Introduction
I didn’t have to plan my first West Coast Trail itinerary, and the second one was only really to put together the food for myself and my 14 year-old son. My third, I was guiding and I planned it like a moon mission. I had huge map section blowups pinned to my living-room wall, covered in sticky notes about campsites and tide schedules. I had notes on a map from the previous two, but this was important. I would be responsible for a group. One morning, my partner ambled in, took one look at my color-coded madness, and said, “Yep, you’ll be alright!” (She is also a guide and had already guided the West Coast Trail numerous times.) We both cracked up, but truth be told, organizing this journey can feel that intense—especially if, like me, you’re determined to see every lighthouse, waterfall, and scenic lookout along the way.
Yet once I actually set foot on the trail for this third time, I realized how important that planning was. Each day brought a fresh mix of excitement and challenges—from climbing slick ladders in a cold drizzle to pausing on a sunny stretch of beach for an impromptu nap. In this article, I’ll walk you through how to craft a flexible day-by-day itinerary that suits your pace, keeps stress in check, and still leaves room for those breathtaking detours you’ll want to take on a whim. Because, let’s be honest, no itinerary should ever be so rigid that you can’t follow your curiosity down the beach when the tide is right.
(By the way, if you ever feel swamped piecing all these details together, Coastal Bliss Adventures offers guidance and even full-blown guided treks, so don’t hesitate to lean on their expertise.)
This is the eighth article in our How To Hike The West Coast Trail series. You can access the seventh article in the series at West Coast Trail Elevation.
Understanding the Basics
The West Coast Trail typically spans about 75 kilometers along Vancouver Island’s southwestern coast. Depending on your starting point—Bamfield in the north or Gordon River in the south—you’ll encounter varying terrains, from sandy beaches and rocky outcroppings to dense, muddy rainforests. Most people complete the route in around five to seven days. Some push through in fewer, while others stretch it to eight or nine days to soak up every inch of the scenery.
No matter your timeline, your itinerary should respect three main factors: distance, tide schedules, and trail conditions. The daily mileage isn’t huge on paper, but the difficulty is deceptive. A rocky beach where you slip on every other stone can slow your progress to a crawl, and that’s before you factor in those infamous ladder climbs that make your legs feel like jelly. Keeping your plan realistic—especially if you’re not a seasoned backpacker—can protect you from burnout and keep morale high.
Starting, at either end, is hard. Your body is not used to this kind and amount of activity. On the north end, you can travel farther in a day, but you are still wiped at the end. On the south end, the distances you can travel are shorter because of the more complicated terrain, but at the end of the day, you are wiped. Whichever end you start at, expect to be completely spend the first three days. After the third day, most people have their “hiking legs” and the days become less exhausting.
A Balanced Day-to-Day Flow
One of the biggest mistakes I see folks make is front-loading their trip with massive mileage, hoping to breeze through easy sections quickly. The West Coast Trail has this sneaky way of humbling you, though. Maybe you start with an ambitious 15-kilometer day, only to find a critical part of the beach route blocked by high tide, forcing a reroute along a muddy forest path. Suddenly, you’re behind schedule and exhausted, which can set a stressful tone for the rest of the hike. And the fatigue builds up. The longer you go, the more accident prone you become because you can’t be hyper-vigilant all that time-it is too taxing.
It’s often smarter to aim for moderate distances each day—somewhere between 8 and 12 kilometers on the north end—so you can handle unexpected obstacles without panicking—and 6 to 8 on the south end. If you find yourself cruising on a particular day, you can always tack on a bit more distance, depending on the next campsites, or linger longer at a gorgeous lookout. Conversely, if the trail fights back with puddles, storms, or a nasty blister, you won’t be racing the clock to reach your campsite before dark.
Below is a loose day-by-day breakdown you might use if you’re planning around 6 or 7 days total. Adjust as needed for your pace, the weather, and your group’s preferences:
- Day 1 (Pacheena Bay to Michigan Creek, ~12 km): Start fresh, moving through relatively gentle terrain. Camp near the creek and enjoy the sense of accomplishment that comes with finally setting foot on the trail. You will pass muddy sections and be astounded and tell those you pass how incredibly muddy it is. They will look at you funny because they know it can’t be like the mud they have passed (and it is not). Really, this section is an easy warm up.
- Day 2 (Michigan Creek to Tsusiat Falls, ~13 km): Expect a few muddy sections after going into the forest at Tsocowis, but the trail is still wide and easy until km 17, where the life-saving road was abandoned when WW1 started. There is more boardwalk and mud on the section from km 17 to Klanawa. Keep an eye on tide times if you plan to walk along the shore, but tides have to be very high for these sections not to be passable. Although I prefer to stay at Klanawa and lunch at Tsusiat Falls, this works going north, but not well going south.
- Day 3 (Tsusiat Falls to Cribs Creek, ~15 km): The trail south of Tsusiat is not good, so planning your hike to be at a low enough tide to take the beach and get through “Hole-in-the-wall” at Tsusiat Point is ideal. Even if you can’t get through the sea arch, there is a detour to get over and onto the beach on the other side. This is a great stop for photos and to search for whales. Expect to take at least an extra hour to Nitinaht Narrows if you take the forest trail.
After Tsusiat Point and a long gravelly beach, you go back into the forest through the tall, reedy beach grass at km 29. From there you are only a few hundred meters from the Tsuqannah Guardian’s Cabin and historical village site, still about 2 km from the narrows.
This is a long day, no matter how you tackle it, but travelling at low tides is essential to make your campsite. You have to make it to Nitinaht Narrows by 5:00 pm to catch the ferry across. Ideally, you want to be there by about noon to get fresh crab, salmon or halibut for lunch! The Narrows is often a fun spot to pause. Make sure you talk to Carl and Shelley Edgar, or their family members, that run the ferry and the Crab Shack.
Once you leave, the trail is still fairly easy all the way to km 37, then starts to get a bit mucky. If you can take the beach and shelf route, you get a lot more variety. Remember, the Narrows is at km 32 and you still have to get to km 40, if you want a truly wilderness camp (no facilities), or to km 42 to get to Cribs Creek. This is a long day. - Day 4 (Cribs Creek to Walbran ~11 km): This stretch is quite easy. Although there is a short section of forest trail, less than 1 km, skirting around Carmanah Point, where the lighthouse is, the rest is beach and shelf all the way to Walbran. Take this seemingly short hike (although it is 11 km, it is relatively fast and easy) and stay at Walbran to rest up before the real slog begins.
- Day 5 (Walbran to Cullite or Camper Bay, ~5-9 km): This section is shorter, but complex. The trail from Walbran is in the forest and is some of the most rugged trail you will encounter. You eventually get to the upland bog, with short trees and lots of boardwalk. Then, a fantastic new suspension bride to cross Logan Creek. This is a fun stop.
Continue south through upland bog/boardwalk to Cullite Creek and the massive ladder structures on both sides. There is a camp at the beach downstream from the cable car, but Camper Bay is a better camp. It feels like you have hiked for a day and you are still a little more than 4 kms from Camper Bay, on more rugged, muddy, mush. Although the boardwalk sections in there are new and greatly improved, expect it to still be fairly slow and mucky. Reward yourself when you get to Camper. You earned it. - Day 6 (Cullite or Camper Bay to Thrasher Cove, ~8-12 km): The ladders continue all the way to the end, so don’t expect to be free from them until you are at the very end, and down the last one at the beach where you will be picked up by the Gordon River ferry run by Butch.
You have some choice here at Camper Bay. You can travel to km 65 or 66 and take the beach access to the shelf and Owen Point, continuing along the bouldery sections until Trasher Cove, or continue on the forest route, crossing many log bridges, until you get to the junction to Trasher Cove. I suggest you still camp at Thrasher Cove, even though you have to retrace a kilometer, to save the environment at Blowdown Creek. People do camp there, but there is no human waste facility, and a freshwater stream that should not be contaminated. - Day 7 (Thrasher Cove to Gordon River, ~6 km): The last 6 km from Thrasher Cove to the trailhead at km 75 can be a tough finish. You reach the highest point on the trail in this section and go down and up multiple times to cross ravines. This is the 1 to 1.5 km per hour section-all the way from Thrasher Cove to the trailhead. Remember, Butch makes his last pick up between 3:00 and 3:30 pm. Don’t leave at 1:00 pm thinking you can cover the last 6 km in a couple of hours. You can’t.
Again, treat this as a framework, not a rigid schedule. Some hikers complete the route in five days; others need eight or nine. If you find an enchanting viewpoint and want to linger for an extra hour, do it. The trail is about embracing the moment as much as it’s about covering ground. But this should give you some idea of the complications and details to consider when you are planning your route.
Dealing with Tides and Timing
Tide charts are your best friend on this hike. If you’re like me, you’ll find it oddly satisfying to sync your movements with the rhythm of the ocean, carefully planning each beach crossing. Sometimes, that means adjusting your itinerary on the fly—maybe you leave camp an hour earlier to catch a lower tide, or you delay setting out in the morning so you’re not scaling slippery boulders with water swirling at your ankles.
Those tide-induced schedule changes are one reason a flexible plan matters. If a morning tide is too high, you might end up waiting it out, which can push your arrival time at the next site into late afternoon. That’s not inherently a problem if you’ve built in some leeway. But if your itinerary is jam-packed with 15-kilometer days back-to-back, those delays can send you into panic mode. Also, the actual tide heights vary with the atmospheric pressure. You can expect the actual tide heights to be slightly lower if there is really high pressure, and vice-versa. So, the base weather also impacts other areas of concern.
Adapting to Weather and Real-Life Mishaps
Weather on the West Coast Trail can be unpredictable. You might have a glorious day of sunshine, followed by a sudden storm that drenches your gear and turns the boardwalks into slippery planks of doom. I still recall one trip where the group’s morale plummeted on a day of unrelenting rain, only to skyrocket the next morning when the clouds parted and we enjoyed a shimmering coastline under bright sun. Mother Nature has a sense of humor out here.
Injuries are another curveball. Even something as small as persistent blisters can slow your group’s pace significantly. And, yeah, I’ve had my share of foot drama, let me tell you. Always build in buffer time for these possibilities, whether that means scheduling a shorter day mid-hike for rest or simply accepting that your arrival time to camp might be well past your original guess.
Camping Choices and Group Dynamics
When you plan your itinerary, also consider the campsites along your route. Some are more popular due to better water sources, safer fires, or jaw-dropping views. Arriving early can help you snag a prime spot, although you’ll find that WCT hikers are generally good about sharing. If you’re traveling with a group, coordinate your paces. Faster hikers might want to explore a bit near the campsite while waiting for slower companions rather than pressuring them to keep up.
Another reason to keep daily distances moderate is that you don’t want to roll into camp so late that you can’t gather firewood, set up your tent in daylight, or properly scope out hazards like rising tides or dead branches overhead. A relaxed arrival time also leaves mental space for simple joys: cooking a hearty dinner, swapping stories with fellow hikers, and gazing up at the stars if the weather decides to behave.
(If you’d like more insights into which campsites might best suit your group’s dynamic, I highly recommend talking to the folks at Coastal Bliss Adventures. They have loads of firsthand knowledge and can pinpoint the pros and cons of each potential overnight spot.)
Conclusion
Designing a West Coast Trail itinerary is a bit like assembling a puzzle—you’ve got to fit together daily mileage, tide schedules, campsite preferences, and the wild card of coastal weather. But don’t let the planning phase intimidate you. Embrace it as part of the adventure itself, a chance to dream about the epic beaches and forest boardwalks you’ll soon traverse. Keep your plan flexible, be realistic about your pace, and remember that the best itineraries leave room for those spontaneous moments of wonder or unexpected challenges.
Once you’re actually out there—mud on your boots, salt in the air, and your pack feeling heavier by the hour—you’ll appreciate having a general structure that guides your progress. You’ll also feel the freedom to deviate when you spot a hidden waterfall or wake up to a sunrise so beautiful you can’t help but linger. After all, the WCT is about more than just reaching the end; it’s about how you spend your days in between, discovering everything this wild coastline has to offer.
If you need help finalizing the puzzle pieces, or if you’re craving a guided trek that handles the nitty-gritty details for you, don’t hesitate to reach out to Coastal Bliss Adventures. They’ve made a science of crafting itineraries that strike a balance between safety, challenge, and flat-out awe. Meanwhile, I hope you find a rhythm that works for your own pace and style. Once you’ve survived the mud and the ladders, you’ll have a story that’s entirely your own—and an itinerary you can share with the next batch of eager WCT adventurers.