The Lighthouse Loop is part of the beautiful Wild Pacific Way trail near Ucluelet on the West Coast of Vancouver Island in BC. We visited in August, and somehow it did not seem too busy even though this is an easy trail with gorgeous views in a popular, touristy area! Although my photos are from a calm afternoon, don’t let dodgy weather keep you away from this walk. This trail would be gorgeous when the wind is up and the waves are raging against the rocky shoreline.

Lighthouse Loop Map

Lighthouse Loop – the basics

Distance: 3km-ish for the whole loop
Elevation gain: 50m-ish (minimal)
Time: 45 mins -1.5 hours (we recorded 1 hour 10 mins moving time on strava)
What to bring: The 10 Essentials and swimming things if you’re heading to the beach
Cost: Free
Facilities:  Loos at the whale parking lot and the lighthouse parking lot. Benches all along the trail if you need a break.
Dogs: Dogs allowed on leads
How hard is it? Super easy. Plus, there are so many benches to rest along the route.

Wild Pacific Trail

This trail continues on further if you have more time. The full Wild Pacific Trail is 8km, joining up this loop along with Big Beach to Rocky Bluffs (5km) and the Ancient Cedars Trail (1km). On this occasion we only did the Lighthouse Loop, but I like the idea of exploring the whole trail.

Graveyard of the Pacific

The first thing you’ll notice about this trail is just how rugged and, well, wild the coastline is. There is a signpost that shows a map of the multiple shipwrecks that were documented along these shores. One of these wrecks, from 1905 was called the Pass of the Melfort was the reason the lighthouse was built here in 1906.

Whistle Buoy

As you get closer to the Lighthouse you’ll start to hear an eerie whistling on the wind. A little way out to sea is a bright red whistle buoy, as well as a green bell buoy. The action of the waves and air pressure creates the whistling sound, so it is loudest in rough seas. Keeping the whistle buoy on the right and the bell buoy guides sailors to the safe route through the reefs.

Amphitrite Lighthouse

This version of the lighthouse was built in 1915 after the original structure was destroyed by storm waves. It’s a white concrete tower that was engineered to withstand the hurricane-force storms that batter this exposed headland. This point and lighthouse are named after Royal Navy ship HMS Amphitrite (which itself was named after the sea goddess and wife of Poseidon in Greek mythology.)

The trail around the lighthouse is lovely. It wiggles around multiple viewpoints with plenty of benches so you can sit down and watch the waves.

Amazing trees

Like many of the hikes around Ucluelet, there are some fabulous trees along the way. The coastal forest is full of sitka spruce, and western hemlock as well as some incredible old growth cedars. I loved seeing the trees that are curved into knots, and the cool nursery stumps. Some of the smaller shore pines can be hundreds of years old, despite their teeny bonsai-like size.

In summer, look out for salal berries. We found some of the largest, juiciest berries I have ever seen!

Hike down to beaches

Although the trail is mostly up high (so great for looking down to the waves), if the seas are calm, you can walk down the beaches at a few points. My photos are a bit rubbish, but I found these beaches filled with bonsai-like shore pines beautiful!

Between the beaches, you get to see more of the cliffs and rocky coastline.

He-Tin-Kis beach

At the northwest corner of the loop, look out for a small side trail down to He-Tin-Kis beach. It is a lovely pebble beach with plenty of rock pools to explore and views over to Ucluelet.

This has to be a true quintessential west coast beach view, where the forest meets the sea. Once you are ready, finish the loop back to the parking area where you started.

Beaches near Ucluelet

If you fancy visiting more beaches near Ucluelet, there are other options with white sands and more fabulous old growth trees. Have a peek at my previous post about the Willowbrae trail to Florencia Beach & Half Moon Beach. Those have quite a different vibe to the rocky coastline out by the lighthouse.

The Lighthouse Loop trail is such a pretty trail. If you have one afternoon (or even just a few hours) in Ucluelet, this should definitely be the trail that you explore. There is something special about being able to see the gorgeous west coast shoreline while soaking up the history of the lighthouse and the many shipwrecks.