Darling Falls has to be the most overlooked and underrated feature of the West Coast Trail. It never even appeared in West Coast Trail guidebooks until recently and hardly any websites or blogs give it a mention. There are some good reasons for this. First, the falls are located just 14km from the start, or finish of the West Coast Trail.
West Coast Trail Shipwrecks
Alaskan at 4k Soquel at 5k Sarah at 7k Becherdass-Ambiadass at 8k Michigan at 12k Uzbekistan at 13.8k Varsity at 17.6k Valencia at 18.3k Janet Cowan at 19k Robert Lewers at 20k Woodside at 20.2k Uncle John at 26.2k Vesta at 29k Raita at 33k Skagit at 34.2k Santa Rita at 37k Dare at 39k Lizzie Marshall at 47k Puritan at 48.5k Wempe Brothers at 49.4k Duchess of Argyle at 58k John Marshall at 62.3k William Tell at 64.2 Revere at 69k Cyrus at 75k
West Coast Trail Campsites
Michigan Creek at 12km Darling River at 14km Orange Juice Creek at 15km Tsocowis Creek at 16.5km Klanawa River at 23km Tsusiat Falls at 25km Cribs Creek at 42km Carmanah Creek at 46km Bonilla Creek at 48km Walbran Creek at 53km Cullite Cove at 58km Camper Bay at 62km Thrasher Cove at 70km
Though there is a good campsite at Darling River, most hikers choose the not so good campsite, Michigan Creek at 12km. Michigan Creek is the first campsite you come to if hiking from the Pachena Bay(Bamfield) trailhead. Hikers seem to choose the first campsite reflexively and because guidebooks and sites largely miss Darling Falls, hikers tend to as well. If you are hiking in the other direction, most hikers choose Michigan Creek to camp as it is the last campsite and they want to hike as little distance as possible on their last day. The reason for this is partly because the south end of the trail is considerably more difficult than the north end and much of the trail between Michigan Creek and the trailhead at Pachena Bay is comparatively easy. So, if you are hiking south to north and see the distance is 12km, you reasonably expect it to be more challenging than it is. Another reason Darling Falls is overlooked is its location once again. Hikers on their first day are gung ho and rush past it, heading down the beach. Hikers heading north are exhausted, nearing the end of the trail and rushing to their final campsite.
Darling Falls West Coast Trail Map
Easily Overlooked Darling Falls
Another big reason Darling Falls is missed by almost everyone is its location upriver, just out of site from the beach. So, if you are hiking along the beach, don't know it is there because you never saw it online or in a guidebook, you would never know to look. The first time I noticed it was when I happened to be standing next to Darling River and looking out at the ocean. I could faintly hear a sound behind me, so I wandered along the river toward it. I was shocked when I first saw it. To me it looked like paradise. A small waterfall, just a three or four metres tall, pouring over a rock ledge into a wonderful pool of green water. The place seemed like paradise surrounded by the most wildly beautiful forest. Darling Falls seemed to me like the perfect representation of the West Coast Trail. Evidence of brutal winter storms lay in the river in the form of huge trees polished smooth by months of rolling around in the ocean before getting smashed up into this river valley.
Such an amazing place closed in by the wildly beautiful rainforest. Located just far enough from the beach to remain unseen by unaware, passing hikers, Darling Falls is a hidden paradise.
These big driftwood logs are located a considerable distance up Darling River. On a nice day in May it hard to fathom how they got here. It takes a few moments of looking around and some imagination to figure out that this serene little river valley could be filled with water, crashing waves and giant logs like this tumbling in!
Looking back from the falls you can see the distant gap in the trees where the forest opens up to the beach.
West Coast Trail Campsites
The Valencia Disaster
The West Coast Trail by Day
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