B.C.’s Wild Pacific Trail, a magical, powerful edge-of-ocean hike
UCLUELET, B.C. — Oyster Jim says walking Vancouver Island’s Wild Pacific Trail is a journey along the edge of the open Pacific Ocean, with its majesty, power and beauty in full view.
Many agree, as the eight-kilometre nature trail near Ucluelet, B.C., about 300 kilometres northwest of Victoria, has been ranked the top outdoor attraction in the province by TripAdvisor and among the travel ranking site’s top 10 in Canada.
Waves as high as houses crash against the rocks at the iconic Amphitrite Point lighthouse, once toppled by a massive wave. Migrating grey whales are spotted from easy-access trail-viewing areas, and huge cedar trees, hundreds of years old, reach for the sky.
“For wildlife viewing and for just spectacular views, even when it’s blowing and it’s going, it’s special,” said Jim Martin, known locally as Oyster Jim and widely regarded as the person whose search for shoreline fishing holes spawned the trail’s creation.