The Mt. Finlayson Trail starts in Goldstream Provincial Park in the forest then climbs through the forest to the south-facing cliffs, looking toward Victoria.   We started on Bear Mountain near the tennis club and hiked for 0.5 km over to the junction below the summit trail.   From that point, everything was steep and rocky to the top.

In fact, most of the rest of the route was on rock, a combination of hiking and scrambling all the way to the top.   Orange trail markers have been nailed into the rock to show the best route.   We found it to have slippery sections, even in dry weather, so care was needed.

The slope gradient lessened near the top where there were a few trees clinging to the exposed face.

This was not a long hike, but the scramble on the rock makes it an interesting route.

at the junction	up the ledges
Bear Mountain clay courts below	on top

The views were expansive, but it was a hazy day.

downtown Victoria	Olympic Peninsula
Mt. Baker	trestle on the Esquimalt -Nanaimo corridor

The down-climb is slower with extra care needed on shiny, boot-worn rock.   It is possible to do a loop by descending a trail on the north side, then traversing along the east side past the Bear Mountain golf course and tennis courts.   The loop from Bear Mountain is about 3.5 km.