West Coast Trail in 6 days You've Got Options

29 Realistic Options for Hiking the WCT in 6 days There are many ways to hike the West Coast Trail, bringing with it many decisions that require attention, however, to get started one only needs to consider a couple things. First, how long do I want to take and from which end do I start? Once these decisions are made, one must figure out, how long they want to hike each day and at which campsites to stay? For example, I have decided that I want to give the trail 6 days to complete, and that I will hike North to South (Pachena Bay to Gordon River).  Now before I bother getting into what I want to pack and how I'm going to get there and so on, I like to figure out my best route on accomplishing these first few decisions because they will help with all my other planning (the dirty details, if you will). There are a lot of different camp sites one can choose from but not all are viable options for hiking in six days. Distance between sites and challenge levels of trail between these sites weigh heavily on how it's approached.  I must interject here, there is no easy way to hike this trail, it's very challenging especially on the south end, where 4 kms can take up to 4 hours to hike. I'm an experienced hiker and have hiked this trail a few times already, I know what I can do each day and still be able to enjoy my experience.  This year I am taking my kids and a couple pals that have never done the West Coast Trail, so this too weighs on my decision. Because of how my brain works, I have mapped out all of the reasonable options for hiking the trail north to south in 6 days. In my opinion, there are 29 realistic choices, some better than others. You will see my findings below. I have underlined the two options I found to be the best for me an my group. Hopefully some of you will find this helpful in planning your trip, happy trails.

Day 1

Destination

Day 2

Destination

Day 3

Destination

Day 4

Destination

Day 5

Destination

Day 6

Destination

Rating

Distance

4 Options

Distance

1 - 2 Options

Distance

2 -3 Options

Distance

1 - 2 Options

Distance

1 Option

Distance

1 Option

**

Pachena Bay

12 km

Michigan Crk km 12

13.1 km

Tsusiat Falls km 25.1

16.5 km

Cribs km 41.6

16.2 km

Culite km 57.8

12.2 km

Thrasher Cove km 70

6 km

Gordon River

*

Pachena Bay

12 km

Michigan Crk km 12

13.1 km

Tsusiat Falls km 25.1

16.5 km

Cribs km 41.6

20.6 km

Camper km 62.2

7.8 km

Thrasher Cove km 70

6 km

Gordon River

**

Pachena Bay

12 km

Michigan Crk km 12

13.1 km

Tsusiat Falls km 25.1

20.9 km

Carmanah Crk km 46

11.8 km

Culite km 57.8

12.2 km

Thrasher Cove km 70

6 km

Gordon River

**

Pachena Bay

12 km

Michigan Crk km 12

13.1 km

Tsusiat Falls km 25.1

20.9 km

Carmanah Crk km 46

16.2 km

Camper km 62.2

7.8 km

Thrasher Cove km 70

6 km

Gordon River

*

Pachena Bay

12 km

Michigan Crk km 12

13.1 km

Tsusiat Falls km 25.1

22.9 km

Bonilla km 48

14.2 km

Camper km 62.2

7.8 km

Thrasher Cove km 70

6 km

Gordon River

**

Pachena Bay

12 km

Michigan Crk km 12

18 km

Ditidaht LT km 30

11.6 km

Cribs km 41.6

16.2 km

Culite km 57.8

12.2 km

Thrasher Cove km 70

6 km

Gordon River

*

Pachena Bay

12 km

Michigan Crk km 12

18 km

Ditidaht LT km 30

11.6 km

Cribs km 41.6

20.6 km

Camper km 62.2

7.8 km

Thrasher Cove km 70

6 km

Gordon River

**

Pachena Bay

12 km

Michigan Crk km 12

18 km

Ditidaht LT km 30

16 km

Carmanah Crk km 46

11.8 km

Culite km 57.8

12.2 km

Thrasher Cove km 70

6 km

Gordon River

**

Pachena Bay

12 km

Michigan Crk km 12

18 km

Ditidaht LT km 30

16 km

Carmanah Crk km 46

16.2 km

Camper km 62.2

7.8 km

Thrasher Cove km 70

6 km

Gordon River

**

Pachena Bay

12 km

Michigan Crk km 12

18 km

Ditidaht LT km 30

18 km

Bonilla km 48

14.2 km

Camper km 62.2

7.8 km

Thrasher Cove km 70

6 km

Gordon River

**

Pachena Bay

13.7 km

Darling Rvr km 13.7

11.4 km

Tsusiat Falls km 25.1

16.4 km

Cribs km 41.6

16.2 km

Culite km 57.8

12.2 km

Thrasher Cove km 70

6 km

Gordon River

*

Pachena Bay

13.7 km

Darling Rvr km 13.7

11.4 km

Tsusiat Falls km 25.1

16.4 km

Cribs km 41.6

20.6 km

Camper km 62.2

7.8 km

Thrasher Cove km 70

6 km

Gordon River

**

Pachena Bay

13.7 km

Darling Rvr km 13.7

11.4 km

Tsusiat Falls km 25.1

20.9 km

Carmanah Crk km 46

11.8 km

Culite km 57.8

12.2 km

Thrasher Cove km 70

6 km

Gordon River

**

Pachena Bay

13.7 km

Darling Rvr km 13.7

11.4 km

Tsusiat Falls km 25.1

20.9 km

Carmanah Crk km 46

16.2 km

Camper km 62.2

7.8 km

Thrasher Cove km 70

6 km

Gordon River

**

Pachena Bay

13.7 km

Darling Rvr km 13.7

16.3 km

Ditidaht LT km 30

11.6 km

Cribs km 41.6

16.2 km

Culite km 57.8

12.2 km

Thrasher Cove km 70

6 km

Gordon River

*

Pachena Bay

13.7 km

Darling Rvr km 13.7

16.3 km

Ditidaht LT km 30

11.6 km

Cribs km 41.6

20.6 km

Camper km 62.2

7.8 km

Thrasher Cove km 70

6 km

Gordon River

***

Pachena Bay

13.7 km

Darling Rvr km 13.7

16.3 km

Ditidaht LT km 30

16 km

Carmanah Crk km 46

11.8 km

Culite km 57.8

12.2 km

Thrasher Cove km 70

6 km

Gordon River

**

Pachena Bay

13.7 km

Darling Rvr km 13.7

16.3 km

Ditidaht LT km 30

16 km

Carmanah Crk km 46

16.2 km

Camper km 62.2

7.8 km

Thrasher Cove km 70

6 km

Gordon River

****

Pachena Bay

13.7 km

Darling Rvr km 13.7

16.3 km

Ditidaht LT km 30

18 km

Bonilla km 48

14.2 km

Camper km 62.2

7.8 km

Thrasher Cove km 70

6 km

Gordon River

*

Pachena Bay

15 km

Orange Juice Crk km 15

15 km

Ditidaht LT km 30

11.6 km

Cribs km 41.6

16.2 km

Culite km 57.8

12.2 km

Thrasher Cove km 70

6 km

Gordon River

*

Pachena Bay

15 km

Orange Juice Crk km 15

15 km

Ditidaht LT km 30

11.6 km

Cribs km 41.6

20.6 km

Camper km 62.2

7.8 km

Thrasher Cove km 70

6 km

Gordon River

*

Pachena Bay

15 km

Orange Juice Crk km 15

15 km

Ditidaht LT km 30

16 km

Carmanah Crk km 46

11.8 km

Culite km 57.8

12.2 km

Thrasher Cove km 70

6 km

Gordon River

**

Pachena Bay

15 km

Orange Juice Crk km 15

15 km

Ditidaht LT km 30

16 km

Carmanah Crk km 46

16.2 km

Camper km 62.2

7.8 km

Thrasher Cove km 70

6 km

Gordon River

***

Pachena Bay

15 km

Orange Juice Crk km 15

15 km

Ditidaht LT km 30

18 km

Bonilla km 48

14.2 km

Camper km 62.2

7.8 km

Thrasher Cove km 70

6 km

Gordon River

*

Pachena Bay

16.6 km

Tsocowis Crk km 16.6

13.4 km

Ditidaht LT km 30

11.6 km

Cribs km 41.6

16.2 km

Culite km 57.8

12.2 km

Thrasher Cove km 70

6 km

Gordon River

*

Pachena Bay

16.6 km

Tsocowis Crk km 16.6

13.4 km

Ditidaht LT km 30

11.6 km

Cribs km 41.6

20.6 km

Camper km 62.2

7.8 km

Thrasher Cove km 70

6 km

Gordon River

**

Pachena Bay

16.6 km

Tsocowis Crk km 16.6

13.4 km

Ditidaht LT km 30

16 km

Carmanah Crk km 46

11.8 km

Culite km 57.8

12.2 km

Thrasher Cove km 70

6 km

Gordon River

**

Pachena Bay

16.6 km

Tsocowis Crk km 16.6

13.4 km

Ditidaht LT km 30

16 km

Carmanah Crk km 46

16.2 km

Camper km 62.2

7.8 km

Thrasher Cove km 70

6 km

Gordon River

****

Pachena Bay

16.6 km

Tsocowis Crk km 16.6

13.4 km

Ditidaht LT km 30

18 km

Bonilla km 48

14.2 km

Camper km 62.2

7.8 km

Thrasher Cove km 70

6 km

Gordon River

Preferred Campsites

Tsocowis Crk km 16.6

Ditidaht LT km 30

Bonilla km 48

Camper km 62.2

Thrasher Cove km 70

or

Darling Rvr km 13.7

Tsusiat Falls km 25.1

Cribs km 41.6

Culite km 57.8

Thrasher Cove km 70

Michigan Crk km 12

Good

Mediocre

Excellent

Poor

Poor

Great Waterfall

Beautiful

Beautiful

Usually crowded

Usually over crowded

Crowded

Not a great beach

Not convenient

Convenient

Has an Outhouse

Has an Outhouse

Always Crowded

Has an Outhouse

Has an Outhouse

Darling Rvr km 13.7

Has an Outhouse

Excellent

Ditidaht LT km 30

Carmanah Crk km 46

Camper km 62.2

Beautiful w/ Waterfall

Luxury Tents

Excellent

Good

Has an Outhouse

Great views

Can be crowded

Orange Juice Crk km 15

Close to Chez Moniques

Convenient

Mediocre

Has an Outhouse

Has an Outhouse

No Outhouse

Bonilla km 48

Tsocowis Crk km 16.6

Excellent

Good

My favorite w/ Falls

Quite Has an Outhouse

Has an Outhouse

***Preferences are based on distance  and trail challenge to campsite as well as quality of site.