Easy hikes and walks in Kennedy Lake Provincial Park

Until the 1970s, a Kwisitis village was located near Lismer Beach. When the Pacific Rim National Park Reserve was created, the Yuułuʔiłʔatḥ (First Nation) village was vacated. However, the demarcated area continues to be used for fish harvesting and ceremonies. https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/ucluelet-first-nation

The Nuu-chah-nulth Trail to Florencia Bay leads, with few interruptions, on wooden boardwalks across Quisitis Point Headlands, a humid plateau, and down to the coast. The boardwalk is said to be the longest trail of its kind in the national park. Due to the humidity, there are no old cedars or hemlocks here. Only further down, above the rocky coast, do we find tall trees. There, we walk along a soft, springy path through this fairytale forest. (May 18, 2025) https://www.tofinohiking.com/hikes/nuu-chah-nulth-trail/

Lismer Beach is located south of Wickaninnish Beach in a small, sheltered cove on the South Beach Trail, or Nuu-chah-nulth Trail. Until the 1970s, a Kwisitis village was located near the beach. The pebble beach is named after the painter Arthur Lismer. In the 1950s and 1960s, he visited the Long Beach area for several weeks each year. Lismer's paintings often depict small sections of the fantastic beach landscape. https://longbeachwild.wordpress.com/2012/05/21/lismer-on-long-beach/

The South Beach Trail begins at the parking lot at the Kwisitis Visitor Centre and runs past the former Kwisitis Village at Lismer Beach. After a short climb to a low ridge, where the junction with the Nuu-chah-nulth Trail is located, the trail descends along a long wooden staircase through a Sitka spruce forest to the beach. The beach is dotted with small pebbles. It is located in a bay with offshore rock formations, where the surf crashes and the waves reach the shore. Some rocks are covered with countless mussels. https://www.tofinohiking.com/hikes/south-beach-trail/

Ancient Monarch is the oldest tree on the Rainforest Trail. The red cedar stands at the northernmost point of Trail A and is approximately 950 years old. https://cortescurrents.ca/learning-about-old-growth-on-the-rainforest-trail/

Pillar of the Community is the oldest tree on Rainforest Trail B; the red cedar is more than 800 years old.

RVs and buses are not permitted at the small parking lot on either of the rainforest trails. So, we walk from the Combers Beach parking lot along the ʔapsčiik t̓ašii to the trailhead; the paved pedestrian/bicycle path runs parallel to the highway. Rainforest Trail A is located north of the Pacific Rim Highway, while Trail B is south of the road at the parking lot. Both routes lead approximately 1,200 meters through a breathtaking forest of giant Western Red Cedar and Western Hemlock trees. The trails are constructed almost entirely of wooden boardwalks with numerous stairs and bridges, some of which are made from whole tree trunks. Walking through the forests is a beautiful experience. https://parks.canada.ca/pn-np/bc/pacificrim/activ/randonnee-hiking

The Kwisitis Visitor Centre was built on a massive rock at the southern end of Wickaninnish Beach in the Pacific Rim National Park Reserve. In the Nuu-chah-nulth language, the name means "the other end of the beach." The building was constructed between 1963 and 1965 and expanded between 1978 and 1982. It is a protected historic building due to its historical significance and architecture. With the entrance ticket to the Pacific Rim National Park Reserve (CAD $22 per day and family), we can park the RV and access the exhibits in the Visitor Centre. https://parks.canada.ca/pn-np/bc/pacificrim/activ/activkwisitis https://www.pc.gc.ca/apps/dfhd/page_fhbro_eng.aspx?id=15874