Victoria and Surroundings - Fabulous Western Canada: Capture the Excitement of the Great West! - page 60

3 The lush temperate rainforest along the West

Coast Trail. © Tourism Vancouver Island

boasts 600-year-old Douglas fi rs lining
hiking trails leading to Mount Finlayson
and past magnifi cent waterfalls. From
mid-October to early December, nature
lovers come here during the Salmon
Run to watch coho, chinook and chum
salmon make their fi nal voyage, spawn
and die in Goldstream River. The fi sh
are easy to see, as the water is crystal
clear.

Port Renfrew

Port Renfrew is one of two starting
points for the West Coast Trail .
This fi ve- to seven-day 75km trek is
geared towards experienced, intrepid
hikers prepared to face unstable weath-
er conditions and widely varied terrain;
in fact, it is considered one of the most
diffi cult hiking trails in North America.
This trail is part of the Pacifi c Rim
National Park Reserve, an incredible
green space divided into three areas:
Long Beach, the Broken Group Islands
and the West Coast Trail.

Further along after Port Renfrew,
Botanical Beach is a veritable
paradise for anyone interested in mar-
ine life. When the tide is out, little pools
of water containing fi sh, starfi sh and
various species of marine plant life are
left behind among the pebbles.

FROM VICTORIA
TO THE WEST COAST
TRAIL

Goldstream Provincial
Park

Located 16km west of Victoria,
Goldstream Provincial Park is one of
the major parks in the Victoria area. It