Details
Transportation by Personal Vehicle
Having your own vehicle is the best & most convenient way to get to the West Coast Trail. You can travel when & where you want. In the summer accommodation can be hard to find in BC — if you have a tent & your own vehicle, you’re set. This is the most cost effective way to travel too.
Fuel is inexpensive in Canada, though not as cheap as in the US.
In British Columbia, the greatest road hazard is animals crossing the highway at night. Drive during daylight if you can.
BC driving distance chart.
Happy hikers en route to the WCT.
Driving to Port Renfrew
Port Renfrew is 107 km (67 miles) west of Victoria — about 2 hours as the tourist drives.
If you are driving from Victoria:
- find Douglas Street north, which turns into the #1 Island Highway
- exit at the Sooke turnoff, which connects to Highway 14
It also takes about 2 hours to get to Port Renfrew from the ferry terminal at Swartz Bay:
- drive south on the Patricia Bay 17 Highway
- exit at McKenzie Avenue
- follow McKenzie Avenue to the #1 Island Highway which you follow west for three kms.
- exit at the Sooke turnoff onto Highway 14 all the way to Port Renfrew
Highway 14 takes you to Sooke, past the Juan de Fuca Marine Trail, and on to Port Renfrew.
Fill your gas tank in Victoria or Sooke. There's no service station in Port Renfrew.
It’s a beautiful drive along narrow, winding Highway 14. If you are lucky you’ll get a magical vista over the fog to the Olympic peninsula in Washington State.
Highway 14 to Port Renfrew
The roadway is often wet & foggy. Visibility may be a problem. Wildlife on the highway is a risk. Drive safely.
Note the many turnoffs to the Juan de Fuca Marine Trail. Mourn the depressing clear-cut sections.
Just before you enter downtown Port Renfrew, watch for the small sign on the right side marking the right turn to the “West Coast Trail Information Centre” — the turn is at Deering Road.
You'll find the Trailhead easily after crossing San Juan River and then the Gordon River. Follow the signs. It’s about a 5 minute drive off Highway 14.
If you miss the turnoff at Deering Road (as many do), take a driving tour of Port Renfrew before backtracking.
Parking in Port Renfrew
Stan & June Medd’s house, (250) 647-5431, is the most convenient place to store your car. It will be kept safe for $2 / day. Medd’s is next door the old Hotel. They will arrange to take you and your packs to the Gordon River boatlaunch too. (The trailhead boatlaunch is not at the Port Renfrew dock, by the way.)
Medd's have a secure fenced compound — or they used to — before the gigantic oil company who owns it stopped letting them use it at a reasonable cost. Fortunately the Attack Rabbits are still standing guard.
Ask at the Trailhead office about other parking options. Try Peter Hovey's Trailhead Resort 250 647-5468.
Driving to Port Alberni
If you are heading to the Bamfield Trailhead, we recommend you drive to Port Alberni, BC, then take the ferry to Bamfield. (You could drive the extra 2 hours from Port Alberni to Bamfield on a rough gravel road — but it's a shame to miss the wonderful ferry trip.)
It's easy driving on good highways — about 3 hours to Port Alberni from Victoria. Check the map. Most tourists stop at marvellous Cathedral Grove park en route to Port Alberni.
Driving to Bamfield
The Bamfield Chamber of Commerce posted a great map of how to drive to Bamfield:
If you have a rugged vehicle, you can rumbled over logging roads Port Alberni to Bamfield in less than 2 hours (85 km). The ferry is a better option.
If you have a rugged vehicle, you can rumble over logging roads Lake Cowichan to Bamfield in about 3 hours (135 km).
Another rough logging road is the track Port Renfrew to Bamfield in less than 2 hours. That includes time to fix a flat tire. You'd be crazy to make that drive — though many hikers take this route on the hiker's shuttle.
On the bright side, you've got a good chance to see bear on this route. Astonishingly, only one of the drivers running this remote route regularly has seen a cougar — but he's seen two. They call him Lucky.
Rent-a-car
You could rent-a-car, though it would be expensive to leave it parked while you hike the WCT. The biggest companies are Avis, Budget, Hertz, and Tilden. Start with Budget if you want to shop around.
Toll-Free Phone Numbers:
Ask for the total cost (including insurance, tax, extra fees), not just the deceptively low daily rate.
You usually need a credit card to rent. There may be a minimum age requirement for the driver.
Theft from Vehicles
In the first 6 months of ‘98 Sooke RCMP (police) reported 88 thefts from vehicles in the area of the Juan de Fuca Marine Trail. In ‘99, for that same period, 108 thefts had been reported. Most were from out-of-Province and rental cars. If you need to leave a vehicle at a trailhead you need to find somewhere safe to park.
