Cullite Creek Camp

Cullite Creek Camp is a backcountry campsite at kilometre 58 of the West Coast Trail, where Cullite Creek meets a small pebble cove beneath forested headlands. It suits hikers who want a night beside the water; this is not a drive-in campground or a separate day-trip stop. A rough side path leads down from the main route, and the camp is hidden from the trail. Coming from the north, you'll cross the creek on the cable car before taking the turnoff.

There is a small pebble beach and just a few sandy tent clearings in the trees. An outhouse and bear-proof food-storage boxes are reported at the camp. Cullite Creek is the nearby water source, but its potability is not established, so plan to treat it before drinking. Carry your food and supplies; there is no food service here.

Access is on foot as part of the West Coast Trail, whose permitted entry and exit points are Pachena Bay, Balaats’adt and Gordon River. A reservation, West Coast Trail backcountry use permit and park entry pass are required. The overnight season is May 1 through September 30. Cullite lies within the muddy, rooty kilometre 53–62 section, one of the trail’s most challenging stretches, with many ladders. Check trail and campsite conditions before you set out.

The West Coast Trail follows First Nations travel and trade routes. Huu-ay-aht, Ditidaht and Pacheedaht communities had villages and camps along this coast long before foreign ships arrived. After the 1906 Valencia wreck killed more than 125 people, the government built Pachena Lighthouse in 1907 and turned the telegraph corridor into the Dominion Life Saving Trail, with six provisioned shelters. The route became a park hiking trail in 1973.