Route: Wild Pacific Trail
Area: Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada
Date of walk: 17th August 2025
Walkers: Andrew and Gilly
Distance: 4.6 miles
Ascent: 200 feet
Weather: Insipid skies, some light rain
The Wild Pacific Trail follows a section of the rugged coast of Vancouver Island. We’d walked the section known as the Lighthouse Loop yesterday, and today we would complete the remaining section. We parked in one of the roadside spaces at Ancient Cedars and entered into the woodland. A sign at the start warned us about the presence of bears, cougars and wolves in the area. The chance of an encounter is slim, but we took a can of bear spray just in case
A well made waymarked path took us through ancient woodland, with giant cedars towering above us. After a short while we arrived at the coast and made a there and back visit to Rocky Bluffs, the westernmost point of the Trail. The Wild Pacific Trail Society hopes to extend the route in the years to come, but for now this is as far as it goes in that direction. We retraced our steps, passing by Ancient Cedars again and continued to head east along the coast
The route includes several waymarked ‘Artist Loops’ which leave the main trail and rejoin it further along. These loops add a little distance to the walk, but they also enhance the enjoyment as they keep closer to the sea and have better vantage points. The Trail is easy to follow and there are numerous benches and viewpoints giving wonderful views along the rocky coastline
All too soon we arrived at the outskirts of Ucluelet and ended the walk at a parking area known as Frog Lot. As this is a linear walk, it’s necessary to retrace your steps or arrange a lift. In our case, James and Anna met us at the end and drove us back to our car which we’d left at Ancient Cedars
Although the weather was rather poor this enhanced the rugged coastal landscape and made it a memorable walk
Click on the icon below for the route map
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As with yesterday's walk, we had some good wildlife sightings before the start of the walk...
Anna's hummingbird near the balcony of our bed and breakfast, Reef Point in Ucluelet
A North American red squirrel on the balcony
Another sighting from the balcony - a bald eagle
The start of the trail with a warning about the wildlife we may encounter including bears, cougars and wolves
Another warning sign, it's a miracle we survived to tell the tale
The start of the walk from Ancient Cedars as we head towards the Pacific Coast
There are some massive trees along the way, dating back 800 years in some cases
A culturally modified tree (CMT) which has been modified by First Nations people in times gone by to create planks for houses and artefacts. The tree survives the process and continues living for further use. CMT's are protected by law
We continue along the trail
When we arrive at the coast we turn right to make a there and back diversion to Rocky Bluffs, the westernmost point of the Wild Pacific Trail
Rocky Bluffs, it's not safe to venture onto the rocks and we kept to the main path
We return to Ancient Cedars and continue along the trail
Back to the coast again - the trail offers numerous vantage points
There are a series of waymarked 'Artist's Loops' which leave the main path and weave in and out of the rocks. I recommend that these small diversions are taken whenever they appear
A few photos from the viewpoints along the way...
The viewpoint at Crow's Nest
Gazing out to sea, where it's possible to spot whales, seals and sea lions - but not today
Another woodland section near the end of the trail
More ancient trees...
A final view of the coast before we head inland to the end of the Wild Pacific Trail. Bear in mind that this is a linear walk, so arrangements need to be made to get back to the start. In our case we walked back to our accommodation and James gave us a lift back to Ancient Cedars to collect our car
As we walked back to our accomodation we had some more sightings - another hummingbird...
...a heron...
...and a black tailed deer, which didn't seem to be bothered by our presence
More hummingbird action back at Reef Point in Ucluelet – interesting wildlife, spectacular scenery and a day well spent
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