ȽÁU,WELṈEW̱/John Dean

Situated on top of Mount Newton on southern Vancouver Island, ȽÁU,WELṈEW̱/John Dean Provincial Park overlooks the pastoral Saanich Peninsula, the Gulf Islands and the Cascade Mountains. ȽÁU,WELṈEW̱/John Dean Park protects one of the last stands of old-growth Douglas fir and Garry oak on the Saanich Peninsula. The mountain and surrounding area figure prominently in First Nations culture, and early descriptions of the mountain mention large rings of white stones placed there by the Saanich people. ȽÁU,WELṈEW̱, as Mount Newton is known to the First Nations of the Saanich Peninsula, was the high point of land that enabled them to survive the great flood. Here legend has it that the Saanich ancestors were able to anchor their canoe until the floodwaters subsided using a giant cedar rope. ȽÁU,WELṈEW̱ was the first land available as the floodwaters receded.

This park has a day-use area with a parking lot, information shelter and pit toilet. This park is closed to vehicle traffic in the off-season.

John Dean Provincial Park is located near Sidney on southern Vancouver Island. The park can be accessed off Hwy #17. Turn west onto McTavish Road, south onto East Saanich Road, then west onto John Dean Road. Follow John Dean Road until you reach the park. Nearby communities include: Sidney, Saanichton, Brentwood Bay, Victoria.