British Columbia Hikes NOT Requiring Reservations

British Columbia is a fantastic hiking destination. BUT campgrounds and some of the best hiking areas require difficult-to-aquire permits — most famously, the West Coast Trail.

Happily, Taryn Eyton, author of Backpacking in Southwestern British Columbia, details many great hikes that DO NOT require permits:

No permits required for the Sunshine Coast Trail

Vancouver Island

Juan de Fuca Trail in Juan de Fuca Marine Provincial Park near Port Renfrew (requires backcountry permits)
Wild Side Trail on Flores Island near Tofino (requires a water taxi to reach the trailhead)
Forbidden Plateau Core, Bedwell Lakes, Elk River Trail, and Arnica Lake in Strathcona Provincial Park (All require backcountry permits except Arnica Lake.)
Nootka Trail on Nootka Island near Gold River (requires a water taxi to reach the trailhead)
North Coast Trail, Cape Scott Trail, and San Josef Bay in Cape Scott Provincial Park near Port Hardy (requires backcountry permits, North Coast Trail requires a water taxi to reach the trailhead)
Raft Cove in Raft Cove Provincial Park near Port Hardy (requires backcountry permits)
Carmanah Valley in Carmanah-Walbran Provincial Park (requires backcountry permits)

Interior and Eastern B.C.

Trophy Meadows in Wells Gray Provincial Park near Clearwater (requires backcountry permits)
Cathedral Lakes Provincial Park near Keremeos (requires backcountry permits)
Okanagan High Rim Trail near Vernon and Kelowna
Spectrum Lake in Monashee Provincial Park near Cherryville (requires backcountry permits)
Gwillim Lakes in Valhalla Provincial Park near Slocan
Kaslo Lake in Kokanee Glacier Provincial Park near Nelson (requires backcountry permits)
Earl Gray Pass in Purcell Wilderness Conservancy Provincial Park near Kaslo
South Chilcotin Mountains Provincial Park near Lillooet

Northern B.C.

Hunlen Falls in Tweedsmuir Provincial Park near Bella Coola (requires backcountry permits)
Monkman Memorial Trail in Monkman Provincial Park near Tumbler Ridge
Wokkpash Valley and McDonald Creek in Stone Mountain Provincial Park near Fort Nelson
Mount Edziza in Mount Edziza Provincial Park near Dease Lake

Backcountry permits are not reservations. And they don’t sell out.

Taryn has more advice for hikers in this post: