Even as you break a sweat trekking along winding pathways and climbing steep flights of stairs, Vancouver Island hiking trails in Tofino and Ucluelet feel more like a meditative journey than an arduous workout.
Calming and healing, they offer some of the best hikes in BC. They’re treasures of nature, where you’ll feel the inescapable yearning to reconnect with both your inner self and the world. There’s no need to force it. It just happens.
You can start with one — or, better yet, both — of these trails:
Schooner Cove
Located in Tofino on the north end of the Pacific Rim National Park and north of Long Beach, this 2 km path takes hikers through a spectacular old-growth forest of moss-covered cedar and hemlock trees.
The purifying properties of the moist, cool air will leave you worshipping the rainforest because you’ll come to understand its profound significance to our ecosystem and our health. Rainforests are the “lungs of the earth”, responsible for producing the clean oxygen so vital to our well-being.
So, breathe — and breathe deeply.
Wooden boardwalks and long flights of stairs that both ascend and descend through valleys and across gentle streams eventually open onto an enchanting, secluded beach.
During low tide, you can take your chances by making your way to the rocky outcrop, but be warned: a sudden change in the tide can leave you stranded on the tiny island.
Wild Pacific Trail
For a less demanding but equally stunning outdoor adventure, don’t pass up the opportunity to explore the striking beauty of the Wild Pacific Trail. This system on Ucluelet’s rugged coastline is broken into three sections — the Lighthouse Loop, Big Beach, and Brown’s Beach to Ancient Cedars — with an ancient spruce and cedar forest, and panoramic views of the sea, Barkley Sound and the Broken Group Islands.
The 2.7 km Lighthouse Loop can be hiked with ease in an hour, but one hour will turn into two if you pause at the multiple viewpoints along the route. Each stop reveals its own dramatic sight: the surge channels, the still active Amphtrite Point Lighthouse or the ocean tides thrashing the rock formations below.
Just Take a Hike
Vancouver Island hiking promises people of all fitness levels an intimate and heightening experience with the Canadian west coast. Pair it with beachcombing — another essential activity for nature-loving visitors to Vancouver Island — and you’ll leave more rejuvenated than ever.
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Gorgeous
Many thanks. I assure you they are far more beautiful in person 😉
I would recommend the Shoreline Bog trail too. It’s an easy walk but offers scenery that you don’t see anywhere else there.
Wow, Megan… I just looked it up. How stunning! I could’ve easily spent another week (months, actually) exploring the other trails. Thank you for the tip – I’ll have to add it to my list when I return.
I’m not much of a hiker but this is so gorgeous I’d definitely consider going.
The Wild Pacific Trail is actually an easy hike – I think you’d be fine 🙂
Where are the padlocks or ‘love locks’ located…?
Hi Jake. I don’t remember where exactly, but I think it was close the beginning of the Lighthouse Loop.
It looks gorgeous! I love those trees!
Thanks for stopping by, Megan 🙂
These photos literally took my breath away! I have to visit this place!
Thanks for saying so, Cristina!
These look fabulous Helen, such wonderful scenery. I particularly like the idea of a wooden boardwalk trail. That means it is easy to do no matter how much it has rained before. (I don’t like muddy shoes.)
Ha. That makes two of us!
Absolutely majestic
Many thanks.
Your photos really capture the magic and natural beauty of the place. We’ve spent many happy hours hiking the rainforest trails in Pacific Rim National Park and walking the beaches. But our favorite is that Wild Pacific Trail in Ucluelet – the black lava rock coastline with the crashing surf reminds us of the Big Island of Hawaii.
It’s such a gem, isn’t it? Thanks for stopping by 🙂
Beautiful photos, Helen! 🙂
You are too kind, Trisha.
I went to Tofino with my mother, an artist, and it was such a special moody place with amazing trails like these. Your shots really capture it.
Aw, thanks for saying so, Carol. I bet your mother found a great deal of inspiration there!
While both trails look amazing, I love the look of the Schooner Cove. There is something magical about that thick forest, wooden boardwalks, and a secluded beach at the end of the trail. Love your photos!
Thanks, Frank! Btw, I’m definitely going to reach out to you when I head to Croatia!
Oh this looks beautiful! I haven been thinking about an alternative hike for the West Coast Trail as that would be a little too much for me, but this one sounds and looks just beautiful. Cannot wait to explore more of the west coast!
I can’t imagine anyone not loving it. Happy hiking, Annika!
We have done this hike a few times and it is so beautiful.
Many people tend to leave Canada to vacation….but they forget how much beauty is right in their backyard.
I thought the very same thing while I was there 🙂