Hiking Vancouver Island Beyond Victoria: Trails from Cowichan to Cape Scott

Almost every "best hikes on Vancouver Island" list you'll find is really a list of hikes near Victoria. That's understandable — most visitors land there — but it means the other 400 kilometres of the island get about two sentences. The alpine meadows above Courtenay, the sea stacks at the far northern tip, the old-growth on the west coast: none of it is within day-trip range of the capital, and all of it is worth the drive.

This guide covers the island from the Cowichan Valley north. If you're staying in Victoria, our hiking near Victoria guide is the better starting point. If you're driving up-island — or already live here and have run out of local loops — start below.

Cowichan Valley

Mount Tzouhalem, Duncan

The most-hiked summit in the Cowichan Valley, and deservedly so: roughly 6.5 km return with about 260 m of gain, done comfortably in two to two and a half hours. The payoff is a rocky bluff below a white cross — installed on the hillside in 1976 — looking out over Duncan, the Cowichan Valley, and Cowichan Bay.

One real warning: the mountain is laced with intersecting mountain-bike and hiking trails, and the signage does not keep up. People get turned around here regularly. Download an offline map before you leave the parking area on Kingsview or Salish Road, and don't rely on following the most-worn path.

Best in spring, when the bluffs fill with camas and shooting stars, but it's a good year-round option because it's low elevation and stays snow-free.

Cowichan River Provincial Park

Not a summit hike — a river walk. The Cowichan River Footpath runs roughly 20 km from Glenora to Skutz Falls along a river designated as both a BC Heritage River and a Canadian Heritage River. End to end it's about six and a half hours of easy-to-moderate walking, but you can join it at several points and take an afternoon instead of a day.

The restored 66 Mile and Holt Creek trestles are the highlights — old railway crossings sitting high above the river. Swimming is popular at the Stoltz Pool day-use area and below Skutz Falls, though water levels and currents here shift fast and the river deserves respect. See the Cowichan River Provincial Park listing for access points.

Nanaimo

Mount Benson

Nanaimo's local grind. From the Witchcraft Lake trailhead on Benson View Road, it's roughly 7 km return with about 700 m of elevation gain — a steep, root-and-rock climb that earns you a summit view over the Strait of Georgia to the mainland Coast Mountains. Allow three to five hours return and treat it as a real hike, not a stroll: the footing is loose in places and the weather at the top is not the weather in the parking lot.

The first stretch is a flat boardwalk across the marshy edge of Witchcraft Lake, which is a slightly cruel introduction to what follows.

Ammonite Falls, Benson Creek Falls Regional Park

The best short waterfall hike on the mid-island. From the Weigles Road parking lot it's about 1.5 km each way; from Creekside Place, about 2.5 km. Most of it is easy, well-maintained trail through forest.

The last section is where it gets interesting. Reaching the base of the falls means a steep descent into the canyon — historically a rope-assisted scramble, now supplemented by a viewing platform and stair system built in 2022. People do get hurt here, usually in winter when the descent is slick. Boots, not sandals.

Winter and spring are the best seasons; by late summer the falls can thin out considerably. See the Benson Creek Falls Regional Park listing for location details.

Comox Valley and Strathcona

This is the island's alpine, and it's the single strongest reason to drive north.

Paradise Meadows, Forbidden Plateau

The easiest genuine alpine experience on Vancouver Island. The main loop from the Paradise Meadows trailhead — at the Mount Washington nordic area parking lot, about 25 km from Courtenay — is around 4.2 km with roughly 60 m of gain, on wide boardwalk and hard-packed gravel built to an average grade of about 5%. It was designed for accessible use, and it holds up: strollers and mobility devices manage it in dry conditions.

You are walking at roughly 1,100 m through subalpine meadows, tarns, and stunted forest. In July and August the meadows are full of lupine, paintbrush, heather, and monkey-flower. In late September the ground cover turns red and gold and the crowds thin out.

The loop is also the gateway to longer routes — Battleship Lake, Lake Helen Mackenzie, Kwai Lake — so you can start easy and extend as far as your legs allow. Snow lingers here well into June and returns early; it is not a shoulder-season trail unless you're prepared for it.

Elk River Trail to Landslide Lake

The classic Strathcona day hike, and a long one: about 22 km return with roughly 600 m of gain, following the Elk River valley up to Landslide Lake at the 11 km mark. Fit hikers do it in a day; many split it with a night at the Butterwort Flats or Landslide Lake campsites.

What you're walking toward is the east face of Mount Colonel Foster, one of the most dramatic rock walls in the province, with Elkhorn Mountain and Rambler Peak in view along the way. The trailhead is on Highway 28 between Campbell River and Gold River.

Mount Albert Edward

For strong hikers only. The standard route from Paradise Meadows runs about 16 km one way — 32 km return — and while very fit parties do it as a single day, it is normally done as a one- or two-night trip. BC Parks has added waymarking posts on the ridge to help with the descent, which is where people historically got into trouble in poor visibility.

At 2,093 m it's the sixth-highest summit on Vancouver Island and one of the most accessible of the island's 2,000-metre peaks, and the ridge walk above the meadows is extraordinary. Check conditions with BC Parks before you commit; snow can persist on the approach into July.

Port Alberni and the West Coast

Wild Pacific Trail, Ucluelet

Eight kilometres of coastal trail, maintained by the District of Ucluelet, split into sections you can take on independently. The Lighthouse Loop is 2.6 km around the Amphitrite Point lighthouse — 45 minutes to an hour, with bench lookouts over Barkley Sound and a straight view into open Pacific. The Big Beach to Rocky Bluffs section runs about 5 km one way, with the 1 km Ancient Cedars loop branching off through old-growth; that loop was rebuilt in 2025 as a Yuułuʔiłʔatḥ interpretive route.

It is the rare trail that is genuinely better in bad weather. Storm season runs roughly November through February, and the bluff lookouts are built for exactly that. Stay behind the railings — the surge here is not survivable.

Stamp River Provincial Park

Northwest of Port Alberni off Beaver Creek Road, with walking trails to falls, rapids, and — from late August into December — one of the island's best salmon-viewing spots at the fish ladders. If you're combining a walk with wildlife, this is the trail to pick in autumn. Note that spawning salmon draw black bears; see the Stamp River Provincial Park listing and read the bear notes below.

North Island

San Josef Bay, Cape Scott Provincial Park

The most rewarding easy hike on Vancouver Island, and the hardest to get to. The trail itself is a 2.5 km walk on wide gravel — about 45 minutes each way, manageable with kids — that ends at a wide west-coast beach with sea stacks standing offshore.

Getting there is the work. The trailhead sits about 64 km west of Port Hardy on active logging roads. Allow at least two hours' driving. The road is gravel, potholed, dusty, and shared with logging trucks; it is not a road for an RV, a campervan, or most rental agreements. You don't need four-wheel drive in dry conditions, but you do need a vehicle you're willing to rattle and a full tank before you leave town.

Time it with low tide if you can — the second cove and the sea stacks are reached by walking around a headland that the tide covers. Our northern Vancouver Island guide covers the rest of the region.

Practical notes

Weather is regional, not island-wide. Victoria's forecast tells you nothing about Strathcona. A clear day in Courtenay can be whiteout on the plateau. Check the specific forecast for the elevation you're heading to.

Cell service disappears fast. North of Campbell River, along Highway 28, and on the Cape Scott road, assume you have none. Download offline maps and tell someone your plan.

Black bears and cougars. Both live across the island. Make noise, travel in groups, keep dogs leashed, and carry bear spray you know how to use. Autumn near spawning rivers — Stamp, Puntledge, Quinsam — is when bear encounters are most likely, because that's where the food is.

Snow season is longer than you'd think. Anything above about 1,000 m, which means most of Strathcona, can hold snow from October through June. "Summer hike" on the plateau means July to September.

Logging roads are working roads. Loaded trucks have right of way and won't expect you. Drive with headlights on, keep right, and pull over when you meet one.