FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)
Can I buy food on the Trail?
Unbelievably, there is a restaurant located on this wilderness Trail.
Almost everyone stops at Chez Monique’s (at km 44.5 on the Trail map) near the Carmanah lighthouse. (Restaurant review posted by WCT.ca)
We recommend that you avert your eyes, march right by & stay hungry for the dehydrated dinner you are carrying. That will leave more pancakes & cheese burgers for us! We wash them down with coffee, soft drinks, beer, or even Mike’s Hard Lemonade (“An Excellent Source of Vodka”).
Chez Monique's provides a food box service where you can drop-off (or exchange) food you no longer want to carry.
Beer & soft drinks (along with fresh crab or fish) are often available at Nitinat Narrows (km 32.3) This means that you may be able to purchase eatables at 2 different spots within about 13 kms!
Don’t count on the restaurants being open when you get there. Carry enough food to get you through.
Trivia — In 1999 another restaurant opened, Club 37 at km 37. It didn't survive a full season.
Parking at the Trailheads?
You can park at both trailheads.
We were told for years there had never been a break in at the Bamfield trailhead parking lot — but, no more. Seems that remote parking lot has been hit. Do not leave valuables in your vehicle there.
To inquire into secure parking & up-to-date recommendations & prices, ring:
- Port Renfrew (Gordon River) Information: phone 250 647-5434
- Bamfield (Pachena Bay) Information: phone 250 728-3234
In Port Renfrew we recommend:
- Stan & June Medd’s, (250) 647-5431
If you are staying in a Motel of B&B you may be able to make arrangements to store valuables there instead.
Are there toilets on the WCT?
At the trailhead Orientation, jot down the location of all of the fantastic solar-powered, odourless outhouses on the WCT. Just using one of these loos is an experience. (There are many stinky outhouses en route as well.)
We understand they cost about $C10,000 & sometimes disappear in winter storms. We were fortunate enough to meet the loo designer / builder in 2001.
Be aware that they get smellier over the years. Some were quite foul in 2004.
Solar-powered composting outhouse.
Accept that you will sometimes be defecating in the intertidal zone.
Where are the nearest showers?
The Gordon River trailhead (Port Renfrew) has a good coin-operated shower. There is another near the old Port Renfrew Hotel.
The Pachena Bay trailhead has no shower but you may be able to buy tokens to use the ones in the Pachena Bay campground. Unfortunately it is a long walk from the office to the campground showers & you may not be able to get tokens.
Shower at Gordon River trailhead.
