"You start with impossible and go from there" - Oyster Jim

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Quotes from 63 pages of reviews:

“Ancient cedars along the shore, amazing sunsets. You really can't find anything like this anywhere else. One of a kind!"

August 2014, Colorado Springs

Parking

The main parking area is at Brown's Beach. You can also park at Tugwell Field on Forbes road, then walk or cycle the bike path along the highway to the trail just 10 minutes away. Please leave bikes at the trailhead, bikes damage the trail and are unsafe for other trail users. A rack is located at the southern highway trailhead.

Toilets at all main trailheads, but no water
A portable toilet is provided at the northern Ancient Cedars trailhead on the highway into Ucluelet.

Keep the trail wild!
Please pack out doggie bags and anything you carry in. There is no clean-up crew following you! Please also stay on the trail to keep vegetation intact. Side trails into the forest or on to rocks are often wildlife paths and should not be followed. The forest has many layers of trees growing on fallen logs so solid ground is a maze of cavities that will collapse under foot.

Ancient Cedars & Rocky Bluffs section

15 minute walk (1 km loop off coastal trail) plus Rocky Bluffs section

Built in 2013. Grade is very easy until a short hilly section on the bluffs. Allow extra time for stops.

The Ancient Cedars Loop showcases old-growth Sitka spruce, western hemlock, and giant red cedars (the oldest trees on Ucluelet peninsula). Two behemoths are estimated at over 800 years and one measures more than 12 metres around its base. The cedar’s natural hollowing makes it difficult to determine exact age. One fallen old specimen clearly illustrates countless rings – imagine the thunder as this giant fell. As you walk, consider what these surviving cedars have withstood – gale-force winds, lightning strikes and perhaps even the local tsunami 300 years ago. Click here to learn more about rainforests.

Carefully hand-hewn through old-growth rainforest, this trail showcases the natural beauty of this special environment, including untouched examples of gigantic nurse-logs, raised root systems, mosses, fungi, lichens and ferns. Photographers will especially appreciate unique opportunities to capture close-up images of rainforest delights.

Cedar, the tree of life

Cedars remain key to coastal life and once provided local Yuutu?it?ath First Nation with sturdy seafaring canoes for fishing and whale hunting. Trees were harvested only after years or even generations of careful study to ensure they would be strong enough to withstand the open ocean. Canoe makers were always taught from a really young age about trees, and before harvesting would perform a ceremony to acknowledge the tree’s gift. These life-giving cedars also provided building materials and medicines. Bark stripped from one side of the tree was woven into clothing, hats, and watertight baskets.

Help us protect these special trees, do not climb or damage tree bark. These iconic trees are shared by thousands of people.

Learn more about traditional uses of cedar.

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Rocky Bluffs

1.5 km one way (20-minute stroll one way from the highway)
Grade is easy until a short hilly section on the bluffs.

Don't miss the increasingly spectacular viewpoints across the Rocky Bluffs as you pass the protected “sea lion pool” behind a barrier reef. Watch the surf for seals and sea lions and the rocky headlands for an “eagle sentry point” at the 8 km marker viewpoint. This section feels very wild and is the furthest from Ucluelet.

Oyster Jim recommends it as “a fantastic place for storm watching!” Deep water pushes through the surge channel to scour these rocks. “That’s why we’re so high above the tideline.” STAY ON THE TRAIL, bare rocks are frequently pounded by the surf.

Lighthouse Loop Section | Artist Loop Section