Trip 222 - July 13 & August 31 2021 (Tuesday)Wild Pacific Trail HikeAncient Cedars Loop to Rocky Bluffs (Eastern end of the trail) Near Ucluelet BC Canada Page 3 of 3
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Location: Near the town
of Ucluelet, Western Vancouver Island. Liked: Fine ocean and coast vistas, lighthouse views, Broken Group Islands views, an easy loop trail with lots of shade, no bugs. Of Note: Tsunami hazard zone. Caution required for rock-hopping on the coastline. The trail is very popular.Vancouver Island Backroad Mapbook (9th edition) Trailhead Coordinates: Page 6 (Ucluelet) B2. Related Websites: Wild Pacific Trail - Official Website, Wiki - Ucluelet, Google Maps - Ucluelet. Wild Pacific Trail is quite easy, with only a few small hills, and features numerous fine views of the rugged coastline of Western Vancouver Island. This trail is located by BC Highway 4, near the town of Ucluelet. Highway 4 starts near the East coast of the Island, goes through Port Alberni, and then, at Pacific Rim Visitor Centre, makes a right turn towards Tofino. At that same intersection / T-junction, a left turn leads to Ucluelet (pronounced You-CLUE-Let) in 8 kilometers, where the Lighthouse Loop of Wild Pacific Trail is located. A longer trail (also called Wild Pacific Trail), which is not connected to the Lighthouse Loop, goes from Ancient Cedars Loop (5.5 km from Pacific Rim Visitor Centre) to Brown's Beach / Big Beach (Western end) and Rocky Bluffs (Eastern end). On July 13th, we started at Ancient Cedars Loop and hiked to Rocky Bluffs (eastern end of the trail) 1.2 km later. There is no parking or any further progress available at that end, so you need to double back. On August 31st, we returned to hike the remaining 2.8 km to the western end of this part of Wild Pacific Trail (to Brown's Beach / Big Beach). If you start at Big Beach or Brown's Beach parking lots, it's 4-5 km one way to Rocky Bluffs past Ancient Cedars Loop (you can bypass it, as there isn't much to see on that short trail, as it's a connector to the highway). Also on August 31st we also hiked the Lighthouse Loop of Wild Pacific Trail, located even further West than Brown's Beach / Big Beach. It's actually a stand-alone trail separated from the Rocky Bluffs - Brown's Beach/Big Beach Trail by several kilometers of Ucluelet town streets, but it's also called Wild Pacific Trail, so we included the Lighthouse Loop into Wild Pacific Trail trip report on Page 3. On July 13th, after hiking to Rocky Bluffs (eastern end) we planned on heading West from Ancient Cedars Loop towards Brown's Beach/Big Beach, and actually hiked for over a kilometer in that direction, but mist rolled in from the ocean, making the views rather unappealing. Considering the dark-coloured, gloomy rocks of the Vancouver Island coastline in this area, sunshine makes the views so much better. Do note that going West (towards Brown's Beach / Big Beach) from Ancient Cedars Loop is a but more challenging that going East (towards Rocky Bluffs), though not by much, and there are "Artists' Loops" (so called because there is an occasional small piece of art installed there) spurs through slightly more complicated parts of the trail, which lead to very fine views. Those with strollers or otherwise wishing to have an easier hike have an option to bypass the loops (and the views). To summarize: Page 1 of Wild Pacific Trail trip report covers Ancient Cedars Loop Trail to Rocky Bluffs (Eastern end of the trail). Page 2 - Ancient Cedars Loop Trail to Brown's Beach/Big Beach (Western end of the trail). Page 3 (this page) - Lighthouse Loop Trail even further West (it's technically a separate trail, but is also called Wild Pacific Trail, so we included it in this trip report).
64. To get to Lighthouse Loop of Wild Pacific Trail, either walk on Ucluelet streets for about 2 km after reaching Big Beach, or drive further West on Tofino-Ucluelet Road, which will become Peninsula Road closer to Ucluelet. At 10.0 km past the Pacific Rim Visitor Centre (4.5 km past the Ancient Cedar Loops trailhead parking) make a right turn onto Coast Guard Road.
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ihikebc.com Trip 222 - Wild Pacific Trail Hike (Lighthouse Loop) Page 3 of 3