West Coast Trail
The West Coast Trail on Vancouver Island — 75 km from Pachena Bay to Gordon River through Pacific Rim rainforest, beaches and ladder climbs. Full elevation profile. Free GPX download.
Route map
Drag to pan · scroll to zoom · pitched 50° to show terrain
Elevation profile
Per-kilometre breakdown
| Km | Elev start | Elev end | Δ Elevation | Grade | Profile |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 27 m | 63 m | +36 m | 3.6% | |
| 2 | 63 m | 52 m | -11 m | -1.1% | |
| 3 | 52 m | 79 m | +26 m | 2.6% | |
| 4 | 79 m | 121 m | +43 m | 4.3% | |
| 5 | 121 m | 104 m | -17 m | -1.7% | |
| 6 | 104 m | 84 m | -20 m | -2.0% | |
| 7 | 84 m | 97 m | +13 m | 1.3% | |
| 8 | 97 m | 44 m | -53 m | -5.3% | |
| 9 | 44 m | 45 m | +1 m | 0.1% | |
| 10 | 45 m | 69 m | +24 m | 2.4% | |
| 11 | 69 m | 58 m | -11 m | -1.1% | |
| 12 | 58 m | 24 m | -34 m | -3.4% | |
| 13 | 24 m | 26 m | +2 m | 0.2% | |
| 14 | 26 m | 17 m | -10 m | -1.0% | |
| 15 | 17 m | 26 m | +10 m | 1.0% | |
| 16 | 26 m | 73 m | +47 m | 4.7% | |
| 17 | 73 m | 49 m | -25 m | -2.5% | |
| 18 | 49 m | 40 m | -9 m | -0.9% | |
| 19 | 40 m | 9 m | -31 m | -3.1% | |
| 20 | 9 m | 10 m | +1 m | 0.1% | |
| 21 | 10 m | 8 m | -2 m | -0.2% | |
| 22 | 8 m | 23 m | +15 m | 1.5% | |
| 23 | 23 m | 18 m | -5 m | -0.5% | |
| 24 | 18 m | 37 m | +19 m | 1.9% | |
| 25 | 37 m | 14 m | -22 m | -2.2% | |
| 26 | 14 m | 22 m | +8 m | 0.8% | |
| 27 | 22 m | 20 m | -3 m | -0.3% | |
| 28 | 20 m | 24 m | +5 m | 0.5% | |
| 29 | 24 m | 18 m | -7 m | -0.7% | |
| 30 | 18 m | 19 m | +2 m | 0.2% | |
| 31 | 19 m | 5 m | -14 m | -1.4% | |
| 32 | 5 m | 34 m | +28 m | 2.8% | |
| 33 | 34 m | 22 m | -12 m | -1.2% | |
| 34 | 22 m | 31 m | +10 m | 1.0% | |
| 35 | 31 m | 16 m | -15 m | -1.5% | |
| 36 | 16 m | 14 m | -2 m | -0.2% | |
| 37 | 14 m | 25 m | +11 m | 1.1% | |
| 38 | 25 m | 15 m | -10 m | -1.0% | |
| 39 | 15 m | 18 m | +3 m | 0.3% | |
| 40 | 18 m | 9 m | -9 m | -0.9% | |
| 41 | 9 m | 13 m | +4 m | 0.4% | |
| 42 | 13 m | 12 m | -1 m | -0.1% | |
| 43 | 12 m | 30 m | +18 m | 1.8% | |
| 44 | 30 m | 5 m | -25 m | -2.5% | |
| 45 | 5 m | 14 m | +9 m | 0.9% | |
| 46 | 14 m | 6 m | -8 m | -0.8% | |
| 47 | 6 m | 5 m | -1 m | -0.1% | |
| 48 | 5 m | 2 m | -3 m | -0.3% | |
| 49 | 2 m | 17 m | +15 m | 1.5% | |
| 50 | 17 m | 25 m | +8 m | 0.8% | |
| 51 | 25 m | 29 m | +4 m | 0.4% | |
| 52 | 29 m | 53 m | +24 m | 2.4% | |
| 53 | 53 m | 49 m | -4 m | -0.4% | |
| 54 | 49 m | 52 m | +3 m | 0.3% | |
| 55 | 52 m | 53 m | +1 m | 0.1% | |
| 56 | 53 m | 42 m | -11 m | -1.1% | |
| 57 | 42 m | 61 m | +19 m | 1.9% | |
| 58 | 61 m | 64 m | +3 m | 0.3% | |
| 59 | 64 m | 39 m | -25 m | -2.5% | |
| 60 | 39 m | 30 m | -10 m | -1.0% | |
| 61 | 30 m | 81 m | +52 m | 5.2% | |
| 62 | 81 m | 33 m | -48 m | -4.8% | |
| 63 | 33 m | 53 m | +20 m | 2.0% | |
| 64 | 53 m | 36 m | -17 m | -1.7% | |
| 65 | 36 m | 24 m | -12 m | -1.2% | |
| 66 | 24 m | 29 m | +5 m | 0.5% | |
| 67 | 29 m | 93 m | +64 m | 6.4% | |
| 68 | 93 m | 138 m | +45 m | 4.5% | |
| 69 | 138 m | 164 m | +26 m | 2.6% | |
| 70 | 164 m | 151 m | -13 m | -1.3% | |
| 71 | 151 m | 192 m | +41 m | 4.1% | |
| 72 | 192 m | 155 m | -37 m | -3.7% | |
| 73 | 155 m | 108 m | -47 m | -4.7% | |
| 74 | 108 m | 63 m | -45 m | -4.5% | |
| 75 | 63 m | 2 m | -61 m | -6.1% | |
| 76 | 2 m | 0 m | -2 m | -1.3% |
About the trail
The West Coast Trail runs 75 km along the southwest edge of Vancouver Island, inside the West Coast Trail Unit of Pacific Rim National Park Reserve. It began as a lifesaving route: the coast here was called the Graveyard of the Pacific, and after the wreck of the SS Valencia in 1906 a trail was cut so shipwrecked sailors could be reached and walked out.
Today it is one of the best-known backpacking trips in Canada, usually hiked over five to seven days between May and September. Expect old-growth rainforest, long stretches of beach and sandstone shelf, river crossings, suspension bridges, cable cars, and the trail's famous ladders, some of them dozens of rungs high.
About this GPX
This file follows the trail north to south, from the Pachena Bay trailhead near Bamfield to the Gordon River trailhead at Port Renfrew.
- 2,001 waypoints, from OpenStreetMap's West Coast Trail route, following the main trail (the low-tide beach alternatives are left out)
- Elevation on every waypoint from 30 m terrain data that combines USGS and Canadian elevation models, smoothed so the cliff edges don't read as sudden drops
- Total distance: about 75.1 km
- Climbing: about +1,950 m, between sea level and roughly 200 m. The northern third rolls through forest at around 100 m; the middle runs along the beach; the last 10 km to Gordon River holds the biggest and steepest climbs
Direction: Pachena Bay → Tsusiat Falls → Nitinat Narrows → Carmanah → Walbran → Camper Bay → Thrasher Cove → Gordon River.
Treadmill simulation notes
The West Coast Trail is a course for many sittings: run it a section at a time and SummitRoom picks up where you left off. The north end gives steady rolling climbs, the middle is close to flat, and the final stretch is where the incline works hardest, with short pitches steeper than 15%. On those the incline holds at 15%, the most SummitRoom asks of a treadmill, until the grade eases.
Want to run West Coast Trail on your treadmill?
SummitRoom turns this exact GPX into a live 3D map run, with auto-incline matching every climb.
▶ Try the demo