Long Beach Section of the
Pacific Rim National Park

Long Beach: The most easily accessed vacationing destination beach of the Pacific Rim National Park is the sandy coastlines of Long Beach located between the villages of Tofino, BC and Ucluelet, BC. In the late spring, summer and early fall the beach area is a popular surfing, sun tanning, photography, relaxing, rainforest hiking and beach walk destination. In the mild winter months the beach is a scenic wonderland of storms and crashing waves. Long Beach stretches for over 16 kilometres and is anchored by Schooner Cove on the north end of Long Beach and Florencia Bay on the south end.

Long Beach is considered the most comprehensive sand and beach setting on Vancouver Island, BC by many locals in the area. The different portions of the Long Beach section are referred to by the locals as Wickaninnish Beach, Combers Beach, Florencia Bay and Long Beach. Sea Lion Rock off of Combers Beach is a bird nesting site and Sea Lion viewing hot spot. Some of the hiking and walking trails located in the Long Beach section of the Pacific Rim National Park are the Willowbrae, Gold Mine, South Beach, Nuu-chah-nulth, Rainforest, Spruce Fringe, and Schooner Beach Trails.

Combers Beach: Sandy beach with a creek influence. The beach is ideal for beach combing, photography and bird watching. Accessed by a car with a small parking lot onsite.

Schooner Cove: Schooner Cove Beach is accessed by a short 1 kilometre boardwalk trail through lush rainforests with moss covered trees, ferns and a rambling stream. The Schooner Cove Trail does involve some stair climbing up and down before finishing up with some steps taking you out onto the vast beach. Schooner Cove is located at the north end of Long Beach. From Schooner Cove you can walk the beach connecting to Long Beach. Schooner Cove Beach is an ideal starting point for exploring the beach on a casual romantic stroll.

Florencia Bay: A 6 kilometre trail takes you to a pebbled, gravel beach with large boulders punished by surf and wind. The Florencia Bay Trail offers a short hike through rainforests opening up to Florencia Bay and the spanning views of the marine environment. Please watch for changing tides in this area as they can sneak up on you. When the tides are out, Florencia Bay Beach is ideal for exploring sand tidepools with mini marine eco-systems to explore that are left behind rom the last high tide. Florencia Bay Trailhead is located at the Ucluelet, BC end of the Pacific Rim National Park.

Hiking and Walking Trails

Willowbrae Trail/Half Moon Bay: A forested 2.8 kilometre return trail that traces the steps of the pioneers of way back, as this beach access route was a piece of the connecting route used between Tofino and Ucluelet, BC. before the road was built in 1942. Prior to the road being built, it took two days by foot to travel from Tofino and Ucluelet, BC. The trailhead is 2 kilometres south of the Tofino-Ucluelet-Port Alberni junction of Highway # 4. The trail is mostly rolling paths through cedar-hemlock forests, easy walking until the boardwalk splits either going to Half Moon Bay or Florencia Bay following a long mixture of ramps and stairs as you decline to the beaches.

Gold Mine Trail: The trail follows the path of the early miners in the early 1900's who panned the shores of the Lost Shoe Creek Trail looking for gold. A 3 kilometre regenerated forested trail with old growth fallen trees covering the forests floor. The trail involves no stair climbing. In some seasons the beach access may be limited due to tides and stream water levels.

South Beach Trail: A short 1.5 kilometre return hike, mostly a well maintained trail, starting behind the Wickaninnish Centre. The South Beach Trail leads you through forests and ferns to an open sandy beach. This beach is well known for the powerful waves that crash over the rocks and the crackle of pebbles that roll down the sandy beaches in time with the ocean waves. There are some steep parts to the trail, so be careful.

Nuu-chah-nulth Trail: An interpretive 2.5 one-way trail that depicts some of the culture and history of the Nuu-chah-nulth First Nation's people. The trail is a journey connecting Long Beach and Florencia Bay exploring the Quisitis Headlands. A necessary route because there is no beach access past Quisitis Point. The trail is, sometimes, damp and always a lush forested hike that can have sections of mud. Nuu-chah-nulth trailhead is located behind the Wickininnish Centre.

Rainforest Trail: A two-sectioned loop boardwalk trail divided by the highway. Each loop trail on each side of the road is 1 kilometre in length. The Rainforest Trail is an interpretive trail with the beach-side/parking lot loop trail highlighting forest structure and the wildlife. Across the road, the second half of the Rainforest Trail is more about the life cycles of the forests. The Rainforest Trails are, both, forest covered eco-systems with many redcedar and hemlock trees with lush forest floors covered in ferns, moss, fallen trees and mushrooms.

Spruce Fringe Trail: The trail is a great display of what the winds and pounding surfs can do to distort the growth of the shoreline trees. The Spruce Fringe Trail is a short 1.5 kilometre loop hike among sitka spruce trees. Depending on the tides beach access is available at many points on the trail. Access trailhead at Combers Beach parking lot.