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New bridge on Vancouver Island’s Cape Scott Trail brings better access

‘Happy hiking everyone!’
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The new bridge in Cape Scott Park will again provide access to spectacular hiking destinations like Nels Bight.

Northern Vancouver Island’s Cape Scott Trail has a brand new bridge in place – good news for hikers.

According to the Cape Scott Park and the North Coast Trail Facebook page, local crews have recently installed a brand new replacement bridge at Hansen’s Lagoon, upgrading the previous one that had washed away during the winter’s heavy weather.

The Facebook post added with this new bridge being put in place, “the Cape Scott Trail is now accessible and can be used (to) reach Nels Bight and Guise Bay. Happy hiking everyone!”

The new bridge on the Cape Scott Trail. (Cape Scott Park and North Coast Trail Facebook photo)
The new bridge on the Cape Scott Trail. (Cape Scott Park and North Coast Trail Facebook photo)

The most popular camping destination in the park, and a good base for those exploring farther, Nels Bight is just shy of 16 kilometres from the trailhead – about six hours hiking time, one-way. Hikers are rewarded with a beautiful 2,400-metres-long sandy beach that’s 210 metres wide at low tide, BC Parks notes.

Guise Bay, 20.7 km from the trailhead, presents a one-way hiking time of about 7.5 hours. Another beautiful beach with good camping possibilities, the bay is sometimes popular with endangered sea otters.

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Tyson Whitney

About the Author: Tyson Whitney

I have been working in the community newspaper business for nearly a decade, all of those years with Black Press Media.
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