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.
The Sunshine Coast Trail is notable for being the longest hut-to-hut hiking trail in Canada. 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.
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. 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.
Sections A list of trail sections from north to south as featured in The Sunshine Coast Trail Guidebook: +#Section NameNoteKM1Land's End Trail (Sarah Point)Sarah Point Hut & Trailhead0Sarah Point Campsite0.6Feather Cove Campsite2.8Bliss Portage Hut8.2Wednesday Lake Campsite122Gwendoline Hills Trail12.1Manzanita Hut163Thunder Ridge Trail21.3Fern Gully Creek Campsite22.64Toquenatch Trail25.2Plummer Creek Campsite25.85Marathon TrailHomestead Campsite28.9Rieveley Pond Hut33.56Appleton Canyon TrailAppleton Creek Campsite35.67Tla'amin (Sliammon) Lakes Trail 37.7Kokanee Campsite40Shangri-La Shelter & Campsite43.18Scout Mountain Trail45.69Mowat Bay Trail 50.610Tony's Trail 52.8Tony's Point Campsite55.411Lost Lake Trail 58.312Inland Lake Trail 62.8Inland Lake West Hut6413Confederation Lake TrailAnthony Island Hut66.814Fiddlehead TrailConfederation Lake Hut74.115West Tinhat MountainFiddlehead Landing Hut81.416Tinhat Mountain TrailTinhat Cabin89.317Lewis Lake Trail93East Lewis Hobbit Campsite 93.819March Lake Trail98March Lake Campsite107.2Elk Lake Hut109.320Elk Lake Loop110.320Walt Hill Trail114.3Coyote Lake Campsite116Walt Hill Hut123.421Suicide Pass Trail126Suicide Pass Campsite12722Smokey's Blue Ridge Trail128.1Deer Creek emergency camp130.623Eagle River Trail132.324Lois Lakeshore Trail 136.9Br.41 Campground139.7Lois Point Campsite141.525Elephant Lake Trail144.5Golden Stanley Hut144.9Br.42 - Jessie's Carved Chair Campsite147.226West Mount Troubridge Trail154.1Mount Troubridge Hut157.6Troubridge Emergency Shelter15927East Mount Troubridge Trail159.3View Bluffs Campsite16028Rainy Day Lake Trail167.2Rainy Day Lake Hut16929Fairview Bay Trail169.5Fairview Bay Hut171.2Pirate Cove picnic site176Saltery Bay Trailhead17830Saltery Bay Trail / Blue Grouse Ridge168.5Saltery Bay Trailhead178
See also West Coast Trail
North Coast Trail
Howe Sound Crest Trail
References