Cape Scott and the North Coast Trail: Hiking Vancouver Island's Wildest Coast

Part trail map, part field guide, part regional history, Cape Scott and the North Coast Trail is the first comprehensive guidebook about one of Vancouver Island's most iconic destinations. Each year, thousands of backpackers and nature lovers head to the northern limits of Vancouver Island, bound for the jewel of the region: Cape Scott Provincial Park and the recently completed North Coast Trail.
Cape Scott, 115 kilometres of wave- and weather-beaten coastline, encompasses every dramatic element of Pacific Northwest geography. Rocky headlands neighbour sandy beaches and protected coves; bogs house sensitive amphibians and plants; and inland, a dense network of towering conifers, ferns, salal and beds of moss define the rainforest. The North Coast Trail wends its way through this paradise, offering hikers a rugged trek to Cape Sutil, a place steeped in First Nations history, beautiful ocean views along the long sandy beach at Shuttleworth Bight and glimpses of one of the largest intact coastal wetlands in British Columbia, an upland bog housing sandhill cranes and a variety of endemic species.