Best hikes, treks, tramps in the world.
After a year closed, our #1 hike in the world is reopening to hikers June 4, 2021.
Reservations open April 30th. However … only Canadians will be eligible and no standby spaces will be available for walk-on hikers.
Click PLAY or watch a 1-minute preview on YouTube.
To learn more, check our WCT information page.
West Coast Trail is our top hike in the world.
Click PLAY or watch a 1-minute preview on YouTube.
Challenging in many ways.
So much VARIETY in pristine Canadian coastal wilderness.
Mystic dawns and mind-blowing sunsets. Hidden pocket coves and weird coastal geology.
You’ll never forget the West Coast Trail.
Read more on our WCT information page.
Nile Creek Trail is at least 10km (6mi) out and back near Qualicum on Vancouver Island.
AllTrails does not recommend it November through March as it’s very wet and muddy during winter.
Slippery too. Many rough boardwalks and log bridges.
On the other hand, water is high. The waterfalls and cascades even more impressive than in summer.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube. Starting from Charlton Drive, Qualicum Beach.
related – trip report of the second half – Get out and Play – Nile Creek
Trip report by BestHike editor Rick McCharles.
A surprisingly rugged and interesting 5km day hike connects the town of Parksville with Top Bridge.
It’s official name is the Top Bridge Regional Trail.
In good weather, the bridge is a popular swimming spot.
Click PLAY or watch a December hike on YouTube.
If you have time, I’d strongly recommend continuing past the bridge on to the Englishman River Trail.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
Rathtrevor Beach near Nanaimo is the most popular Provincial Park on Vancouver Island.
I walk there most mornings.
But on winter solstice, December 21, 2020, that rare thing happened — It snowed.
This is temperate rain forest. Snow on the coast is mostly liquid. 😀
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
Qualicum Beach has a population of about 10,000.
It’s a charming retirement community — median age of 65.9 in 2016 — in one of Canada’s best winter climates.
Temperate rain forest is ideal for hiking, cycling or running year round. One highlight of Qualicum are the 400 year old Douglas Fir in their Heritage Forest.
Click PLAY or watch a December run on YouTube.
Qualicum is situated at the foot of Mount Arrowsmith, along the Strait of Georgia on Vancouver Island‘s northeastern coast.
Trip report by BestHike editor Rick McCharles.
AllTrails calls this adventure the Englishman River Trailway.
But you don’t need follow the AllTrails 10.5km out and back route.
It’s a network of mountain biking / walking trails on the west side of the Englishman River. You can’t really get lost so long as you parallel the water.
I spend a lot of time here as I have family in Parksville.
This is temperate rain forest. It can be wet. It can be muddy.
But hiking is accessible year-round. In fact, this video was taken early December.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
Most people park at the Top Bridge trailhead (green dot) close to highway 19 at Parksville. Head inland along the river for as far as they wish. Then backtrack.
I started on the far left of the map below at Middlegate Road trailhead. Walked to Top Bridge Park close to the highway. About 5km one way plus many side trips.
I often, as well, head the other direction, under the highway towards Parksville on the 5km Top Bridge Regional Trail.
In good weather, the bridge near the parking areas is a popular swimming spot.
Our #1 hike in the world — West Coast Trail — was closed all of 2020 due to COVID. Hopefully it will reopen in 2021.
Right next door is the Juan de Fuca Marine Trail.
It’s one of the great alternatives to the WCT. Logistics are much easier. And it’s less expensive.
Vancouver Island experts MB Guiding have a Juan de Fuca Marine Trail Guide online.
Check that for planning. And get a copy of the best hiking guidebook – Coastal Hikes.
A confusing network of wetland trails is owned by the Fairwinds Community of Nanoose Bay near Nanaimo.
Happily, they are open to the general public. No fishing. No swimming.
Easiest way to get there is from Island Highway 19, turning at the Petro Canada gas station east onto Northwest Bay Road.
I went early December.
Click PLAY or watch my trail run on YouTube.
Click PLAY or watch some drone footage on YouTube.
Details – Vancouver Island View – Enos Lake Trail
Little Qualicum Falls Provincial Park, established 1940 to protect the old growth forest, offers a terrific 1 hour hike if you are driving between Nanaimo and Port Alberni.
There are plenty of other nearby attractions including Cathedral Grove.
Swimming is possible in good weather. But know that people have drowned here.
Outdoor Vancouver – Little Qualicum Falls Loop
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
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