The Juan de Fuca Marine Trail is a rugged wilderness hiking trail located within
Juan de Fuca Provincial Park
Juan de Fuca Provincial Park is a provincial park located on the west coast of Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. The park was established on April 4, 1996 by combining three former parks - China Beach, Loss Creek, and Botanical Beach ...
along the southwestern coast of
Vancouver Island
Vancouver Island is an island in the northeastern Pacific Ocean and part of the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of British Columbia. The island is in length, in width at its widest point, and in total area, while are o ...
. The trail stretches from China Beach, 35 km west of
Sooke
Sooke is a district municipality on the southern tip of Vancouver Island, Canada, by road from Victoria, the capital of British Columbia. Sooke, the westernmost of Greater Victoria's Western Communities, is to the north and west of the Sooke Ba ...
, to Botanical Beach, just outside
Port Renfrew
A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ham ...
.
[
Panoramic views of the coastline, ]Juan de Fuca Strait
The Strait of Juan de Fuca (officially named Juan de Fuca Strait in Canada) is a body of water about long that is the Salish Sea's outlet to the Pacific Ocean. The international boundary between Canada and the United States runs down the centre ...
and the Olympic Mountains
The Olympic Mountains are a mountain range on the Olympic Peninsula of the Pacific Northwest of the United States. The mountains, part of the Pacific Coast Ranges, are not especially high – Mount Olympus is the highest at ; however, the easter ...
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 stunning 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
The West Coast Trail, originally called the Dominion Lifesaving Trail, is a backpacking trail following the southwestern edge of Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. It was built in 1907 to facilitate the rescue of shipwrecked survivors ...
(), the Juan de Fuca Trail does not require a reservation; however, there is a backcountry camping fee of $10 per person/per night.
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
Parks Canada (PC; french: Parcs Canada),Parks Canada is the applied title under the Federal Identity Program; the legal title is Parks Canada Agency (). is the agency of the Government of Canada which manages the country's 48 National Parks, th ...
, originally intended to be part of the Trans Canada Trail
The Trans Canada Trail, officially named The Great Trail between September 2016 and June 2021, is a cross-Canada system of greenways, waterways, and roadways that stretches from the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean, Pacific to the A ...
. The work was done by Island Green Forestry. Control was given over to BC Parks
BC Parks is an agency of the British Columbia Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy that manages all of the, as of 2020, 1,035 provincial parks and other conservation and historical properties of various title designations within t ...
. In 2001 the B.C. government claimed the trail was built to honour the 1994 Commonwealth Games
The 1994 Commonwealth Games ( French: ''XVéme Jeux du Commonwealth'') were held in Victoria, British Columbia, from 18 to 28 August 1994. Ten types of sports were featured at the Victoria Games: athletics, aquatics, badminton, boxing, cycling, ...
, but that is debatable.
Threat to the integrity of the trail
In January 2007, the provincial B.C. Liberal government removed 500 hectares of land from tree farm licences (TFLs) on the southwestern coast of Vancouver Island to allow Western Forest Products
Western Forest Products Inc. is a Canadian lumber company based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
History
Following its initial acquisition of the assets of Doman in 2004, the Company undertook a series of restructuring activities includin ...
(WFP) to sell the land for residential development. Despite a subsequent report 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.
As a result of the TFL deletions, Vancouver-based businessman Ender Ilkay purchased of land from WFP and subsequently proposed a 257-cabin resort bordering 12 km of the Juan de Fuca Trail. The project faced broad opposition from citizens, community groups, environmentalists, and First Nations.
In September 2011, the Capital Regional District
The Capital Regional District (CRD) is a local government administrative district encompassing the southern tip of Vancouver Island and the southern Gulf Islands in the Canadian province of British Columbia. The CRD is one of several regional d ...
(CRD) voted to deny the developer's rezoning application, effectively blocking the project.[http://www2.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/news/story.html?id=ac6b0da9-8808-46a0-bb9e-0b25d428c0a2]
References
Further reading
*
External links
*
Juan de Fuca Marine Trail MapTidal Predictions for Port Renfrew (Fisheries and Oceans Canada)Juan de Fuca Trail
- key information like beach cut-offs and GPX files
{{Canadian Trails
Hiking trails in British Columbia
Juan de Fuca region