About
A landscape of forbidding bluffs and nearly impassible brush, punctuated by the ominous sound of crashing waves, hardly seems like the route to salvation for anyone escaping a sinking ship. For those unlucky enough to find themselves in just that situation along the unforgiving southwestern edge of Vancouver Island, the rough trail over slick rocks and fallen trees may have been their only chance.
The 75 kilometer stretch of coastline from Bamfield to Port Renfrew has evolved from a narrow telegraph track carved into the woods to one of the most popular hiking destinations in less than a century.
Come along with us as we follow the rain-soaked path from the tragic wreck of the S.S. Valencia, that led to the creation of the lifesaving trail, to the stories of adventurers who brave the modern-day West Coast Trail. Meet some of the characters who devoted themselves to helping others, sometimes at great personal cost, and learn what was done to try to prevent a small portion of the Graveyard of the Pacific from claiming even more lives.
What’s On
Detail Beyond Measure: Models, Half Hulls, and Name Plates from the Maritime Museum of BC’s Collection
Victoria Harbour
Salmon Tales: How Fishing Shaped BC
Let There Be Light with Woodblock Prints
Darn It! Our Maritime Make and Mend Culture
Queer at Sea: Tales from the 2SLGBTQ+ Community
Victoria: City of Circumnavigators
Our Fleet: Small Craft with a Story
SS Valencia: “A Theatre of Horror”
Protecting Our Coast: The Shifting Role of BC Lighthouses
