Juan de Fuca Provincial Park - Port Renfrew & Sooke, BC, Canada
Park Size: 1,528 hectares
Trail Length: 47 kilometres
Difficulty: Difficult
Park Amenities:
Juan de Fuca Provincial Park is located near the community of Port Renfrew and north of the community of Sooke on the west coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. The rainforest and waterfront park is 1,528 hectares of forested hiking trails, rocky cliffs and sandy beaches.
The Juan de Fuca Provincial Park consists of 4 distinct sections - China Beach, the Juan de Fuca Marine Hiking Trail, Sombrio Beach and Botanical Beach. All are worthy of a visit.
The Juan de Fuca Provincial Park is a backpacking and wilderness camping destination. However other activities enjoyed include swimming, beachcombing, picnicking, sightseeing, and wildlife watching.
China Beach and Sombrio Beach are day use areas located in the park. There are picnic areas and pit toilets. China Beach is the southern trailhead to the trail and is accessible by a vehicle. Their is a campground on site.
Botanical Beach is a marine ecosystem. The beach is mostly covered in flat sandstone rocks not sand. At low tide the ocean pulls back revealing a field of tidal pools filled with miniature marine communities.
Nearby is Botany Bay. It is another cove in the region with marine views. Both, Botanical Beach and Botany Bay are connected by a loop hiking trail.
The Juan de Fuca Marine Trail in the park is a 47 kilometre backpacking trail. There are four trailheads accessing the route - China Beach (south trailhead), Sombrio Beach, Parkinson Creek and Botanical Beach (north Trailhead). It can take from 3 - 5 days to enjoy.
The route explores kilometres of thick forests climbing up and over rock cliffs and then back down into sandy beaches. There are climbing ladders and sometimes rope to aid backpackers along the route and some suspension bridges like the Loss Creek Suspension Bridge and the Minute Creek Suspension Bridge.
Camping is permitted at China Beach, Sombrio Beach and Parkinson Creek access points to the trail. Beach camping when backpacking along the trail are at Mystic Beach, Bear Beach, China Beach and Sombrio Beach. Forest camping is at Little Kuitsche Creek and Payzant Creek.
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