Juan de Fuca Marine Trail

Wilderness hiking trail on Vancouver Island, Canada

Signage for Juan de Fuca trail near Sombrio Beach

Length

40 km (25 mi)^{[citation needed]}

Location

Canada

Use

Hiking

Elevation gain/loss

1,828 m (5,997 ft)

Difficulty

Medium

Route diagram

Juan de Fuca Marine Trail

				distance (km)
				0	China Beach
					Suspension Bridge
				2	Mystic Beach

				8.7	Tide cut-off

				9	Bear Beach

				20.6	Tide cut-off

				21	Chin Beach

				21.3	Tide cut-off

				24	Loss Creek Bridge
				27	East Sombrio Beach

				28	Tide cut-off

				29	Sombrio

				29.6	Tide cut-off

				30.2	Tide cut-off

				33	Little Kuitshe Creek
				37	Parkinson Creek
				40	Payzant Creek
				47	Botanical Beach

The Juan de Fuca Marine Trail is a rugged 47 kilometres (29 mi) wilderness hiking trail located within Juan de Fuca Provincial Park along the southwestern coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. The trail stretches from China Beach, 35 kilometres (22 mi) west of Sooke, to Botanical Beach, just outside Port Renfrew.^[1]

Panoramic views of the coastline, Juan de Fuca Strait and the Olympic Mountains can be seen from many points along this rainforest trail. Lucky are those who spot a pod of whales, but it is not uncommon to view sea lions, bald eagles, herons and other wildlife. It is a trail of moderate difficulty.

The trail can be hiked in part, as a day hike, or backpacked in its entirety in four to six days. Unlike the longer West Coast Trail (75 kilometres (47 mi)), the Juan de Fuca Trail does not require a reservation; however, there is a backcountry camping fee of $10 per person/per night.^[1] It is also suggested to plan ahead if travelling with a large group. Some campsites are quite small and so arriving early to guarantee a spot is highly recommended.

Main trailheads

China Beach
Sombrio Beach
Parkinson Creek
Botanical Beach

Each is car-accessible and has a parking lot.

Intermediate trailheads

Mystic Beach
Bear Beach
Magdalena Point
China Beach

Each is accessible by parking along Highway 14 and hiking down an unmarked side trail.

Establishment

The Juan de Fuca Marine Trail was created by Parks Canada, originally intended to be part of the Trans Canada Trail. The work was done by Island Green Forestry. Control was given over to BC Parks. In 2001 the B.C. government claimed the trail was built to honour the 1994 Commonwealth Games, but that is debatable.^[2]

Threat to the integrity of the trail

In January 2007, the provincial B.C. Liberal government removed 500 hectares (1,200 acres) of land from tree farm licences (TFLs) on the southwestern coast of Vancouver Island to allow Western Forest Products (WFP) to sell the land for residential development. Despite a subsequent report^[3] by the provincial auditor general condemning the decision as having been made "without sufficient regard for the public interest", the government stood by the move.^[4]

As a result of the TFL deletions, Vancouver-based businessman Ender Ilkay purchased 236 hectares (580 acres) of land from WFP and subsequently proposed a 257-cabin resort bordering 12 km of the Juan de Fuca Trail.^[5] The project faced broad opposition from citizens, community groups, environmentalists, and First Nations.^[6]

In September 2011, the Capital Regional District (CRD) voted to deny the developer's rezoning application, effectively blocking the project.^[7]

References

^ ^a ^b Juan de Fuca Provincial Park, BC Parks, retrieved 25 December 2022
^ Builder of the trail
^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 May 2013. Retrieved 20 August 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
^ "Auditor general's report slams sale of forestry lands". CBC News. 16 July 2008.
^ http://www2.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/news/comment/story.html?id=25a8e8a6-873b-41a4-9af3-39619ada03fc&p=1^{[permanent dead link]}
^ http://www2.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/news/capital_van_isl/story.html?id=ffd9450a-f918-46a2-86ba-aebaa48a5bbf^{[permanent dead link]}
^ http://www2.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/news/story.html?id=ac6b0da9-8808-46a0-bb9e-0b25d428c0a2^{[permanent dead link]}