View Royal

History

European settlement began in the 1850s by Kenneth Mackenzie who established a farm known as Craigflower Manor. In the mid-19th century, Dr. John Helmcken, Vancouver Island's first doctor and later speaker of the British Columbia Legislative Assembly, paid the Hudson's Bay Company $5 per acre for hundreds of acres of land between Esquimalt Harbour and what is now Victoria General Hospital. The land was cleared for Victoria's growth. In 1912, the Island Investment Company bought of land below Four Mile Hill, fronting the harbour, from Dr. Helmcken’s son James. They marketed lots as "View Royal" because of their "royal view", which gave the town its name. View Royal remained unorganized for over half a century. By the 1950s, things had begun to change. In 1959, a group of residents in the Shoreline Drive area circulated a petition urging annexation by Esquimalt. Several studies and referendums came and went, but View Royal continued with its unorganized status. In 1966, the Capital Regional District emerged, bringing with it regional approaches for such service deliveries as sewage collection. Then a Price Waterhouse study presented three options: status quo, union with Esquimalt, or incorporation as a town. The town’s incorporation became official on December 5, 1988. Many historic sites still exist in View Royal, including: * Four Mile Pub & Six Mile Pub: two historic "road houses" or pubs that have existed for approximately 150 years. * Craigflower Manor & Schoolhouse: one of Canada's National Historic Sites. Completed in 1856, the Manor site was one of four original farms set up by the Hudson's Bay Company as part of their obligations in settling Vancouver Island. The site housed the McKenzie family in the Manor as well as twenty other dwellings, a sawmill, a…

Geography

View Royal is divided into eight neighbourhoods based on topography, transportation corridors, natural environment, and the age of housing stock. These neighbourhoods are Atkins, Burnside, Craigflower, Harbour, Helmcken, Hospital, Thetis, and Wilfert. View Royal has 70 municipal parks and of trails. View Royal's shoreline includes sandy beaches with small caves, large driftwood, and rocks, which are home to starfish, crabs, seals, and other marine life.

Most-observed species

• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  79,220
• Chestnut-backed Chickadee

  Poecile rufescens (J.K.Townsend, 1837) · Aves
  77,501
• Anna's Hummingbird

  Calypte anna (R.Lesson, 1829) · Aves
  77,297
• Glaucous-winged Gull

  Larus glaucescens J.F.Naumann, 1840 · Aves
  76,042
• Spotted Towhee

  Pipilo maculatus Swainson, 1827 · Aves
  73,060
• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  70,000
• Dark-eyed Junco

  Junco hyemalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  68,735
• Song Sparrow

  Melospiza melodia (A.Wilson, 1810) · Aves
  62,915

Most recent

• M 2.56 — 2026-09-12
  2 km E of Mount Vernon, Washington
• M 2.51 — 2026-08-09
  11 km SSW of River Road, Washington
• M 3.8 — 2026-07-02
  2 km E of Oak Harbor, Washington
• M 2.87 — 2026-06-08
  2 km ESE of Oak Harbor, Washington
• M 2.56 — 2026-05-29
  7 km ENE of Ferndale, Washington
• M 2.7 — 2026-04-27
  5 km N of Anacortes, Washington