Trip Summary

It’s Victoria Day weekend, and if you know me, you know I’m using the long weekend to its full potential. A few old friends (and a few new friends) were taking the ferry over to the island on Friday evening for our 37km thru-hike of the Juan de Fuca Trail! If we had an extra day, we for sure would’ve done the full 47km, but it would’ve been tough to fit it in 3 days and still get to the ferry on time on Monday. Don’t worry- I went back a few weeks later and finished the trail (future blog post)! Check out my All Trails activity here.

Trip Breakdown

Friday:
Arrive at Sombrio Beach 10:30pm
Set-up camp and sleep
Saturday:
Drop car off at China Beach, drive over to Parkinson Beach 8am
Start hiking from Parkinson Beach
11:30am lunch about 6.5km down the trail on some cliffs
Arrive at Sombrio (8km) around 2pm (seal sighting!)
Arrive at Chin Beach (17km) around 6:30 pm
Set-up camp in the highest spot we can find
Cook dinner, hang our food (full bear cache)
1:30am move the tent to avoid high tide
Sunday:
Hit the trail around 7:30am
Arrive at Beach Beach around 1pm (27km)
Set-up camp and eat lunch
Start campfire 2pm
Rest, dry our gear, and eat for the rest of the day
Monday:
Hit the trail by 6:30am
Mystic Beach by 9am (35km)
Waterfall!
Arrive at China Beach parking lot 10:15am (37.2km and 1335m of elevation)

Trip Details

A foggy drive

On Friday evening, around 8 pm, I set off for Sombrio Beach where we would spend the first night before starting the trail. As I got close to Jordan River, the fog rolled in and soon I was driving below the speed limit with my fog lights on, in the dark. Thankfully I didn’t see any deer, but I was very grateful when I made it to the parking lot and turned off my car. We quietly set up our tents in the same spot I had camped at the week before and got some sleep before the big adventure.

Parkinson Creek to Chin Beach

We started our hike at the Parkinson Creek Trailhead. We shuffled the two cars around so we’d have one at the end-point of our hike, China Beach, and naturally this involved fitting six people in a 5-passenger car. On Saturday, we hiked 16.7km (according to my All Trails) to Chin Beach. We were originally going to stop at Sombrio for the night, but everyone was feeling good so we kept on trekking. It was a mostly cloudy day, with some sunny breaks. We crossed suspension bridges, navigated mossy broken boardwalks, saw a molting seal,  and rescued a water bottle from a cliff. 

Watch out for the tide!

Chin Beach was FULL of campers when we arrived and we had trouble finding a spot for our three tents safely away from the incoming tide. We tried our best and tied up our food on a tree since the bear cache was full. Around 1 am, the tide was getting a little close for comfort and we had to relocate our tents to a more rocky (but safer) area. P.S. even if the tide doesn’t get your tent, your gear will most likely get wet or at least damp on the Juan de Fuca Trail. 10/10 would recommend a dry bag. 

Chin to Bear

On Sunday, we hiked 10.6km to Bear Beach, bringing our total to 27.3km. There were a lot of ups and downs on this part of the trail, but the views were amazing and the forest looked like a mystical rain forest. Occasionally, the trail narrowed and we’d get showered on either side by wet branches, which was refreshing but also not great for drying gear. 

Since we had a shorter day, we got to the campsites much before the crowds. We found an awesome campsite, complete with a rustic wooden table, log barstools, and a fire pit! From 2 pm onwards, we had a lovely fire to dry off our clothes, hang up our gear, and roast some marshmallows. It was so peaceful. 

The final day (and a magical waterfall)

On the final day of our thru-hike, we only had 9km to go. This section of the trail had stairs, ladders, waterfalls, and bridges. We arrived at Mystic Beach around 9:30 am, only 2.5km from the end of our hike. The flat beach walking was a nice change from the stairs of the forest. My parking lot blues were settling in at this point; I didn’t want the trail to end! But my dry comfy van was calling my name, and we sailed through the last few kilometres.

Before I knew it, we were taking selfies with the zero-kilometre marker sign. In total, I did 37.17km and 1335m of elevation gain (I wasn’t lying when I said it was a lot of up and down). This was my first thru-hike (albeit a short one) and I learned a lot. For example, put your tent safely behind the high-tide line and bring camp shoes! I love the Juan de Fuca Provincial Park and I am so grateful for the long weekend I spent on the trail.

Key Points

• Coastal hiking means your gear, pack, and clothes will most likely get wet! I wish I had brought a dry bag.
• Long weekends are BUSY. Get to the campsite early.
• Know the high tide line, and avoid having to wake up in the middle of the night to move your tent.