Hi Everyone -

I'm visiting the Victoria area in March, won't have a lot of time, but would like to do a day trip on the Juan de Fuca trail from the south/east trailhead to Bear Beach and return (approximately 18km). I've done West Coast Trail and North Coast Trail in summer, so have an idea of west coast terrain, but am curious as to the weather and how reasonable it is to do this stretch as a day hike. It looks like many people do the trail in a day even (which I have no desire of doing). I mostly want to see Mystic Falls and just hike along the ocean in March. Any comments/suggestions would be welcome. I'll also be looking for a hiking buddy (or buddies) for the day, so just signed up with the Victoria Outdoor & Social Club.

Thanks,
Barbara

From memory, the distance is doable, terrain not too hard, but tides will likely be a factor in making good time, and daylight ain't too long in March yet.

There is unofficial access trails at a few places including Bear Beach. I've often done a longer one-way hike and returned via hitch-hiking. If neither hitchhiking nor a second car is appealing, I would actually suggest the northern end from Botanical as far as you feel like, then returning as as more scenic, varied and overall satisfying. Especially if you have a moderately low tide to check out the rightfully famous tide pools. The southern end has little shore access apart from the beaches, being mostly forest hiking well back from shore cliffs, while the northern end has extensive reef shelves.

Weather of course is generally still pretty wet in March but you might get lucky. Expect mud.

I've done Mystic to Bear and back as a day trip several times, but plan on a full day.

You'll want to time being at either Mystic or Bear Beach at lower tides to enjoy them better. The falls at Mystic is easier and better to view at lower tides, and at the other end of the beach is an arch/cave that needs a lower tide to check out. And at high tides it can be tricky to get across the creek at Mystic at high tides if the driftwood is not making a good bridge across mouth of the creek. Bear Beach you will need a lower tide to get past a cliff band and it's easier to hike the beach if you have a bit more of it. BC Parks lists the tides levels for the cutoffs but tides lower than 1.5 meters is best for really exploring.

The trail between Mystic and Bear is pretty much in the forest with some nice ocean views in places. Still an enjoyable hike, but you wont be on the ocean. Bear Beach is a long beach, but it is a boulder beach so it's not a great hiking beach. It is pretty though. There are three creeks along that beach that could be a concern if there is high flow and a high tide. The most problematic is the first one you come across from the trail from Mystic (at the south eastern end), typically there are no logs across it, and in March I would plan on the creek having a high flow, so expect to get the boots wet. The lower the tide, the easier it is to cross.

There are lots of unofficial side trails to the beaches at parts of the trail. There are 2 at Mystic, 1 at Bear, 1 a few kms past Bear and I think there might be one found just before you get to Bear from Mystic... but that would be more of an emergency route than a trail. So you don't have to backtrack on trails. Or you can just do individual hikes to the beaches and highlights (Mystic, Bear, and Chin Beaches and the Sombrio Suspension Bridge).

If you want I can PM gps tracks and way points for the side trails... I have them somewhere on the hard drives.

Parking lot to Bear Beach is about 2 hrs one way excluding stops. The beach itself is fairly long and has some tide cutoffs as mentioned by others. You can easily spend a couple of hours on the beach. Even in the somewhat limited daylight of March you have plenty of time to make it there and back in a day.