Earlier this week, the New York Times published an article titled ‘5 Spectacular Canadian Parks to Visit This Summer,’ which included one park on Vancouver Island.
Vancouver Island’s highlighted park was the Pacific Rim National Park Reserve.
When it comes to the Pacific Rim National Park Reserve, it’s known for its old-growth boreal rainforests, its proximity to the open Pacific Ocean, beaches, trails and protected islands.
“There’s an edge-of-the-world kind of feeling here,” Kim Gray of Toque & Canoe travel blog told the New York Times.
“It’s very peaceful.”
The park reserve covers around 125 kilometres of coastal Vancouver Island and is broken up into three chunks along the coast. There is the Long Beach portion near Tofino, the West Coast Trail portion near Bamfield and the Broken Group Islands portion of the reserve.
Popular activities in any of the portions of park involve beachcombing, surfing, exploring tide pools and hiking the West Coast Trail, for those lucky enough to get a reservation for the hike.
The West Coast Trail is one of Canada’s most popular trails, stretching around 75 kilometres and involving over 100 ladder systems to traverse steep inclines and crossing swift rivers.
The Broken Group Islands include more than 100 islands which are frequented by whales, sea lions and otters.
Visitors can book boat trips, kayaks and plan for overnight camping adventures which typically embark from Ucluelet.
The other parks chosen in this highlight on Canadian parks’ beauty were: Waterton Lakes National Park, in Alberta; Fundy National Park, in New Brunswick; Banff National Park, in Alberta; and Kluane National Park and Reserve, in Yukon.
