Wild Pacific Trail, Vancouver Island, B.C.

September and October are great months to visit the west coast of Vancouver Island. With less people, lower prices on accommodation, and lovely weather (most of the time) they are the perfect months to visit. We made a short weekend trip to the area of Ucluelet in the fall and spent time hiking sections of the Wild Pacific Trail which wraps along the coastline in that area.

When we arrived we explored the Lighthouse Loop which meanders around the peninsula where the Amphitrite Point Lighthouse is found. On Christmas Day in 1905 a tragic accident took the lives of 36 people here when a raging storm blew the Pass of Melfort into the rocks along the coast. Soon after a lighthouse was built and stood here from 1906 to 1914 when a tidal wave demolished it. The current lighthouse was then erected in 1915.

The first lighthouse keeper had to walk a mile each evening to light the lamp, return at midnight to wind the mechanism that rotates the lenses, and then again in the morning to extinguish the lamp. In 1929 a dwelling closer to the lighthouse was built. The lighthouse loop is a short 2.6 km route with expansive views out to Barkley Sound and the Broken Group Islands.

The next morning, after a bite to eat and a coffee, we checked out Big Beach beside the Black Rock Oceanfront Resort. So far the weather was definitely cooperating!

After lunch we took the trail from Brown’s Beach to Artist Loops, a distance of about 3 kms each way. There were plenty of opportunities to step off of the trail and take in the magnificent views whether from the beach area or high above along the cliffside. It was easy to see why this section was called Artist Loops as the scenery lends itself to both photography and painting enthusiasts.

Views from the Artist Loops trail

The weather was starting to change quickly and the next morning we woke up to rain and fog. Definitely a much different day than when we arrived.

We made a stop on our way back at Cathedral Grove, an old growth forest located in MacMillan Park. These towering Douglas Fir trees, some as high as 75 metres, reach majestically to the sky and provide a haven for a variety of animals and other plants to thrive in. The park takes up both sides of the highway that runs through it and parking can be tricky, but if you can find a spot then its worth the stop!

The trails in the park are accessible to all and are one of only two parks in the province designated to protect old growth forests. In the past this park was the property of a logging company and it wasn’t until 1944 that this stand of trees came under the protection of the government…in exchange for right of way through the park to other logging locations. In 1947 it became MacMillian Provincial Park.

Some of the fir trees in this park are 800 years old and the largest is this one at over 9 metres in circumference. It is massive and until you get up close to it you don’t realize just how big it really is.

Just being in this park and breathing the fresh air makes you appreciate the forest in all its beauty. The stillness, the varying shades of green, and the sheer size of these trees will leave you feeling awed.

There is always something new to discover on Vancouver Island and so much more there to explore…must be time for another visit soon.