San Josef Bay
San Josef Bay, more commonly called San Joe, it located in the Cape Scott Provincial Park. It is at the northern end of Vancouver Island on the west coast. To access the park, visitors must take the highway to Port Hardy and then navigate active logging roads for approximately 60 km. The roads are well marked but it never hurts to have a backroads maps just in case.
At the start of the trail, there are washrooms, maps, and warnings about the local fauna. The park is remote and teeming with wildlife in the form of cougars, and wolves, and bears (oh my).
The trail its self is an easy out and back trail about 2.5km long. It takes about 45 minutes to an hour to complete one direction of the trail. The trail is wheelchair accessible(ish), it is mostly flat and made of gravel with a few small hills.
Hiking the trail takes you through the forest. You can look for frogs and salamanders on your walk. You can also find various types of mushrooms. There are also some large trees that make for impressive photographs. Along the trail, there are a few markers that talk about the settlement that existed in San Josef.
At the edge of the trail on Beach 1, there are caches for food. This is a bear-proof box to keep things that might attract a bear to you while you enjoy your time in San Jo. The trails edge is also marked by a bouy to help you find the trailhead when you are ready to trek back out.
When you step out of the trees at low tide, you are greeted by a long stretch of sandy beach to explore. If you head left you can walk up the river and away from the beach. Most people exit the trail and head right. This takes you along the beach and towards the sea stacks that formed long ago. You can marvel at the trees that grow and in fact, seem to thrive on these rocky outcroppings.
Beach 2 is even quieter than Beach 1. You have to time your trip correctly to arrive at low tide to access Beach 2 and make it back before the tide rises or plan to stay at Beach 2. There is an overland crossing but there are signs warning about how treacherous the headland route between Beach 1 and Beach 2 is.
If you want to add some vertical movement to your day, plan to hike up Mount St. Patrick. The trailhead is accessible at Beach 2 and is a more challenging hike. Park rangers maintain the trail until the summit. Once you summit Mount St. Patrick the trail continues but does not see regular maintenance and should only be undertaken by experienced backwoods hikers.
