSF) International. He lives in Nanoose Bay, British Columbia.

Theo Dombrowski's profile page

[W]ell-researched ideas . . . packed with information. —Island Parent magazine