Stretching over 243,000 kilometres, Canada’s oceanic edges have shaped cultures, carved cliffs, and fostered trails that now lure hikers into sea-facing solitude and challenge. Whether you’re scrambling through Cape Breton’s headlands or navigating the wave-battered rainforests of the Pacific, each coastal hike brings an elemental encounter—where wind, water, and terrain hold final say.
Here are 10 of our favourite coastal hikes in Canada from short and sweet jaunts to rugged multi-day backpacking treks.
Long Coastal Hikes
1. West Coast Trail
Vancouver Island, BC | 75 km | 5–7 days | Strenuous
There’s a moment on the West Coast Trail when you round a headland and come face-to-face with the Pacific’s restless energy—a ceaseless battering of black rock, the sky split by seabirds, and behind you, the dripping silence of a Sitka spruce forest. You’ll have earned it. This trail, originally cleared in 1907 as a life-saving route for shipwreck survivors, is now a pilgrimage for serious backpackers.
It runs between Gordon River and Pachena Bay, threading through rainforest, sandstone shelves, surge channels, and the skeletal remains of ships lost to the “Graveyard of the Pacific.” This is a trail of ladders—70-plus of them—and boardwalks, bog crossings, cable cars, and creek fords. You’ll plan each day around the tides, watching barnacle-covered platforms appear and vanish. Wildlife sightings—black bears, sea lions, grey whales—are common, but so are twisted ankles and soaked boots.
What elevates the West Coast Trail is not just the scenery, but the choreography it demands: every footfall considered, every campfire hard-won. Tsusiat Falls and Cribs Creek are among its iconic sites, but the real reward is that sense of elemental dialogue—you, the terrain, and the ocean, each trying to outlast the other.
2. Cape Chignecto Coastal Loop
Bay of Fundy, NS | 52 km | 3–4 days | Difficult
The Bay of Fundy’s 12-metre tides are the highest in the world, and the Cape Chignecto Coastal Loop is their arena. Carved into steep-walled headlands on Nova Scotia’s western shore, this loop is often described as an Atlantic cousin to the West Coast Trail—remote, self-contained, and laced with exposed terrain that tests both knees and resolve.
The trail begins near Advocate Harbour and climbs quickly into coastal spruce forest before breaking onto cliff tops that offer staggering views of the Minas Channel. Over the next several days, you’ll descend into tidal estuaries, cross stream mouths that vanish at low tide, and camp on wooded terraces that feel miles from anything.
Chignecto’s magic is in its scale. The cliffs here are not gentle slopes but 200-metre red-rock ramparts, home to peregrine falcons and old growth that somehow clings to salt-sprayed ledges. Fog arrives like a curtain, and disappears just as quickly, unveiling glittering expanses of exposed sea floor or breakers crashing on reefs below.
Tide awareness is essential—some crossings become impassable with only a few centimetres of change. But for those who navigate it, Chignecto offers unmatched Atlantic isolation with surprisingly little foot traffic.
3. Fundy Footpath
Southern NB | 41 km | 3–4 days | Strenuous
The Fundy Footpath is one of Atlantic Canada’s most unforgiving trails—and one of its most rewarding. Wedged between Fundy National Park and the Big Salmon River, it delivers over 3,000 metres of cumulative elevation gain, despite its relatively short length. You’re either climbing or descending here, often sharply, as the trail snakes along steep, forested slopes and tide-exposed beaches.
The trail’s defining quality is how immersive it feels. You pass through moss-draped ravines, hardwood gullies, and lonely headlands where the wind carries only the hiss of waves and the screech of gulls. Campsites are wild but beautifully located—Goose River and Seely Beach, in particular, offer views you’ll replay in your head for months.
There are no boardwalks or ladders here; the terrain is raw, slick, and unfiltered. You’ll ford rivers, grip tree roots on climbs, and navigate slippery boulder fields with tides nipping at your boots. But when you crest a bluff and see the Bay of Fundy stretched out below, slate-coloured and vast, the exhaustion melts into exhilaration.
For experienced hikers craving a visceral coastal experience—one where each kilometre is earned—the Fundy Footpath is peerless.
4. East Coast Trail
Avalon Peninsula, NL | 336 km (divided into sections) | Variable durations | Moderate to Difficult
More a network than a single trail, Newfoundland’s East Coast Trail offers 25 interconnected routes stretching from Topsail Beach to Cappahayden. It delivers not only the province’s coastal majesty—sea stacks, puffins, whales, fjords—but also a living history of fishing communities, resettled outports, and lighthouses that still cut through the fog.
Each section offers a standalone experience. The Spout Path is perhaps the most iconic, named for a wave-blasted geyser that launches seawater skyward on the right tide. The Flamber Head Path offers vertiginous cliffs and rich seabird habitat, while the Cape Spear Path leads to the easternmost point of North America.
What sets the East Coast Trail apart is its intimacy with both land and culture. You pass through backyards, along fishing wharves, past community halls and heritage sites. The ocean is rarely out of view—and often audible even when it’s hidden by fog or hill.
Best of all, the trail offers flexibility. Hike it end to end in a thru-hike, or stitch together your own narrative with day hikes, gear shuttles, and cozy B&Bs along the way.
5. Cape Scott & North Coast Trail
Vancouver Island, BC | 59 km combined | 3–6 days | Difficult
Cape Scott is one of those names that evokes myth: a place of fierce weather, wolf tracks on the beach, and trail sections that disappear under moss. The original Cape Scott Trail—23 km from the trailhead to Nels Bight—has long been a classic: coastal meadows, driftwood beaches, and ruins of an ill-fated Danish settlement from the late 1800s. But add the newer North Coast Trail extension, and the route transforms into something deeper and more remote.
This combined route along the northern tip of Vancouver Island is one of the wildest designated trails in the province. It hugs the coast tightly, dipping inland only when the terrain forces it. Expect rope assists, muddy blowdowns, narrow root-tangled passages, and massive trees scattered like bones in a forest cathedral.
The payoff is solitude and an overwhelming sense of presence. Beaches like Shuttleworth Bight and Nissen Bight are jaw-dropping, often deserted, and feel like they belong in a prehistoric age. This is a place for prepared hikers who crave quiet—not easy mileage.
6. Sunshine Coast Trail
Sunshine Coast, BC | 180 km | 10–14 days (section hikes possible) | Moderate to Strenuous
The Sunshine Coast Trail is Canada’s longest hut-to-hut hiking trail, but its greatest asset isn’t its length—it’s its rare blend of comfort, remoteness, and coastal immersion. Stretching 180 kilometres from Sarah Point in Desolation Sound to Saltery Bay in the south, the SCT offers a deeply varied trek through rainforests, alpine ridges, shoreline headlands, and logging scars now softened by nature’s slow reclamation.
Developed and maintained by a committed group of volunteers under the Powell River Parks and Wilderness Society (PAWS), the trail is a remarkable community achievement. Over the years, it has evolved from a backcountry bushwhack into a well-marked, well-mapped, and thoughtfully curated experience. What sets it apart is its series of free huts—15 and counting—spaced roughly a day apart, allowing hikers to travel lightweight and sleep sheltered, no reservations required.
Though not exclusively coastal, the trail repeatedly returns to the sea. The northern trailhead at Sarah Point drops you immediately into the drama of Desolation Sound—salty air, arbutus clinging to cliffs, and boats bobbing far below. As you move south, the terrain shifts with geological character: through old-growth groves at the base of Mount Troubridge, beside the tannin-dark waters of Inland Lake, and across ridgelines that reveal glimpses of the Salish Sea and Vancouver Island.
Several sections offer particularly powerful coastal moments. The Tin Hat Mountain segment rewards with 360-degree views stretching from alpine to ocean—on a clear morning, you’ll see a quilt of fjords, islands, and distant peaks. Around Lois Lake and Fiddlehead Landing, the trail hugs quiet, reflective waters before rising into high forest. Inland Lake itself is ringed by a wide, wheelchair-accessible loop trail that acts as a serene interlude in the middle of more rugged sections.
The SCT can be hiked in its entirety as a two-week thru-hike or tackled in segments, thanks to frequent trailheads and access roads. It’s especially popular with BC-based section hikers, families testing out backcountry nights, and those transitioning from frontcountry backpacking to wilderness travel.
But make no mistake—the Sunshine Coast Trail is no cakewalk. Some ascents are punishing, the trail can get muddy and overgrown in parts, and signage, while vastly improved, occasionally falters in more remote segments. Wildlife sightings include black bears, coastal wolves, and the occasional cougar. Cell service is intermittent, and water sources are seasonal—meaning planning remains key.
Short Coastal Hikes
7. Skyline Trail
Cape Breton Highlands National Park, NS | 8.2 km loop | Half-day | Easy to Moderate
The Skyline Trail is deceptively tame. On paper, it’s a wide, well-maintained loop with only gentle elevation changes. But once you reach the boardwalk that snakes across the windswept headland, the illusion drops away—and you’re standing at the edge of a continent.
Perched atop French Mountain on Cape Breton Island’s western flank, the trail serves up what is arguably one of the most iconic vistas in Atlantic Canada. The Gulf of St. Lawrence stretches into infinity. Below, the Cabot Trail clings to the cliffs like a ribbon tossed by the wind. Eagles glide on thermals, and in the right season, pods of pilot whales crest far below. On land, moose often roam the brushy meadows, and if you’re walking quietly at dawn, you might catch one silhouetted against the sea.
Because it’s accessible—family-friendly, open year-round, and located within a national park—the Skyline Trail can draw a crowd. But come in the shoulder seasons, or stay for sunset, and you’ll likely find long moments of solitude on the headland. For many, it’s a Cape Breton rite of passage; for some, a repeat pilgrimage.
8. Putep’t-awt Trail (Gros-Cacouna Mountain)
Bas-Saint-Laurent, QC | ~5 km | Two hours | Moderate
Inaugurated in 2024 as part of a partnership between the Wolastoqiyik Wahsipekuk First Nation and Quebec marine mammal conservation groups, the Putep’t-awt Trail—meaning “the trail where we observe from the top”—is a rare and significant addition to Quebec’s trail network. Located near Cacouna, on the south shore of the St. Lawrence Estuary, this trail climbs Gros-Cacouna Mountain, a modest peak with an outsized view.
What sets it apart is the beluga. From the trail’s summit observatory, visitors can watch these endangered whales as they surface, calve, and feed in the estuary below. It’s the first public land-based beluga observation point in Quebec—a crucial site for both science and Indigenous stewardship.
The trail itself is a blend of maritime forest and exposed rock, with interpretive signs highlighting Indigenous connections to the land, as well as the area’s ecological importance. Unlike more remote coastal treks, Putep’t-awt is easily accessible and family-friendly, but with the emotional and scientific weight of a trail that matters far beyond recreation.
Come between June and September for the best chance at sightings. And bring binoculars—the whales are often closer than they first appear.
9. Taylor Head Provincial Park – Headland Trail
Eastern Shore, NS | 4 km loop | Three hours | Moderate
Nova Scotia’s Eastern Shore is often overlooked in favour of the Cabot Trail or Lunenburg’s historic draw—but for those willing to veer off the main highways, Taylor Head Provincial Park offers one of the most rugged and underappreciated coastal hikes in the province.
The Headland Trail forms a dramatic loop at the edge of a narrow peninsula that juts four kilometres into the Atlantic. Along its course, the trail shifts from spruce forest to exposed cliff-top barrens, to windswept meadows and pink granite ledges. The views are constant and panoramic—open ocean to the south, rocky coves below, and seabirds nesting in the crags.
What makes Taylor Head stand out is its variability. One minute you’re skirting dense thickets; the next, you’re standing alone on a promontory feeling like you’ve stumbled into a Norse saga. On calm days, the beaches below are peaceful and beckoning. In high winds, the sea turns steel-grey and furious.
It’s a wild place, even though it’s less than two hours from Halifax. For a full day of hiking with a sense of vastness and exposure—without the crowds—this might be the best coastal loop in Nova Scotia you’ve never heard of.
10. Quarry Rock Trail
Deep Cove, North Vancouver, BC | 3.8 km return | Half-day | Moderate
Nestled in the tranquil village of Deep Cove, the Quarry Rock Trail offers a quintessential coastal forest hike just minutes from the urban buzz of Vancouver. While modest in length, this trail delivers a surprisingly rewarding ascent through dense coastal rainforest, culminating in a rocky outcrop that frames a stunning panorama of Indian Arm—a narrow fjord stretching northward into the Coast Mountains.
The trail begins at Panorama Park, winding through towering Douglas firs, western red cedars, and vibrant moss-draped undergrowth. Early spring reveals an understory carpeted with wildflowers, while fall cloaks the forest in deep hues of amber and rust. Though the elevation gain is steady but manageable—about 120 metres—the path is uneven in sections, with roots and rocks demanding careful footing.
As you near the summit, the trees thin out and the forest gives way to open rock ledges. From this vantage point, the view opens dramatically: turquoise waters below, dotted with kayakers and paddleboarders; rugged peaks rising sharply on the far shore; and the occasional glimmer of sailboats drifting by. On clear days, the light dances on the water in a way that feels almost otherworldly.
Despite its proximity to the city, Quarry Rock retains a sense of remoteness—especially on weekday mornings or outside peak summer months. It’s a popular spot for locals and visitors alike, a perfect half-day outing that combines easy access with a genuine wilderness feel.
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