French Beach

Managed by Surfrider Foundation, Vancouver Island Chapter - BWYTF

Photo by: Dylan Neild

Situated on the scenic Strait of Juan de Fuca on the west coast of southern Vancouver Island, French Beach Provincial Park offers much more than just beautiful hiking trails through lush forests. A wide swatch of green lawn fronts this sand and pebble beach, where visitors can relax and enjoy a picnic or take a cool dip in the ocean.

In addition to offering fabulous views of the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the Olympic Mountains, the 1,600-metre beach at this park is an ideal location for exploring and whale watching. The magnificent Gray whales pass by this park in the spring as they migrate to northern feeding grounds, and return again in the fall. Roaming pods of resident killer whales can also be seen offshore, as well as otters, seals and sea lions. French Beach is also a good spot to observe Bald eagles, ospreys and a variety of seabirds.

French Beach offers year-round vehicle accessible camping in a beautiful natural setting within minutes walk to the ocean. Facilities include a picnic/day-use area, a sani-station, pit toilets and fresh water.

Courtesy of BC Parks.

WATER QUALITY

No data available
Current Status

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MONITORING FREQUENCY

SOURCE INFORMATION

BWTF monitors sites around Victoria, BC year-round. Currently, BWTF is sampling (on average) 1 site every two weeks. They rotate the sites, so each one gets sampled on a regular basis, but they give priority to known or suspected problem sites.

Samples are typically collected on Saturdays, Sundays or Mondays, but Surfrider volunteers may collect samples on other days of the week depending on volunteer availability. Surfrider updates Swim Guide with new results as soon as test results become available, approximately 24-48 hours after sampling.

Surfrider’s BWTF utilizes the standardized EPA criteria of 104 MPN/100 mL for collecting and analyzing saltwater samples. The test results are expressed as Most Probable Number (MPN) of Enterococcus cfu (colony forming units) per 100 mL by using the IDEXX Quanti-Tray/2000 MPN Table.

Results are posted shortly after the lab results are available (approximately 24 hours after sample collection). Results will be communicated through the Swim Guide app and website. Results tables are also available on the Surfrider Foundation's Blue Water Task Force website at http://www.surfrider.org/blue-water-task-force/chapter/41.

A saltwater beach is marked Green when single sample results are under 104 Enterococci / 100 mL water.

A saltwater beach is marked Red when the results are equal to or above 104 Enterococci / 100 mL water. If a sample exceeds the standard, the site is given priority for re-testing.

A beach is marked Grey when there are no current results or there is no available information.

WATER QUALITY GRAPH

WATER QUALITY

No data available
Current Status

For water quality icon legend, click:

Photo by: Dylan Neild

MONITORING FREQUENCY

SOURCE INFORMATION

WATER QUALITY GRAPH

Beach	Location	Water Quality
Muir Creek Shirley, British Columbia	Shirley, British Columbia	Current Status
Jordan River Jordan River, British Columbia	Jordan River, British Columbia	Current Status
China Beach British Columbia	British Columbia	Current Status
Kemp Lake Sooke, British Columbia	Sooke, British Columbia	Historical Status

Other Beaches Near This One

Beach	Location	Water Quality
Muir Creek Shirley, British Columbia	Shirley, British Columbia	Current Status
Jordan River Jordan River, British Columbia	Jordan River, British Columbia	Current Status
China Beach British Columbia	British Columbia	Current Status
Kemp Lake Sooke, British Columbia	Sooke, British Columbia	Historical Status

Swim Guide
is supported by

* The RBC Foundation

Swim Guide shares the best information we have at the moment you ask for it. Always obey signs at the beach or advisories from official government agencies. Stay alert and check for other swimming hazards such as dangerous currents and tides. Please report your pollution concerns so Affiliates can help keep other beach-goers safe.

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	Green means the beach’s most recent test results met relevant water quality standards.

	Red means the beach’s most recent test results failed to meet water quality standards.

	Grey means water quality information for the beach is too old (more than 7 days old) to be considered current, or that info is unavailable, or unreliable.

	Green means the beach passed water quality tests 95% of the time or more.

	Yellow means the beach passed water quality tests 60-95% of the time.

	Red means the beach failed water quality tests 40% of the time or more.

	Green means the beach has historically excellent or pristine water quality, but there is no current data.

	Red means the water at the site has water quality issues or there is an emergency.

	Grey means there is no current water quality information, the beach is under construction, there has been an event that has rendered water quality information unreliable or unavailable.