West Coast Trail - Backgrounder (Map)

»Go to our West Coast Trail hiking trip page

The West Coast Trail had its beginnings in the days of the sailing ship. Since the early 1800s some 250 vessels were lost to severe coastal storms and poor navigational equipment, resulting in the west coast of Vancouver Island being called the "Graveyard of the Pacific". Governments of the time made a number of efforts to help the situation. Lighthouses at Cape Beale (1874) and Carmanah (1891) along with construction of the West Coast Telegraph (1890) were measured responses to the dangers of sailing this treacherous section of coast. The lighthouses are still functional and can be visited when hiking the West Coast Trail.

The tragedy of the passenger steamer Valencia in 1906, with 164 lives lost, resulted in the original West Coast telegraph line being upgraded with trail improvements to become the "Lifesaving Trail". In 1907 a third lighthouse, near the wreck site at Pachena Point, was completed. Time and cost eventually took its toll and the Lifesaving Trail was limited to the section from Bamfield to Carmanah Point. Beyond Carmanah the trail followed the original telegraph line. These developments did result in many lives being saved in subsequent years.

After the 1940's, with the development of more sophisticated navigation equipment eclipsing the technology of the past, trail maintenance was discontinued. Parks Canada undertook a major redevelopment in the 1970s to create one of the best known and most challenging hikes in North America, the West Coast Trail.

FURTHER WEST COAST TRAIL FACTS

* The West Coast Trail is part of Pacific Rim National Park Reserve. The park also encompasses Long Beach and the Broken Island Group.

* The trail is listed as being 75 km/47 mi long. This is somewhat misleading as it does not factor in the detours around mudholes, fallen timber, and ladders.

* Don't be fooled by distances offered on maps. Due to nature of the landscape of a temperate rainforest, it may take a whole hiking day to cover 8 km.

* Chez Monique's, near Carmanah Lighthouse, has been viewed by many as a welcomed presence on the trail. Monique and her Didadaht husband Peter, have been a fixture for many years, providing information, supplies, and cooked meals from their makeshift operation. Stop in and say hello.

* The last major shipwreck along its coast was the Russian freighter "Uzbekistan" in April, 1943.

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