Victoria has a staggering number of hiking trails that almost always reach something amazing.. and radically different. From Goldstream Park's spawning salmon to the marvellous Goldstream Train Trestle. You can hike dozens of beautiful, coastal kilometres in Juan de Fuca Provincial Park and East Sooke Regional Park. Victoria is a hiker's paradise.
TheWestCoastTrail
The West Coast Trail traces a route along a 75 kilometre section of Vancouver Island's hostile west coast. The trail looks over the Graveyard of the Pacific, home to hundreds of shipwrecks over the centuries. The Graveyard of the Pacific necessitated the construction of the West Coast Trail to save lives from the frequent shipwrecks.
There are lots of options to getting to the West Coast Trail. The trail is linear so you have to arrange to get to the trailhead as well as from your exit trailhead. Most West Coast Trail hikers drive to one trailhead then bus to the other and hike back to their car. Others take the West Coast Express bus from Victoria to one of the trailheads and take the same bus back to Victoria.
West Coast Trail Express Inc. provides shuttle bus service(May 1 to September 30) from Victoria and Nanaimo to the trailheads and between the trailheads of the West Coast Trail and the Juan de Fuca Trail. The West Coast Trail Bus picks up and drops off passengers at Victoria, Sooke, Port Renfrew, Gordon River, Mesachie Lake, Honeymoon Bay, Nanaimo, Nitinat, Pachena Bay, and Bamfield. In 2017 the prices were $110 Victoria to Pachena Bay, $90 Port Renfrew to Pachena Bay. These prices may seem expensive on first glance, however the route covers quite a distance of brutal logging roads. After you take into account of how much damage you saved on your own vehicle, the prices look pretty good!
West Coast Trail Express Bus (Victoria, Nanaimo, Bamfield, Nitinaht Junction, Port Renfrew) Toll-free: 1-888-999-2288 Website:trailbus.com/
Reservations can be made using a Visa or Mastercard. Online - by using the secure reservation page online at trailbus.com Phone - by calling us toll free from anywhere in Canada at 1-888-999-2288, or at our Victoria office at 250-477-8700. Individuals can save 20%, groups can save 40%, on return fares by making return trip reservations. Changes to reservations can be made up to the reservation date with no penalty. Changes made within 10 days of the reservation date are subject to availability. If seats are not available for the new date, you can cancel your reservation ( the cancellation policy will apply ), or you can receive a credit for your fare which must be used in the same calendar year. Cancellations require 10 days notice to receive a complete refund(less a $5.00 administration fee). Cancellations received with less than 10 days notice will be charged 10% per day ( example: 9 days notice = 90% return, 8 days notice = 80% return, etc.) There will be no refund when no notice is given to the West Coast Trail Express Office. Hikers with reservations, finishing the trail any day before their return reservation date, and up to 2 days after, have priority seating on the bus. They are given seats on the bus before anyone without reservations. This is not a guarantee that these hikers will have a seat. If the bus is fully booked, and there are no seats available, these hikers will have to wait for the bus on the following day. We advise anyone who is going to be early or late to call our office and give us notice. The more notice we have, the more likely we can have seats available.
Getting to the West Coast Trail Map
Ferry Services
Butch Jack Hiker Ferry Services (Gordon River Trailhead) Tel: 250-647-5517 / 250-647-5434 Email: [email protected]
Lady Rose Marine Services (Passenger Ferry from Port Alberni to Bamfield) Tel: 250-723-8313 Toll-free: 1-800-663-7192 Website:ladyrosemarine.com
Nitinaht Lake Water Taxi / Nitinaht Wilderness Charters / Parking at Nitinaht Tel: 250-745-3509
WCT Information Centres
Information Centre Tel: 250-728-3234 (Pachena Bay) Tel: 250-647-5434 (Gordon River)
Ditidaht First Nations Visitor Centre and Store (Nitinaht Village) Tel: 250-745-3999
Trail Accommodation
West Coast Trail Comfort Camping Ditidaht First Nation – Ditidaht Development Corporation Website:westcoasttrail.com Email: [email protected]
Tel: 250-710-4453 (Hike)
Air Services
Pacific Seaplanes (Bamfield, Barclay Sound, Ucluelet, Tofino, Port Alberni, Port Renfrew, Nanaimo, Victoria and Vancouver) Tel: 250-616-5858 Website:pacificseaplanes.biz
Fishing and Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning Information 24 hour line Tel: 604-666-2828 Toll-free: 1-866-431-3474 Website: dfo-mpo.gc.ca
When shipping in and out of Juan de Fuca Strait rapidly increased in the mid 1800's and an alarming and costly number of ships were lost, the need for a ...
The West Coast Trail is incredible. Everything about it is amazing. From the wildly, incomprehensibly enormous trees to endless jaw dropping views. And ...
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There are three entry/exit points for the West Coast Trail, however the midway entry/exit point at Nitinaht Narrows is for hikers only hiking part of the trail. ...
There are lots of options to getting to the West Coast Trail. The trail is linear so you have to arrange to get to the trailhead as well as from your exit ...
The West Coast Trail is a very tough hike. About one out of one hundred hikers don't make it, they need to be rescued. That's why there are so many fees. By ...
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