Difficulty
Based on a 1-5 scale with 1 being easy and 5 being difficult.
Walked by a healthy adult at a leisurely pace with a leisurely attitude.
Take into consideration if travelling with children or older persons or if you
are super-fit.
Distance
A rough guide and is based on the total return trip.
Beaches
When you see the beachball there is a beach at that location.
Chesterman
Beach has two sections but is really one long beautiful beach. Both are sandy
and are enjoyed by visitors and locals alike. The North end boasts a lighthouse
with rocky islands and lots of sand to play in or walk on and hard pack sand to
run on. The two sections connect by Frank Island. Surfing is popluar on both North
and South Chesterman Beach.
Chesterman
Beach has two sections but is really one long beautiful beach. Both are sandy
and are enjoyed by visitors and local alike. The South end is great walk along
the beach and take in the sights. There are two good surfing areas here; a clamer
area out front and a bigger wave area to the South. The two sections connect by
Frank Island. Surfing is popluar on both North and South Chesterman Beach.
To Lookout
Difficulty 3 | Distance 1 km Photo page
Florencia Bay Beach Trail is a short trail that first takes in the view over Florencia
Bay then leads down a set of steps to a wonderful open beach. It is one of the
trails close to the Wickaninnish Centre. Drive and start at the parking lot close
by or include this trail as part of Willowbrae Trail. Florencia Bay is also known
locally as as Wreck Bay.
This
is it - the longest sand beach on the west coast of Vancouver Island. Surfers,
kayakers, swimmers, sand castle builders, frisbee throwers, walkers, talkers and
thinkers come to be inspired by the sights and sounds of this beautiful beach.
Bring lots for lunch and stay for dinner over a beach fire. Watch the sun set
deep into the ocean and feel that direct line from you out to the universe.
Drive
along a treed country road to take in a panorama of Clayoquot Sound from the viewpoints
on Radar Hill. Formerly part of the Pinetree
Line Defence System, Radar Hill was one of the radar stations used as early
warning of air strikes to North America during WWII. Now clear of buildings the
short path takes you to beautiful vistas and around the former station area. The
second parking lot at the end of the road is very close to a viewpoint if anyone
in your group has difficulty walking.
Two
trails that take you to the heart of an ancient rainforest. Giant trees, soft
hanging moss, ferns with open inviting fronds and other forest plants welcome
you to stroll the boardwalk and learn about their home. The two looped trails
take you by salmon spawning streams, huuuuge cedars, stately snags, and nurse
logs letting you see how the community of nature all nurtures each other.
Boardwalk
through rainforest with some ups and downs. Comes out at a wide secluded beach
in Schooner Cove at the North end of Long Beach. If walking with little ones or
older ones, have an energetic person walk back to the lot and drive to meet you
at Long Beach while you walk the short distance along the level sand to the top
of Long Beach. Or head north on the beach to explore.
Better
than a trip around a movie set, this bog would be the perfect place for a scary
movie. Distorted, warped and twisted describe these incredible pine trees. Growing
under stressed conditions (acidic soil) they are barely metres tall after hundreds
of years! Check out the small but deadly sundews that trap insects on their sticky
leaves for dinner: the peat moss that grows meters deep (who knows what's under
there?) and the many other brave plants and flowers that call this totally cool
bog home. All is explained in the brochures that are available to visitors so
make sure you grab one for your tour. The boardwalk is wide and good for a group
or wheelchairs. It's a short trail and really, really fascinating so take your
time - and keep clear of the sundews.
Want
to hear the real Rolling Stones? Start this trail at the back of the Wickaninnish
Centre and after a level section the trail splits into two and one continues to
South Beach. The beach is well-known for it's singing stones. As the waves roll
in they rock the stones and the stones rock on! Come for the music, stay and watch
the theatre of big breakers. Keep well clear of the powerful waves and you're
rockin'! Great place for a picnic.
A
great beach on the other side of town. Looks out to a small island and is very
sandy. Bike or drive through town and up to the end of Tonquin Park Road. Park
there and walk down the steps (there are a few of them) to the beach.
The
Wickaninnish Interpretive Centre is perched on the shore of the Pacific at the
end of Wick Road. This information centre and interpretive facility focuses on
the natural and cultural heritage of Pacific Rim National Park Reserve. An all-terrain
wheelchair is available for use. The centre is open mid March to mid October.
This
trail is named after Chief Wickaninnish, a leader of the Nuu-Chah-Nulth people.
We like to think of it also named after his wife who probably kept things running
smoothly for him to go out and become such a big chief. The trail connects Long
Beach to Florencia Bay. It links off from the South Beach Trail at the top of
the first hill - turn left at the sign. Look for signs of old corduroy road while
enjoying this lovely forest route that both the natives and the early settlers
used. Pause for a moment and listen for their stories that are carried on the
wind and gather on the tree branches. The trail ends at a parking area or you
can continue down to Florencia Bay. Consider hiking boots on a wet day - this
trail can be muddy!
Gold Mine
Difficulty 2 | Distance 3 km
Follow
the trail along Lost Shoe Creek and take your chance panning for gold as the earlier
settlers did in the 1900s. Logged in the 1960's this area shows how forgiving
Nature can be by regenerating a alder, cedar and fir forest. The path has no stairs
and bicycles are a fun way to go here. Access to the beach may be restricted due
to winter storms.
Spruce Fringe Trail
Difficulty 3 | Distance 1.5 km loop
Take
this trail at Comber's Beach through a Sitka spruce forest and be guided by the
plaques explaining the botanical life of the forest. With Sitka spruce at the
oceans fringe the forest opens up to a more diverse collection of plant life moving
away from the sea's salt and wind. A gentle trail with one set of stairs that
loops back to the beginning.
Willowbrae Trail
Difficulty 4 (steep stairs) | Distance 2.9 km
Ever hear of a corduroy road? Take this trail
and you'll be travelling the footsteps of the early settlers when they travelled
this corduroy road (road built of logs laid down beside each other - like corduroy).
between Tofino & Ucluelet. Walking along a boardwalk the trail is rolling
and level. The boardwalk forks close to the ocean and you can choose to go down
some steep stairs to Half Moon Bay (cove) or Florencia Bay (beach).
Half Moon Bay
Part of Willowbrae Trail
End of Willowbrae Trail that offers extensive
views that are breathtaking. The trail begins amongst old-growth cedars and descends
under spruce trees coiled like curlicues from the ocean storms. The trees seem
so brave to grow where they do.
Surrounded by the tall trees of the West Coast
rainforest, Cougar Annie's garden is a place of strange and compelling beauty.
The garden consists of a five-acre clearing, crisscrossed with over two kilometres
of meandering pathways and dotted with outbuildings that once housed goats and
chickens. Resurrected from a tangle of salal, Scotch broom, and salmonberry, this
garden has endured for nearly one hundred years. Operated under the auspices of
the Boat Basin Foundation (a non-profit foundation whose prime asset is 117 acres
of wilderness land) the garden is located inside Hesquiat Harbour in Clayoquot
Sound. Website.
Big
Tree Trail is on Meares Island and that's why it rates a 2 in difficulty. Not
that it's difficult to get to by kayak or charter boat but there is a bit of a
transition from boat to island that may be a challenge for some. Otherwise the
trail is a lovely boardwalk stroll through ancient forest to the Hanging Garden
Tree. The tree is estimated to be more than 2,000 years old and is 18.3 metres
(60 feet) in circumference.
Colourful,
brilliant flowers are everywhere in the spring. With the backdrop of green forest,
these wild and tended flowers brighten up our world each spring with their promise
of hot sunny days. Need a hit of colour? Check out these spring flowers and lift
your spirits.
Spring
is a good time to keep your eye open for mushrooms in the woods. We found a flush
of morels in an area that had been dug up and then laid with bark mulch. They
were delicious! We've found many other species big and small, a few of which appear
on the spring mushroom photo page.
Taking
a walk in the forest in the fall carries the added delight of fall mushrooms.
With the bit of rainfall we've had, many different species are showing up throughout
the forest. We've found many other species classic and strange, a few of which
appear on the fall mushroom photo page.
Delicious,
delicate, beautiful Cahnterelle mushrooms! They abound in our forests and we enjoyed
their golden colour, their vaselike shape and their gorgeous texture and taste.
See it all on our Chanterelle Mushroom photo
page.
The
elusive and highly prized Matsutake or Pine mushroom are always a treasue hunt.
Some people claim to find them by smell, others see the tops of them peeking out
of the forest floor. Me - I just follow those two types of people. See the magnificent
Matsutake mushrooms on our Matsutake or
Pine Mushroom photo page.
Mushroom
ID
If you're lucky you may see many mushrooms on your wanderings. They are great
at camouflage so look closely (hint: look for contrast). Unless you are a mycologist,
do not taste test any mushroom - but you may use this mushroom
website to check the id of the mushrooms you spied in the forest.
The
Raincoast Interpretive Centre is the bright yellow building located at 451 Main
Street, in MacLeod Court, in Tofino, BC. The Centre offers environmental education
and interpretive programs. It houses displays, a library and a children's discovery
area.
The
Wickaninnish Interpretive Centre is perched on the shore of the Pacific at the
end of Wick Road. This information centre and interpretive facility focuses on
the natural and cultural heritage of Pacific Rim National Park Reserve. An all-terrain
wheelchair is available for use. The centre is open mid March to mid October.
The Ucluelet Mini Aquarium is one of the coolest places to visit. It is a collection
of sea life that is captured by the aquarium's divers, placed into viewing tanks,
then released back into the ocean.
Difficulty 1 
To Lookout 
Follow
the trail along Lost Shoe Creek and take your chance panning for gold as the earlier
settlers did in the 1900s. Logged in the 1960's this area shows how forgiving
Nature can be by regenerating a alder, cedar and fir forest. The path has no stairs
and bicycles are a fun way to go here. Access to the beach may be restricted due
to winter storms.
Take
this trail at Comber's Beach through a Sitka spruce forest and be guided by the
plaques explaining the botanical life of the forest. With Sitka spruce at the
oceans fringe the forest opens up to a more diverse collection of plant life moving
away from the sea's salt and wind. A gentle trail with one set of stairs that
loops back to the beginning.
Larger Photo Big Tree Trail Slideshow
