We are going to Vancouver Island in mid-April, and plan to rent a car and spend in day on the west coast in the Port Renfrew/Sooke areas. Is there a really excellent hike in this area that anyone can recommend? Or 2 good, shorter hikes? We are very fit and have done a lot of hiking in the AB Rockies. I'm looking for a day hike of 12-15 km in length.

April is not the time to be hiking on coast. Conditions and trails will be wet and muddy [people not from the coast can not imagine what we mean by muddy. It usually means knee deep in spots]. The best hiking in the area is found along the Juan De Fuca Trail. Do a search and you should find quite a bit of info. Who knows? You may get lucky and get some sun. Be prepared for wet weather though. www.canadianexpeditions.com

East Sooke Park has many trails as well. But, as mentioned above, they can be treacherous, even in dry weather.

A number of recent bigfoot reports from there too.

Ok, well it sounds like an actual hike might be out of the question. Any suggestions for ANY interesting outdoor activities in that area? <BR> <BR>PS-I'm ignoring the bigfoot reports!

Stuck on that area? If not check out Gulf Islands. Saltspring Island has great little park called Ruckle. Only walk in camping. From there you can go out for day hikes around the island. Also check out Long Beach/Tofino area. There is a hotsprings just a boat ride away plus other outdoor areas to explore.

Maybe it was a particularly dry April - but we hiked East Sooke Park last year and it was great - in fact it started to pour while we were there and the trees provided something of a natural canopy. <BR> <BR>

Good News! <BR>It's been a particularly dry winter and barring a number of closely-spaced 'monsoons' there should be little problem doing at least some Hiking. <BR>Don't rule out Hiking until you see the trail! <BR>There are no Sasquatch on Vancouver Island but, as mentioned in an earlier post, Cougars are common. <BR>I'm suprised no-one has mentioned Botanical Beach! <BR>Just outside Port Renfrew it's an intertidal wonderland not to be missed! <BR>French Beach, Jordan River heck there are a bunch of interesting spots to visit on the road from Sooke to Port Renfrew. <BR>I forget their names, lots to see!! <BR>See what you can find on the area here <BR>www.bcadventure.com

Thanks for the suggestions! I had heard about one cougar attack on Vanc. Island this winter, have there been others? The cougars scare me way more than bears do! I had heard about Botanical Beach, glad to hear it from a person and not just a tourist website. It sounds cool. As to Tofino, Salt Spring, etc, we've been over everything and decided that the Sooke/Port Renfrew area is the best we can do with the time that we have.

I should have mentioned that it really depends on the trail. Some are perfectly fine. That attack by the cougar was frightening... but I've lived on the island all my life and have never seen one.