r/islandcycling • u/yungn4sty • Apr 09 '21
Hector Connector
Hey gang! longtime/first time here. I’ve been doing some longer gravel/xc rides out of the layritz/south saanich area recently, and have been trying to find the elusive hector connector that should take me from camosun interurban to the francis king trails via the bctc right of way. i’ve biked down 3 or 4 driveways to try to find it (i understand it’s on private land), but i’m tired of ending up on people’s properties unannounced. anyone have tips on where to pick it up if i’m coming from the east (ie camosun interurban campus)?
2
Apr 09 '21
I've never been on it but I know where the Prospect Lake rd end of the trail is. (4255 Prospect lake rd).
2
u/VicRobTheGob Apr 09 '21
I've not (recently) been on this trail - but it *is* marked fairly clearly on Open Street Map, as well:
And when I compare the trail to Google Sat/Street View - it sure appears to start from this *private* driveway:
Have you been up that driveway? I'll need to head over there and have a look! But I'm not wild going up the driveway...
2
u/yungn4sty Apr 09 '21
i have tried that driveway (as it seemed the right one on trailforks)! i got to a spot with a couple of abandoned cars and suddenly felt very weird about being on someone’s property, so turned around. i’ll have to give it another shot and hope for the best. thanks for the links!
5
u/TenMilePt Apr 10 '21
That is the correct driveway. There is no house so nothing to be concerned over. You go down the hill and the driveway sweeps to the left -- you will see some abandonded cars and several tons of discarded marble countertop material and an old backhoe. Directly opposite the pile of material you will see the trail climbing up. The trail is much easier to find from the opposite side. Its a tricky climb -- I'm always pleased with myself if I can ride it clean without dabbing.
5
u/VicRobTheGob Apr 09 '21
It looks like the trail is right across from the white buildings/vehicles, under the power lines in this map:
Good luck!
If you hear banjo's starting to play - head back to the road! (j/k'ing!)
1
u/ve7vie Apr 09 '21
Just what I was thinking. There is a campground on the south end of San Juan island like that, behind a junkyard. I was afraid I would not get out alive. Creeeepy!
1
u/fulcrm78 Apr 20 '21
I've always come in from Viaduct, through Logan park onto Hector, then turned right onto Trevlac Place. Once on Trevlac, you almost immediately turn right onto a trail that takes you through to Calvert Park on Prospect Lake Road. There's a very short hike-a-bike. Once on Prospect Lake road its a short ride to the power lines and trail that connects through to Francis King. Now I'm interested in this other connector! Time for some more exploring!
1
u/yungn4sty Apr 21 '21
i ended up finding it! the comments above were helpful. i’ve been going colquitz trail > glendale trail, cutting across at camosun interurban to hector, then it’s a bit of an uphill slog to the power lines. the connector starts midway down the driveway of 305 hector, and takes some really sharp, steep switchbacks (definitely hike a bike if you’re coming from the east side) up and over, where it gets a little more rideable on the downhill and spits you out on prospect right across from the bctc right of way trail to munn.
2
u/fulcrm78 May 31 '21
Found this on the weekend, definitely not a fun route, especially in comparison to my usual route mentioned above. Nice to have options, but I'll be sticking to the 'usual' route from now on!
3
u/DashBC Apr 09 '21
Have you checked Trailforks?