Keeha Bay Trail

Keeha Bay Trail

Keeha Bay Trail is located near the community of Bamfield, BC on Vancouver Island, British Columbia. The trail is a rugged and muddy hiking and backpacking adventure leading to an amazing white sandy beach and far reaching ocean views. It is a favorite hike of EH Tourism.

The Keeha Bay Trail is a short, but difficult hike through mud, around swamps and over deadfall trees. The 3.2 kilometre one way route explores a west coast rainforest leading to a large sandy beach, crashing waves, jagged cliffs, caves and mounds of driftwood logs.

The Keeha Bay Trail takes from 30 minutes (fast day hike) to 3 hours (slow backpack hike) to complete. Weather conditions, fitness levels and how much you are carrying will determine the time it takes to complete the hike. It is considered a difficult trail. Most months it is a dirty, muddy trail. It is a rainforest.

Most of the Keeha Bay Trail is under a thick canopy of trees. Very little sunlight is allowed into the forest. It stays wet and cold for long periods of time. The forest floor is always moist covered in moss, lichens and ferns. The trail is covered in tree roots, boulders and mud. It is a slippery trail. It is a fun hike.

The trail is a single track route most of the way. The route includes balancing on log bridges, climbing over and under deadfall trees and climbing a big hill before you reach the large, white sandy beach. The hill is covered in massive logs. Hikers must weave in and out of them to get to the top. It is the last straw in the haystack before the beach.

The beach is wide open. The sand is covered in shells and driftwood logs. Many logs moved and constructed into shelters for protection from the wind. The beach is a hidden gem that is often vacant with no visitors. Mid July to September Long weekend are the busiest months. There is a small creek at one end of the beach.

The beach is ideal for camping with plenty of driftwood available for campfires thrown ashore by storms (please keep fires small and manageable). There is a small creek for water located at the south end of the beach (boil all water). Often that is where backpackers camp.

Wilderness camping conditions apply at Keeha Bay Beach. Pack out what you pack in. There are no pit toilets so dig a hole. There are some storage food cache lockers available in the trees. (If food cache is full please hang food in a bag from a branch high up in the trees 100 feet from all campers). Most importantly pack out what you pack in.

All hikers should be prepared with rain gear, dry clothes, matches and a tarp. The beach can be very sunny and warm.. and it can be very cold, windy and rainy. Regardless, the weather changes from one to the other in a moments notice.

Wildlife sightings are very common on Keeha Bay and on the trails. Some of the wildlife includes Black Bears, Bald Eagles, whales, sea lions, seals, sandpipers, osprey and hawks.

The Keeha Bay Trailhead is also the trailhead for the 6.5 kilometre Cape Beale Trail. At the 1.5 kilometre mark along the Keeha bay Trail is an exit trail leading to Cape Beale. At the end of the Cape beale Trail is a lighthouse, flat rock, jagged cliffs and crashing ocean waves. On some visits there is a deep, heavy fog.

How to Get to Keeha Bay Trail

Travel to the community of Bamfield, BC on the west coast of Vancouver Island. Before the entrance to the village is South Bamfield Road on your left. Turn here. Follow the road a short distance to a very small pull out parking lot on your right. You walk 800 metres to the trailhead. Some drop off at the trailhead and then go park the vehicle. Your call. Just make note there is not allot of room at the trailhead for large vehicles.