VICTORIA AND VANCOUVER ISLAND - British Columbia: Including the Alaska Highway - page 197

Transportation
Unless you plan on turning around and returning to the beginning of the trail on foot,
you'll want to make some transportation arrangements. Getting to and from either end of
the trail is made easier by West Coast Trail Express (250/477-8700 or 888/999-2288,
www.trailbus.com ) , which departs Victoria daily in the morning to both ends of the trail.
The fare between Victoria and Port Renfrew is $60 one-way, while between Victoria and
Pachena Bay it's $85. Pickups are made along the way, including from Nanaimo and Port
Alberni. Travel between the trailheads costs $95. (If you leave your vehicle at the Port Ren-
frew end of the trail and return by bus, you won't have to shuttle a vehicle out to remote
Bamfield.) Pachena Bay lies 11 kilometers from Bamfield, and taxis operate between the
two points. West Coast Trail Express also rents camping and hiking gear.
Information
The first step in planning to hike the West Coast Trail is to do some research at the Parks
Canada website ( www.pc.gc.ca ) . The invaluable information covers everything you need
to know, including an overview of what to expect, instructions on trail-user fees, a list of
equipment you should take, a list of relevant literature, tide tables, and advertisements for
companies offering trailhead transportation.
Seasonal trail offices are in Port Renfrew (Pachidah Rd., 250/647-5434) and Pachena
Bay (250/728-3234). The recommended topographic map West Coast Trail, Pacific Rim
National Park—Port Renfrew to Bamfield is available at most specialty map stores, as well
as at the trail offices at each end of the trail. The cost of a trail-use permit includes this map.
DUNCAN
Duncan, self-proclaimed “City of Totems,” lies at the junction of Highways 1 and 18, about
60 kilometers (37 miles) north of Victoria. The small city of 6,300 serves the surround-
ing farming and forestry communities of the Cowichan Valley. First Nations carvers, many
from the local Cowichan band, have created some 80 intricate and colorful totem poles here.
Look for the poles along the main highway near the information center, beside the railway
station in the old section of town, by City Hall, and inside local businesses.
Sights
Follow the signs off the main highway to the original city center for a quick wander around
the renovated Old Town. Start your totem-pole hunt here or just wander down the streets
opposite the railway station to appreciate some of the pleasing older architecture. Two dis-
tinctly different First Nations carvings stand side by side behind City Hall—a Pacific North-