Sunshine Coast Trail
The Sunshine Coast Trail is a 180 km (112 mi) wilderness hiking trail in the Sunshine Coast region of British Columbia, Canada. The trail traverses the qathet Regional District from Sarah Point on the Desolation Sound in the north to the BC Ferries terminal at Saltery Bay on Jervis Inlet in the south. The trail goes within close proximity of the communities of Powell River, Lang Bay, Lund, and Teeshohsum, through public, private and Tla'amin Nation treaty lands. It connects provincial parks such as Malaspina Provincial Park and Inland Lake Provincial Park, as well as many recreation sites and regional parks.
| Sunshine Coast Trail | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Length | 180 km (112 mi) |
| Location | Sunshine Coast (British Columbia) |
| Established | 2000 |
| Trailheads | Multiple access points
Sarah Point (north) 49.7842°N 124.1747°W |
| Use | Hiking Snowshoeing |
| Highest point | Mount Troubridge[1], 1,304 m (4,278 ft) |
| Website | https://sunshinecoasttrail.com/ |
The Sunshine Coast Trail is notable for being the longest hut-to-hut hiking trail in Canada.[2] Campgrounds are also available alongside the huts, and there are number access points to the trail, providing multiple options for shorter trips. It traverses a wide range of environments such as temperate rainforests, mountains, coastlines, lakes, and rivers.[3]
History
In 1992, outdoor enthusiasts formed the non-profit Powell River Parks and Wilderness Society, now called the qathet Parks and Wilderness Society (qPAWS), with the idea of creating a hiking corridor to protect and access the increasingly vanishing old-growth forests in the Upper Sunshine Coast region.[4] The Sunshine Coast Trail was completed in 2000 and outdoor groups began building wilderness huts along the route in 2009. The trail has 16 public huts as of 2021, two huts are managed by BC Parks and require a small user fee while the remaining huts are free and maintained by qPAWS and other outdoor groups.[3]
Sections
A list of trail sections from north to south as featured in The Sunshine Coast Trail Guidebook:[4]
| # | Section Name | Note | KM |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Land's End Trail (Sarah Point) | Sarah Point Hut & Trailhead | 0 |
| Sarah Point Campsite | 0.6 | ||
| Feather Cove Campsite | 2.8 | ||
| Bliss Portage Hut | 8.2 | ||
| Wednesday Lake Campsite | 12 | ||
| 2 | Gwendoline Hills Trail | 12.1 | |
| Manzanita Hut | 16 | ||
| 3 | Thunder Ridge Trail | 21.3 | |
| Fern Gully Creek Campsite | 22.6 | ||
| 4 | Toquenatch Trail | 25.2 | |
| Plummer Creek Campsite | 25.8 | ||
| 5 | Marathon Trail | Homestead Campsite | 28.9 |
| Rieveley Pond Hut | 33.5 | ||
| 6 | Appleton Canyon Trail | Appleton Creek Campsite | 35.6 |
| 7 | Tla'amin (Sliammon) Lakes Trail | 37.7 | |
| Kokanee Campsite | 40 | ||
| Shangri-La Shelter & Campsite | 43.1 | ||
| 8 | Scout Mountain Trail | 45.6 | |
| 9 | Mowat Bay Trail | 50.6 | |
| 10 | Tony's Trail | 52.8 | |
| Tony's Point Campsite | 55.4 | ||
| 11 | Lost Lake Trail | 58.3 | |
| 12 | Inland Lake Trail | 62.8 | |
| Inland Lake West Hut | 64 | ||
| 13 | Confederation Lake Trail | Anthony Island Hut | 66.8 |
| 14 | Fiddlehead Trail | Confederation Lake Hut | 74.1 |
| 15 | West Tinhat Mountain | Fiddlehead Landing Hut | 81.4 |
| 16 | Tinhat Mountain Trail | Tinhat Cabin | 89.3 |
| 17 | Lewis Lake Trail | 93 | |
| East Lewis Hobbit Campsite | 93.8 | ||
| 19 | March Lake Trail | 98 | |
| March Lake Campsite | 107.2 | ||
| Elk Lake Hut | 109.3 | ||
| 20 | Elk Lake Loop | 110.3 | |
| 20 | Walt Hill Trail | 114.3 | |
| Coyote Lake Campsite | 116 | ||
| Walt Hill Hut | 123.4 | ||
| 21 | Suicide Pass Trail | 126 | |
| Suicide Pass Campsite | 127 | ||
| 22 | Smokey's Blue Ridge Trail | 128.1 | |
| Deer Creek emergency camp | 130.6 | ||
| 23 | Eagle River Trail | 132.3 | |
| 24 | Lois Lakeshore Trail | 136.9 | |
| Br.41 Campground | 139.7 | ||
| Lois Point Campsite | 141.5 | ||
| 25 | Elephant Lake Trail | 144.5 | |
| Golden Stanley Hut | 144.9 | ||
| Br.42 - Jessie's Carved Chair Campsite | 147.2 | ||
| 26 | West Mount Troubridge Trail | 154.1 | |
| Mount Troubridge Hut | 157.6 | ||
| Troubridge Emergency Shelter | 159 | ||
| 27 | East Mount Troubridge Trail | 159.3 | |
| View Bluffs Campsite | 160 | ||
| 28 | Rainy Day Lake Trail | 167.2 | |
| Rainy Day Lake Hut | 169 | ||
| 29 | Fairview Bay Trail | 169.5 | |
| Fairview Bay Hut | 171.2 | ||
| Pirate Cove picnic site | 176 | ||
| Saltery Bay Trailhead | 178 | ||
| 30 | Saltery Bay Trail / Blue Grouse Ridge | 168.5 | |
| Saltery Bay Trailhead | 178 |
References
- "Mount Troubridge". Bivouac.com.
- "Sunshine Coast Trail | Things to Do | Sunshine Coast Tourism". www.sunshinecoastcanada.com. Retrieved 2023-09-19.
- "Sunshine Coast Trail — Hut to Hut Hiking - Powell River BC". Sunshine Coast Trail. 2023-03-20. Retrieved 2023-09-19.
- Walz, R.E. (2021). The Sunshine Coast Trail Guide Book (5th ed.). Powell River: End of the Road Press. ISBN 978-0-9681166-4-7.