Road Trip Date: April 25, 2026
This drive is about 7-8 hours depending on the number of stops you make. But, it is so worth it.
Trudie and I chose a warm and sunny day to do this trip. The last trip was taken in the fall last year and so the colors and the sun’s level was so different. This trip turned out perfect.
From Nanaimo south you turn off onto Hwy 18 at Cowichan Lake turnoff. This is a beautiful highway with plenty of turnoff’s to campgrounds and hiking.
Highway 18 turns off onto a logging road that takes you to Port Renfrew, and there is no service and no cell phone service for 58 km. The road is narrow with quite a few curves and it has many enticing reasons to pull over and take pictures.
The pictures of the river and the water rapids are taken along this 58 km logging road.
Because we spent so much time stopping along the West Coast Rd, we did not stop to take pictures in Port Renfrew, Sooke, which in hindsight I regret – as I said, this trip is a 7-8 hours without a lot of stopping. Perhaps Trudie and I will assign some of these specific locations as our focus this year. ☺️
We especially want to stop in some of the beaches along the West Coast Rd: Sombrio Beach, China Beach, and French Beach. Trudie just had knee-replacement surgery a few months ago and so hiking and hills are still a challenge for her.
The Juan de Fuca Strait was our main focus for this trip, because the last time we were here was in the fall of 2024, and the colors, light, and scenery were very different from this spring.
How To Find It
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