North Coast Trail

58.0 km point to point.

Terrain: Very rough

Elevations (in meters)
Start:	0	End:	29
Minimum:	0	Maximum:
Net Gain:		Cumulative Gain:

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Trailheads

Transportation is required at both ends.

Shushartie Bay Trailhead: Shushartie Bay is only accessible by water taxi.

Facilities available at the trailhead include:

Campsite

Cape Scott Trailhead: (567 km from Saanich Hall, 67 km on logging roads, 4wd recommended). Drive north from Victoria to Port Hardy (500 km) on highways #1 & BC#19. Just before arriving at Port Hardy take a logging road to your left and drive 67 km to the parking lot.

Note: It is 63 km on ACTIVE logging roads to the trailhead. Extreme caution should be exercised on these roads at all times.
Bus access:While there is no public bus to the trailhead there is the North Coast Trail Shuttle. In 2011 the one way cost was $75 per person.

Facilities available at the trailhead include:

Picnic tables
Shelter is available
Toilets and/or outhouses

Note that rental car insurance does not cover you on the road to Cape Scott, you would be liable for any damages to the vehicle. BCAA does not cover towing from Cape Scott, this can be extremely expensive (over $500) should you need to be towed.

Uses

Backpack

Strenuous.

5 days pt 2 pt.

Description

This trail runs along the northern coast of Vancouver Island and links up with the Cape Scott trail.

In addition to the BC Parks backcountry permits factor in the cost of the water taxi from Port Hardy to Shushartie Bay ($90/person in 2009) and the possible shuttle bus from the Cape Scott trailhead back to Port Hardy ($70/person in 2009). To avoid extra costs on the shuttle a single person could be designated to go pick up the car (this would leave the others out for 2-3 hours).

Due to the lack of water at Shushartie Bay the recommended route for this trail east to west (I.e., Shushartie Bay to Nissen Bight). The exit route is via the Cape Scott trail adding another 17km to the hike (this figure is included in the overall stats for the trail).

Features

This trail features animals (Black bear, Cougar, Deer, Elk, Sea otter, Wolf), beaches, forests, lakes, marine mammals (Sea lion, Seals, Whales), meadows and views.

Hazards

Boardwalk (can be very slippery in wet conditions)
some streams or rivers are crossed on cable cars (which may require more than 1 person to operate; keep fingers and hands away from pulleys) over Stranby and Nahwitti Rivers (it may be possible to ford Nahwitti River depending on water and current levels)
ladders which must be climbed to get around some obstacles
fixed ropes are in place in spots along the trail to help with ascending/descending
Very remote

Campsites along the trail

Shushartie Bay	0.0 km		Bear cache/wire Pit toilet	There is no water available at this campsite.
Skinner Creek	9.1 km	0 meters	Bear cache/wire Pit toilet	Water is available.
Nahwitti River	12.0 km	0 meters	Bear cache/wire Pit toilet	Water is available.
Cape Sutil	17.7 km		Bear cache/wire Pit toilet	Water is available.
Irony Creek	24.3 km	0 meters	Bear cache/wire Tent pads Pit toilet	Water is available.
	It is possible to camp at some of the pocket beaches between Irony Creek and Laura Creek.
Laura Creek	36.0 km	0 meters	Bear cache/wire Tent pads Pit toilet	Water is available.
Nissen Bight	41.3 km	0 meters	Bear cache/wire Pit toilet	Water is available.

For additional information see:

Coastal Hikes by Philip Stone.
WildCoast magazine website.

Service-providers

Trailhead Transportation
Cape Scott Water Taxi	(250) 949-6541	(800) 246-0093
Catala Charters	(250) 902-1031	(800) 515-5511

Other trails in Cape Scott Provincial Park

Trail-conditions

View trail condition reports for this trail.