Botanical Beach

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Overview

Botanical Beach is located in Port Renfrew, BC, and is famous for its tide pools that are full of marine life, such as starfish, urchins, and anemones. The tide pools become visible at low tides within the unique rock formations, which are located along the Strait of Juan de Fuca.

The trail can be done as a loop that is about 3km long and it's worth planning to visit during low tides and including spending time exploring along the beaches.

Starting from the trailhead near the bottom of the parking lot, walk towards the sign with the map and follow the trail past the outhouses as it descends into the forest. The trail is wide and easy as it descends at a gentle pace. At the bottom, go left at the sign and follow the narrow trail as you walk through a forest. Go right and, almost immediately, you arrive at a view looking out onto the rocks and the Strait of Juan de Fuca. This is one area where you can explore.

Return to the trail and follow the route heading east. There will be another junction where you can go off to the right to see another viewpoint of the rocks and explore further.

Returning to the main path, the route meanders through the forest and crosses a small wooden bridge. It will eventually arrive at a larger sign about Botanical Beach where you can climb down onto a sandy portion of the beach. During low tide, there will be rock formations further down to explore but be careful to watch your step and avoid stepping on the marine life that is hiding in the tide pools.

After exploring the beach, return to the main trail and follow the route uphill (do not go right as this is the start of the long Juan de Fuca trail). The wide path climbs steadily as you make your way through the lush rainforest before veering left and hiking the last portion back to the parking lot.

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Driving Directions

Botanical Beach is located in Port Renfrew, BC, and is within the western part of Juan de Fuca Provincial Park.

To drive to the day-use area from the Port Renfrew Community Centre, follow Parkinson Road westbound until it turns right sharply and goes down a hill to a stop sign. Turn left at the intersection onto Cerantes Road and follow this road until the end where you end up in the day-use parking lot for Juan de Fuca Provincial Park. There are two trails that go down to Botanical Beach, start from the one at the furthest end of the parking lot next to the outhouses and map of the park.

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Additional Information

Dog-Friendly

Dogs are allowed on the Botanical Beach Loop but they must be kept on a leash at all times and kept out of tide pools to avoid any damage to sensitive marine life. Please pick up after your dog and remove all poop bags from the park.

Toilets

Outhouses are located at the parking lot and the southeastern point in the Botanical Beach Loop.

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