Vancouver Island Nature Tours

Mount Arrowsmith has long been one of the most popular mountains on Vancouver island to hike. It is not the tallest mountain on the island, but it is the tallest one  south of Strathcona Provincial Park at 1819m or (5,966 ft).  It’s very close neighbour and also a very popular mountain is Mount Cokely (1,619m, or 5,310 ft). Together there is a network of trails around both of them. The mountains are fairly easy to access, even with a 2WD car. The trail heads start fairly high around 1000 m. or 3200 ft. so that  the climbing is less than you might think. It’s a wonderful hike. It’s not technical, that is you don’t need ropes, pitons and other climbing gear.

The trouble is there are no signs marking the route along the logging roads to the trail heads. And when you get near the trail heads, there are no signs there either! It make you wonder how it is so popular! But I’m going to supply you with directions and guidance to get there. However after you read this you may still prefer to have someone from the area guide you, tell you about the wildflowers, local history, and birds. You can try this link: RainbirdExcursions.com.

Part of the reason for the area’s popularity is because most of the people who do get up it are from Vancouver Island. And they ask thier friends, parents, teachers etc how to get there.  But it is steep and it is the back country. So if you go, make sure you tell someone where you are going, when you will be back and to call the police if you are significantly latte. Also bring lots of water, extra clothing because it can cool off in a hurry and a few emergency supplies in case you are stuck overnight.

The turnoff onto the logging roads is on Highway 4 from Parksville to Tofino. It is 8.7 km (5.4 mi) past Cathedral Grove. Turn left here.  From Cathedral Grove you will drive a meandering route through the old forest and then start climbing. At the top there is a wide area in the road where truck must check thier brakes. Shortly after this is the turn off. The map below will guide you through the logging roads.

Following Logging Roads to Arrowsmith Trailheads.

I have marked the various trail-heads on this map. The hiking trails themselves are pretty well described elsewhere on the net. For your convenience, here are some links:

Judge’s Route

You have to join TrailPeak in order to get the GPS file for the Judges Route . But the GPS map is there to copy. http://www.trailpeak.com/trail-Mt-Arrowsmith-Judges-Route-near-Port-Alberni-BC-2141

Island Hikes has some pretty nice photos to accompany his topo map of the route. http://islandhikes.com/Hikes/Judge/judgemap.html

Saddle Route

Here is a page that shows the hiker’s progress along the Saddle Route. this is the post popular route. It doesn’t get you to the top. But you will still get amazing views. And the wildflowers along the way are wonderful. http://alavigne.net:6778/Outdoors/TripReports/VancouverIsland2005/index.jsp?navpage=arrowsmith

Here is TrailPeak’s entry for the Saddle Route. No decent map goes with the GPS file. http://www.trailpeak.com/trail-Mt-Arrowsmith-Saddle-Trail-near-Port-Alberni-BC-157

There aren’t any good maps of the Saddle Route on line. So I made one!  Here it is.

Saddle & Rosseau Routes on Arrowsmith

Satellite view of Saddle & Rosseau Routes up Arrowsmith

Google Books features Hiking Vancouver Island with a section on Mount Arrowsmith in it. http://books.google.ca/books?id=PNggnjAek6cC&pg=PA68&lpg=PA68&dq=mount+arrowsmith+saddle+route&source=bl&ots=L09eMY-GZN&sig=e0zYjh5TjNbMj5U7f4FjbvccOfE&hl=en&ei=aG-9SZPhDIKEsAOUwKQ2&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=2&ct=result