NORTH COAST TRAIL ITINERARY
9-DAY BACKPACKING TOUR
The North Coast Trail guided tour is the new crowning jewel coastal BC hike. Travelling through ancient, coastal, temperate rainforest and on sand and cobblestone beaches, enjoy this new, rugged addition to the glorious Cape Scott Provincial Park at the northwestern tip of Vancouver Island.
The North Coast hiking trail is a scenic Vancouver Island hike through a number of coastal ecosystems. Passing through large stands of indigenous tree species, this coastal hike winds through and around many pocket beaches adorned with sea stacks and caves.
Hiking Vancouver Island can take you to some important historical places. This north coast hiking trail, one of the best hikes in BC, is no exception, leading to a number of incredible historical and geographical features, on side trips to Nels Bight, Hansen Lagoon, and Guise Bay.
Just outside the park, past Guise Bay, is the Cape Scott Lightstation, one of the few remaining attended lighthouses in Canada. The history is fascinating, the views unbeatable, this is one of the best places to hike in Canada.
All-inclusive Tour
From pickup to return, we cover everything you need, except your personal items. We take you to and from the trip start, and feed you well along the way. We can’t guarantee weight loss on our tours.
Knowledgeable Guides
Our guides get out into our areas. They know the ins and outs of the trip and provide exceptional interpretation of flora, fauna and history.
Supportive Preparation
We give you an entire packet of information on how to prepare, what to bring, how to pack, and a plan for training so you can fully enjoy the trip. Our care for you starts before you even arrive.
Activity Level Moderate to Strenuous
Group Size Medium max 8 guests, 2 guides
Days 9
HIKING DAYS: 7
TRAVEL DAYS: 2
RATING: Strenuous
ITINERARY
This is our typical itinerary for this tour. Because we are travelling in wilderness, itineraries can change. There are many factors that can affect how a tour actually runs. We confirm pickup times by phone, email or SMS at least 12 hours before.
This trip begins in Nanaimo, where we will arrange your pickup to drive to the location where we begin the activity.
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Day 1:
Travel Day: Guides and clients meet in Nanaimo at one of our pickup points (point of origin). The journey up island to Port Hardy takes 5 hours. The first night will be spent in Port hardy, where guides will assist clients with packing, backpack adjustment, ensuring necessary items have not been forgotten.
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Day 2:
Shushartie to Skinner Creek Distance 8.7 km. The group will be transported by water taxi to Shushartie Bay, where they will don their packs and begin hiking. The trail climbs up a steep hillside in a wet cedar forest. The trail continues over boardwalk and muddy sections, ascending to 252m before a muddy plateau followed by a descent to the beach at skinner creek. The campsite in the forest here is our destination for the day. Boots off and wash your feet or swim in one of the best swimming locations along the west end of the trail.
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Day 3:
Skinner Creek to Cape Sutil Distance 7.3 km. The day begins either on the beach along the base of cliffs or inland skirting around the top of them. At high tide the inland trail must be taken. The route passes old trapper cabins before reaching the Nahwitti River. Here the river can be forged at low tide or further up the trail a cable car can be used to cross. Travel continues through forested region before descending stairs to Weser Point. The views of white sand beaches around the bight lure us on to the our campsite in one of these pocket beaches or in the forested site at Sutil Beach.
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Day 4:
Cape Sutil to Shuttleworth Bight Distance 7.8 km. The route continues round the very northern tip of Vancouver Island, initially along the beach then leading inland and across clifftops on a sidehill before breaking out onto the beach again. The views and scenery are stunning! The camp site at Shuttleworth Bight is reached just after crossing Irony Creek.
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Day 5:
Shuttleworth Bight to Laura Creek Distance 11.8 km. This days hike begins westward along the beach to the cable crossing at Strandby River. Some boggy forest hiking followed by pebble beach and some easily negotiated tidal obstacles. Much of the trail is along the various pocket beaches before reaching the campsite at Laura Creek, where the marine life in the tidal in vibrantly colouful.
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Day 6:
Laura Creek to Nissen Bight Distance 7.5 km. This is the last leg of the ‘Nahwitti’ trail and begins with an up hill climb over Nahwitti Cone. It joins the old pioneer road which climbs up through a boggy forest to a plateau. Eventually the trail descends and an elaborate staircase leads to the beach at Nissen Bight.
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Day 7:
Nissen Bight is a great place to take a well earned rest day, explore the magnificent beach and a one of the easy Cape Scott trails. *
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Day 8:
Nissen Bight Cape Scott Trailhead Distance 15.5 km. It is time to head back to civilization. The hike is along the established Cape Scott trail ending at the Cape Scott trailhead. It is the easiest section of the trip, however it is 15.4 km and takes 5 – 7 hr to hike. Here the group will be met by a shuttle bus to take us to Port Hardy. We will spend the night eithr at Eric Lake, about 3 km from the trailhead, or at San Joseph’s Bay, about one km past the trailhead junction.
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Day 9:
Travel Day: The North Coast Trail Shuttle picks us up late morning or early afternoon. The next leg is the drive back to Nanaimo, where everyone will say their ‘good byes’.
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Notes
*A rest day has been built into the trip to allow for the unexpected without having to rush clients after time loss on route. Nissen Bight is the obvious place to spend this extra night, however other situations may take precedence or other options decided upon.
| What’s Included | What’s Not Included |
| Transportation from and to the departure location (pick up and drop off) | Your transportation to the departure location (from your home) |
| All park fees and camping fees | National Park entry fees (may change as Parks alters their policies) |
| Professional guides | Hiking Boots (should be less than 5 years old) |
| All meals (except on travel days) | Some food (on travel days and special options) |
| Tent (shared) | Backpack (available for rent) |
| A substantial preparation guide | Sleeping bags or mats (available for rent) |
| Gear rental options | Gratuities are not included. Recognizing your guide for their hard work and care is always appreciated; $10-20/day per guide is recommended. |
Notes
*A rest day has been built into the trip to allow for the unexpected without having to rush clients after time loss on route. Nissen Bight is the obvious place to spend this extra night, however other situations may take precedence or other options decided upon.
GETTING THERE
If you are travelling into the Vancouver, Victoria, or Nanaimo area from afar, you should arrive at the departure location (in Nanaimo) for your trip the day/evening prior to the trip start date and plan to leave the day following trip return.
You can fly to Vancouver (airport code YVR) or Seattle (airport code SEA) then connect to Vancouver Island using ferry, bus, or air, or arrange flights directly to Vancouver Island.
Flying to Victoria (Airport code YYJ)
Flying to Nanaimo (Airport code YCD)
Nanaimo Airporter shuttle service.
Servicing all of Vancouver Island from airports to ferrys to cruise ship terminals. Tel: 1 250 758-2133
BC Ferries 1-888-BC FERRY (1-888-223-3779)
We will let you know the ferry to take for travelling to Vancouver Island, but if you want to check out times, you can go the the BC Ferries website at:
www.bcferries.com/schedules/
WHERE TO STAY
Naniamo Pick up & Hotels
Pick up: Departure Bay, Duke Point Ferry Terminal, or the following Accommodations:
Days Inn Harbour View Nanaimo
Address: 809 Island Hwy South, Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada, V9R 5K1
Phone (250) 754-8171
Website: www.nanaimohotel.com
Best Western Dorchester Hotel
Address: 70 Church, Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada, V9R 5H4
Phone: (250) 754-6835
Website: www.dorchesternanaimo.com
Painted Turtle Guesthouse
Address: 121 Bastion Street, Nanaimo, British Columbia CANADA, V9R 3A2
Toll Free: 1-866-309-4432
Website: https://www.hotelsone.com/nanaimo-hotels-ca/painted-turtle-guesthouse-hostel.html
What Our Guests Say
- From pre-trip planning (equipment and clothing suggestions, physical preparation, food, environmental consideration, Parks Canada requirements) to pick up/drop off to excellent food on the trip, the communication certainly fulfilled expectations. Our guides were wonderful – experienced, knowledgeable, patient and with a sense of humour, they made a week+ strenuous adventure safe while fun. We had a fantastic group to meet up and travel with and will consider going again on another tour with this company.
NZE
- We had a fabulous hike. Wow, the weather couldn’t have co-operated any better. It made for an amazingly beautiful hike. Both Tom and I were very impressed with the food that was provided on the trip. We did not come off the trail hungry as expected. Thanks for an amazing experience! So glad we were able to do it. We are sharing photos and recommending to friends who are interested.
ANDI
- Hi Gary…thanks again for a fabulous trip – and for endlessly helping me over rocks and stumps. Really enjoyed it…
JAN
- I just wanted to thank you for such a great trip. I had a fantastic time hiking and was so impressed with how well your company took care of us from start to finish. The meals were delicious and Kelsey and Phil were great.