Categories: Travel

There’s a remote beach in BC with a hidden waterfall and a sea cave

If you’re in search of a beautiful beach in British Columbia to uncover this upcoming season, it’s worth adding Sombrio Beach to your map. Situated in Juan de Fuca Provincial Park, the wild beach offers visitors the most accessible backcountry camping in the province, according to Tourism Victoria.

It’s also a popular surf spot throughout autumn, winter, and spring, with a large sea cave (and a smaller cave) ready to explore.

Juan de Fuca Marine Trail

A huge draw to the provincial park is the historic Juan de Fuca Marine Trail, which follows 47 kilometres of wilderness along the western shoreline of Vancouver Island.

While most of the trail is designed with multi-day hiking and backpacking in mind, BC Parks says there are “some easy-to-moderate day hikes” mixed in there that lead to the beach starting from four trailheads: 

  • Juan de Fuca East (China Beach)
  • Sombrio Beach
  • Parkinson Creek
  • Botanical Beach

Note that Sombrio Beach is located around the halfway mark of the famed trail.

Hidden waterfall

Other than its incredible waves and possibilities for exploration, visitors are drawn to the park with the promise of discovering a hidden waterfall inside a picturesque canyon. So keep your eyes peeled for this natural wonder!

Photo via Shutterstock

Visitors can also find a sea stack and a famous sphinx (rock formation) according to Tourism Victoria. 

Finally, keep your eye out for the beach’s plentiful marine wildlife, which includes frequent sightings of Humpback whales, orcas, and harbour seals, to name a few!

Given its remote location, the beautiful beach has limited cell reception, so be sure to bring along your hiking essentials and leave no trace behind.

So there you have it, explorers! Summer may be coming to an end, but your beach adventures don’t have to!

Sombrio Beach

How to get there: Drive 1.5 to 2 hours from Victoria via the Juan de Fuca Highway to Highway 14 W, Jordan River.

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