Could this be Vancouver Island’s most beautiful beach? San Josef Bay is a gorgeous sandy beach on the northwest of Vancouver Island in Cape Scott Provincial Park. You do need to hike in to this beach BUT the trail is short and very easy, so much so that some folks pull wagons with their picnics or camping gear!

We hiked in and then camped on the beach. It was my favourite place to go camping in 2024 as it was just such a lovely, relaxing spot. I think this would be a fantastic option for a first backcountry camping experience as there are facilities (like loos and bear caches) even though you’ll be on this fabulous wild section of Pacific coastline.

San Josef Bay trail map

I’ll start with some panoramas of these beautiful beaches:

San Josef Bay – the basics

Distance: 7-9 km (depending where you decide to stop!)
Cumulative Elevation gain: minimal (20m ish)
Time: 2-4 hours moving time both ways. (see my strava recording for one way. It took 50 mins to reach the first beach and 35 mins more to reach the far beach.)
What to bring: The 10 Essentials
Facilities: Toilets at the trailhead and at each beach. Bear caches and water at each campsite.
Dogs: Great for dogs. They need to stay on leash, as there are wolves in the area.
How hard is it? Easy. This is a great backpacking trip for new backcountry campers.
Okay for wheelchairs? The trail is barrier free and has been resurfaced with crushed material to make it possible for wheelchairs and pushchairs.
Extra notes: There are actually two beaches, with the famous sea stacks in the area between them. There are facilities (loos, bear lockers and water) on each beach. You camp directly on the sand. Just make sure you’re far enough up for when the tide comes in.

San Josef Bay – Getting Started

It’s not super easy to reach Cape Scott Provincial Park! If you’re coming from Nanaimo, it’s a 4+ hour road trip to Port Hardy. Fill up with gas in Port Hardy and then you’ll need to drive for another 2 hours along the unpaved Holberg Road. This is a logging road, so if you drive in on a weekday, be ready to pull over to give space for the logging trucks. The road is well maintained, but bumpy and dusty. The Cape Scott trailhead is surprisingly full in the summertime, so you may need to park along the side of the road.

Once you’re ready to go, follow the sign posts. The trail into the trees is easy to follow.

Old Growth Trees

There are some really cool trees along the trail to the beach. My favourite was this group of 5 trees that must have grown out of a nursery log. The original log that nourished them all has rotted away, leaving a fabulous natural arch.

San Josef River

After the first 2km, you’ll start to see more sunshine through the trees as you walk along the San Josef River. From that point it is less than a kilometer until you’ll reach the first beach.

San Josef Bay

Once you reach the shore, you’ll be able to see why this was voted as one of the world’s top 50 beaches in 2023. The beach is framed by small hills and old growth forest. The sand is soft and a variety of light colours. It’s so pretty!

There are two main beaches (with campgrounds on each.) Most people tend to set up camp as soon as they reach the first beach, so we decided to walk accross to see what it was like further along the coast.

The Famous Sea Stacks

Water surging between the two beaches has eroded the headland into impressive, needle-like sea stacks. The Pacific Ocean has carved away the softer rock to leave behind the harder, more resistant stone. Most of them have stunted trees and flowers growing from their tops – leaving a mini garden in the sky. It’s gorgeous.

As well as the trees and flowers above the sea stacks, there are plenty of gorgeous rockpools to explore.

There are also lots of caves along the edge of the beach. This must be how the sea stacks start off. The sea carves out caves, and then parts of the roof will fall in to leave an arch. Then, when the arch falls away, you’re left with a stack.

The second beach is a little more secluded. You can reach it easily via the sea stacks at low tide. If you visit when the tide is high, there is a second route over the headlands (but it is a rugged trail!)

San Josef Bay Campsites

Everyone camps right on one of the two beaches in San Josef Bay. Just make sure you don’t camp too close to the water for when the tide comes in. There are plenty of logs to provide picnic benches.

Backcountry registration

One of the wonderful things about camping at San Josef Bay (and all of Cape Scott Provincial Park) is that you do not have to fight to get a booking! The easiest way get a camping permit is to book it online via the backcountry registration service. But, if you like to make plans at the last second, you can self register with cash once you arrive. The cost is $10.00 per adult (16+) and $5 per child.

Camping Facilities

Both of the campsites have bear caches (lockers, rather than bear hangs) as well as pit toilets. There are two streams at the second campground where you can get water. You’ll need a filtration device. The camping facilities are all located in the forest at the edge of the beach. You’ll be able to find them by looking for the buoys that are hung up by the entrance.

Campfires

Campfires are allowed in Cape Scott Provincial Park as long as there are no fire bans. However it’s better to minimize the use of fires (as camp stoves leave no trace.) Please don’t bury your beach campfire, as previously visitors have been burned from buried fires.

On this occasion I managed to make Marc really mad, as I carried our food and camping stove… but I forgot to bring a gas canister. We had to abandon our planned hot dinner and eat our lunch for the next day. Oops.

In the evening, we explored the rockpools along the beaches. There are hundreds and hundreds of bright green sea anemones.

Heading Back

Return the way you came to get back to the trailhead. Or if you would like a longer adventure you can continue in the other direction to the top of Vancouver Island at Cape Scott, or the multi-day North Coast Trail.

The hike to San Josef Bay is short and easy, but it is seriously impressive how wild it feels. Camping on the beach is also a really good option if you’re just getting into backcountry camping. This is a much easier option compared to hiking into the alpine, but just as fun!