The beautiful west coast of the Canadian British Columbia Province is home to Pacific Rim National Park. It was founded in 1970. The area of the area is a total of 511 square kilometers, with the park extending over a length of 130 kilometers. In 2001 the park became the Pacific Rim National Park Converted to reserve. Today almost a million people visit the beautiful reserve annually.
Flora and fauna of the Pacific Rim National Park
Visually, the park consists of two parts. These are separated by a water surface. On both parts there are mostly Sitka spruces. The observation of the gray whales is very impressive. These can be seen off the coast in March and October. The whales are on their journey to their summer and winter quarters. The bays provide habitat for the large killer whales, also known as orcas.
Most visitors, however, visit Long Beach. This is a very spacious beach. This region lies between the Clayoquot Sounds and the Tofino and Uclelet. This kilometer-long sandy beach is the absolute crowd puller in the park area. Because the special thing is not only the sandy beach, but also the wooded knolls in between and the hinterland that begins immediately behind the coast.
Hiking in the Pacific Rim National Park
When upgrading hiking trails Particular care was taken to ensure that these were integrated gently and not too conspicuously into the landscape. In addition, explanations and signs on the flora and fauna occurring at the respective point were set up at the side of the path. These inform visitors and hikers about many interesting details about the region.
The rainforest is also popular. This occurs in a region of moderate latitudes, which is rather untypical for a rainforest. That makes it particularly attractive for the guests of the park.
Hundreds of small islands are known as the Broken-Group-Islands Region and are located in Barkley Sound. Effingham, Turret, Turtle, Dudd, Jacques, Nettle and Gibraltar Island are the largest islands. The group can be reached by boat from Sechart and Toquart Bay.
Only the most skilled and experienced hikers take the West Coast Trail route. It is considered to be one of the toughest hiking routes in Canada. The 75 km long route runs along the southwest coast of Vancouver Island. It is open between May 1st and September 30th.
The route was originally laid out in 1907 to help shipwrecked people. These should quickly find their way back to civilization via the paths. Work on the path was finished three years later.
Until 1950 it was also used for its original purpose, but after the technology of shipping and seafaring advanced, it lost its importance. It wasn’t until 20 years later that it was renamed the trail it is today and given its new purpose.
Today the path leads along the rainforest, steep coastal areas and past rocky and swampy regions. The path is really not for beginners, because even well-trained hikers need up to a week to cover the route.
The number of hikers was limited to 52 per day. The reason for this is that with this limitation you want to protect nature from the negative effects of hiking.
The Wickaninnish Center serves as an information center for hikers and day-trippers. Because the park had to be constantly maintained, it eventually became one of the largest employers in the entire region.
