How to Book the West Coast Trail: Everything You Need to Know
Everything you need to know to plan your West Coast Trail trip — permits, getting there, costs, orientation, and ferries.
Trip Overview
On the west coast of Vancouver Island is the iconic West Coast Trail. The trail is open from May 1 to September 30. Spanning 75 kilometers (about 47 miles), this is a fantastic trail for all ability levels. There are excellent beaches and beautiful views, as well as plenty of mud to hike through! This trail has a lot of infrastructure, is well signed with limited elevation, and could be a great option for beginner backpackers.
Logistics
Tides
Before reserving your trip make sure to check the tides. Some days have challenging tides — the tightest spot around Owen's Point has a 1.8 meter tide restriction, meaning the tide will need to be at 1.8 meters or lower to get around this point. There is an inland trail option if the tides don't work out, but there are some really pretty caves near Owen's Point so most people try to hike the beach.
Check the tides at the Government of Canada tide station — make sure it is set to the Tofino location and then just input your dates and look at what time the tide will be over or under the tide allowance.
The West Coast Trail App also makes it easy to check the tides for different dates and will tell you how long you'll have to get through the tide zones.
Getting a Permit
One of the trickiest parts of the West Coast Trail is getting a permit. The permits sell out very quickly and can be very hard to get for July and August. Permits usually go on sale at the end of January or beginning of February. Make sure to save the date and be online when they go on sale — many dates will be gone within seconds, so make sure to have multiple date options lined up. When booking a permit you have three starting options for the trail. The northern start is at Pachena Bay, the southern start is at Gordon River, and the mid-point start is Nitinaht Village. If you pick the mid-point you won't be able to hike the full trail. You can also do the hike as an out-and-back by selecting the same option for your start and end; additional fees for riding the ferries may apply.
Book permits online at Parks Canada
Once you're on the Parks Canada Reservations page, follow these steps:
- On the top row select Backcountry
- Select West Coast Trail from the next row
- Update your Arrival and Departure dates
- Update Group Size
- Hit Search
If you are searching the day the permits go on sale, go through the above steps up to 30 minutes before reservations open. You'll be taken to a screen with a countdown to opening. When the reservation opens you'll be randomly assigned a queue number. This will most likely be a scary high number, but most people have many individual web browsers open (not tabs) — some people do this by having multiple devices running. When someone gets let in and books, they close all their browsers and the number will drop pretty quickly.
All the permits for the year are released at the same time; there are no walk-up permits. Make sure to reserve the moment they go on sale as they book very quickly. Sometimes you can still get lucky and permits may become available later when people cancel.
Use the calendar feature to view available dates. It doesn't matter how long your trip is — you only need to find an available start date. The permit fee is also the same no matter how many days you decide to do the trip.
If a spot is open you can see it on either the map, list, or calendar view. Make sure to select the correct entry and exit point, then click Reserve.
After you click Reserve you'll see a confirmation screen — double check everything is correct and book!
Getting There
Getting to the West Coast Trail takes a little bit of planning. To get to Vancouver Island you can either fly into Victoria or take the ferry from Horseshoe Bay (north of Vancouver) or Tsawwassen (south of Vancouver). The Horseshoe Bay ferry will take you to Duke Point in Nanaimo; from there it is a little over 2 hours to get to Port Renfrew (the southern starting point) and around 3 hours to get to Pachena Bay (the northern starting point). The cheapest option is usually to book online and prepay. Ferries are usually a little cheaper in May and early June and go up during peak summer. Early morning ferries are typically cheaper as well.
From Tsawwassen the ferry drops you off at Swartz Bay (a little north of Victoria); from there it will take a little over 2 hours to get to Port Renfrew and around 3 hours and 45 minutes to get to Pachena Bay.
If you don't have a car, or only have one car, you may need to book a shuttle. The shuttle can take you to/from Victoria, Nanaimo, Sooke, Port Renfrew, Gordon River, Nitinaht Junction, Pachena Bay, or Bamfield. View all shuttle options, times, and prices at Trail Bus.
Trail Cost
This is definitely an expensive trail — let's break down about how much it will cost.
Permit fee: In 2026, to do the full trail (from Pachena to Gordon River or vice versa) the fee is $264.50 CAD, plus an $11.50 CAD per group reservation fee. At certain times of the year you will also be charged a national park entry fee (a family pass is $120.75 CAD, an adult annual pass is $60.50 CAD, or a daily pass is $12.25 CAD). Sometimes in the summer there is a Canada Strong Pass which gives everyone free entrance to all Canadian National Parks — in 2026 there was free entry from June 19 to September 7. Parking at the southern trailhead near Gordon River (where the shuttle picks you up) costs $20 CAD per day. Parking is free at the Pachena Bay trailhead.
Example cost breakdown for a group of two driving from Vancouver BC, hiking southbound (Pachena Bay to Gordon River), parking at Gordon River, taking the shuttle to Pachena Bay, and doing the trail in 7 days and 6 nights:
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| Permit for two people | $540.50 CAD |
| National Park Pass (family) | $120.75 CAD |
| Shuttle | $218.50 CAD ($190 + $9.50 GST + $19 fuel surcharge) |
| Parking (7 days) | $140.00 CAD |
| Round-trip ferry from Tsawwassen | $262.00 CAD (mid-June, midday sailing) |
| Total | $1,281.75 CAD (~$911.70 USD) for 2 people |
Many people also spend the night on the island before or after the hike, so make sure to factor that cost in as well.
Orientation
Now that you've gotten a permit and everything is booked you'll need to do a safety briefing. Before starting your trip you'll need to watch a Safety Primer video that will be sent to you a few days before your trip. You'll then need to complete an in-person safety orientation where they will give you your permit. These are held every day at 10am and 2pm at Gordon River and Pachena Bay. If you are starting at Nitinaht Village, the orientation is at 7am. You can do the orientation the day before or the day of your hike.
Ferries on the Trail
There are two ferries on the trail: one at Gordon River and one in the middle of the trail at Nitinaht Narrows. Your permit fee covers the cost of these ferries. You will need to show your permit to the boat operators. If you are doing the trail as an out-and-back you will be charged for Nitinaht Narrows twice; if you start and end at Gordon River you will be charged for that ferry twice. An out-and-back from Pachena Bay will have the Nitinaht Narrows fee charged twice.
If you start at the midway point of Nitinaht Village, you'll be charged $70 for the boat ride to Nitinaht Narrows. This boat leaves once a day at 8am and returns at 4:30pm.
The Nitinaht Narrows Ferry (different from the Nitinaht Village to Nitinaht Narrows ferry) runs as needed from 8:30am to 4:30pm. The Gordon River ferry crosses at 8:45am, 10:30am, 11:30am, 12:30pm, 1:30pm, 2:30pm, and 3:30pm.