Sweeping down to the Pacific Ocean across from the Olympic Mountains Hatley Park, home to the Royal Roads campus, is considered one of among the most beautiful university campuses in Canada. 

The micro-climate found on the tip of Vancouver Island provides warm winter temperatures. Adding to the site's unique qualities is the unusual mix of growing conditions that range from mature conifer forest to Garry Oak meadows to wetland.

The site includes hundreds of heritage trees, not only significant for their size, rarity and diversity, but some 250 year-old Douglas firs are among the largest in the area. 

The park's showpieces are generally considered to be the formal Italian, rose and the Japanese gardens. 

A salt marsh estuary located at the mouth of Colwood Creek along the shore of Esquimalt Lagoon is a rare ecosystem for this area. The estuary acts as a transition zone between freshwater, marine and forest habitats. As a result, it is highly productive and sustains a wide diversity of plants and animals, including sedges, grasses, cattails, racoons, sea otters, waterfowl, marine crustaceans, and both marine and freshwater fish.

Royal Roads University is committed to protecting this unique cultural and natural environment. The RRU Foundation has established a heritage fund to ensure continued stewardship and preservation of Hatley Park's heritage resources. For more information on how you can support the Hatley Park National Historic Site, call 250-391-2666