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It’s hard to choose where to spend your day with so many great beaches along the highway from Sooke to Port Renfrew. French Beach Provincial Park offers amenities that make this a perfect spot for a family adventure!
French Beach is a perfect year-round place to stop when travelling hwy 14 along the Juan de Fuca Strait. The government park day-use setting is well maintained and offers easy access, plentiful parking, picnic sites with tables and fire rings, drinking water, a playground and camping.
This kilometer-long sand and pebble beach offer a fantastic place to hang out and enjoy the ocean air or wander along one of the forest trails.
If you explore the park area, you will discover a forest trail hidden behind the playground that heads south towards a footbridge. Cross the shallow creek at the end of the beach to find even more walking paths.
Another adventure can be found by heading north along the beach as far as you can to discover the shallow tidepools and seashell fossils locked in the rock formations making an appearance from years of erosion.
French Beach Provincial Park offers green space for the family to play, beautiful scenery riddled with driftwood, lush forests and creeks. Take in the fantastic views of Juan de Fuca Strait and always keep your eyes open for gray whales, orcas, seals, otters and eagles.
Parking: Large parking lot separate from the campground room for RVs if arrive early on Weekends.
Amenities: Toilets, picnic tables, water and playground
Cell Coverage: Not great, most likely reach American towers. By the end of 2022, and tower upgrades are scheduled to be complete.
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French Beach is located 20 minutes east of Sooke and just past Shirley along Highway 14 in the south island zone. The parking lot is a fair size and easy to access. The walk is short and easy, with an incline down to the day-use area just back from the beach area.
"French Beach is great. The drive is nice, the parking lot was spacious and clean, the bathrooms were immaculate, no garbage anywhere, great park and grass area, and amazing long beach to explore."
The campground offers year-round vehicle accessible camping in a beautiful natural setting within only a few minutes walk to the ocean.
The 69 site campground is open year-round. With more services offered from April 1st to Oct 26. Winter rates Oct 27 – March 5th with no services.
French Beach Campground is one of the busiest campgrounds in the area, it books fast and once school is out the “Campground Full” sign rarely comes down.
There can be a few first come first serve sites that open up but during summer camping season, reservations should be made through Discover Camping. In winter when reservations are not available on the website all campsites function as first-come, first-served.
Group Campsite Reservations are available during the summer camping season.
You can also try the China Beach Campground in Juan de Fuca Provincial Park, it’s larger and not too far down the road. Booking
IS THERE CELL SERVICE?
Currently, it’s iffy and will probably hit off of American towers. by the end of 2022, and tower upgrades are scheduled to be complete.
IS THERE A FEE FOR ACCESS?
It’s free for day parking and beach access. There is a cost for camping.
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