West Coast Trail

The West Coast Trail, originally called the Dominion Lifesaving Trail, is a 75 km (47 mi) backpacking trail following the southwestern edge of Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. It was built in 1907 to facilitate the rescue of shipwrecked survivors along the coast, part of the treacherous Graveyard of the Pacific. It is now part of the Pacific Rim National Park and is often rated by hiking guides as one of the world's top hiking trails.

The West Coast Trail is open from May 1 until September 30. It is accessible to hikers outside this period but Parks Canada does not guarantee the accessibility of services (such as search and rescue) in the offseason.

The West Coast Trail passes through the traditional territory of the Pacheedaht, Ditidaht, Huu-ay-aht, and Nuu-chah-nulth peoples, who have inhabited the area for more than 4000 years. Native trails, used for trade and travel, existed in the area prior to European settlement.

European use of the trail area was originally to facilitate the construction and maintenance of a telegraph line between Victoria and Cape Beale. Because of the high number of shipwrecks along this stretch of coast in the late 1800s (see Graveyard of the Pacific), the Pachena Point Lighthouse and the Dominion Lifesaving Trail were constructed.

The reefs and breakers off the west coast of Vancouver Island had long posed a serious danger to navigation, and at the start of the 20th-century lifesaving infrastructure on the sparsely populated island was still primitive despite the heavy traffic serving the Pacific coast between San Francisco and Alaska. One source cites almost five hundred wrecks around Vancouver Island alone. Although some plans were already underway to improve the infrastructure, the public outcry which followed the wreck of the SS Valencia in January 1906 spurred the Canadian government to undertake a comprehensive plan for improvements. The resulting trail was dubbed the Dominion Lifesaving Trail, sometimes misidentified by modern sources as The West Coast Lifesaving Trail.

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