The Nuu-chah-nulth (aka the Wickaninnish Trail), has the amazing distinction among all the other beach hikes in the Tofino-Ucluelet corridor, in that it is flanked on one side by the amazing, and historic Florencia Bay. And on the other side by the unexpectedly, extraordinary and beautiful, Kwisitis Visitor Centre. The Kwisitis Visitor Centre(previously called the Wickaninnish Centre) is in fact a pretty impressive little museum.
Trail has interesting interpretive signsKwisitis Visitor Centre is amazingNice restaurant with incredible viewsKwisitis Visitor Centre is free!Florencia Bay is a gorgeous beachTrail runs through wild & deep forestMultiple destinations from this trail
The trail is not as scenic as other trailsEasy access makes some parts crowdedNo impressively massive trees 
The Big Tree Trail 
Hot Springs Cove 
Lone Cone Nuu Chah Nulth Radar Beach Radar Hill Vargas Island 
Virgin Falls Wild Pacific Trail
Avatar Grove Bear Hill East Sooke Park 
Elk/Beaver Lake Esquimalt Lagoon 
Fort Rodd Hill Francis/King Galloping Goose Goldstream Park Gowlland Tod Grass Lake John Dean Park Juan de Fuca Trail Lone Tree Hill Mill Hill Mount Douglas Mount Tolmie Sooke Potholes Spectacle Lake Thetis Lake Witty's Lagoon
Victoria Attractions Attractions Easy Hiking Trails Moderate Trails Challenging Trails
They have taken a very small space and filled it with jaw dropping murals, carvings, exhibits and an amazing full sized native whaling expedition in mid-attack. Fantastic! You certainly don't expect such a well designed exhibition to be so understated.. and free. And if that wasn't enough there's more. The Kwisitis Feast House(previously the Wickaninnish Restaurant) is excellent. Reasonably priced and good food.. and every table has a million dollar view of the wild Pacific beyond and below. The restaurant juts out, over the ocean, and the waves crash here as you dine, loud, big and beautiful. You would be hard pressed to find a more amazing view for lunch or dinner, at such a reasonably priced restaurant, anywhere. But enough about the great restaurant, back to the great trail. The Nuu-chah-nulth is an interpretive trail that gives a glimpse of the local First Nations culture as it meanders 2.5 kilometres through the rainforest from Florencia Bay to Wickaninnish Beach. Certainly a good way to hike this area is to park at the Florencia Bay/Nuu-chah-nulth parking lot and take the short hike to Florencia Bay.
Take a look at the view from where the Florencia shipwreck memorial plaque is, with a beautiful view out to the island that the Florencia wrecked near. Go down and see the beautiful beach at Florencia Bay, then backtrack up the trail to where the Nuu-chah-nulth Trail branches off toward the Kwisitis Visitor Centre and Kwisitis Feast House. And then finally walk back to your car at the Florencia parking lot. Give yourself about an hour to enjoy the Nuu-chah-nulth Trail (each way), plus an hour at the short side-hike to Florencia Bay, and however long you take at the restaurant and Visitor Centre. Maybe five hours total for this roundtrip hike and museum/restaurant tour. But an amazing five hours immersed in the native history, shipwreck history and natural history of Clayoquot Sound.
The Kwisitis Visitor Centre is a beautiful and astonishingly elaborate little museum next to the very nice Kwisitis Feast House(previously the Wickaninnish Restaurant). Both the Centre and the Restaurant lay in the rainforest of Quisitis Point that separates Wickaninnish Beach and Florencia Bay. The restaurant has incredible views and the Kwisitis Visitor Centre is free. Kwisitis, in the Nuu-chah-nulth language, means "other end of the beach". The restaurant and visitor centre are in a very nice building perched on a point in the middle of seemingly endless beaches in either direction. The restaurant is perched so far out on this point of land that you feel as though you have ocean all around you. There is a huge sundeck outside the restaurant where you have the ocean crashing below you. You hear about "must-see" mentioned about places, however in the case of the Kwisitis Visitor Centre, it is definitely a must-see. The restaurant alone is worth the drive(or hike) to with its amazing ocean views. Even on a dreary day you will be captivated by the wonderful view. The Kwisitis Visitor Centre exhibits are stunning. A full size recreation of a whale hunt takes up much of the main room. The attention to detail is amazing as you can see the intensity in the hunter's faces as they go for the kill. Several other depictions line the walls. You may only spend 15 minutes in the visitor centre, but you will appreciate the wonderful look into the history of the area.
The Kwisitis Visitor Centre is in the midst of some great hiking trails that can all be done in an afternoon. Florencia Bay is widely considered one of the most beautiful beaches in Pacific Rim National Park. Branching off from Florencia Bay is the Nuu-chah-nulth Trail that takes you past a wonderful array of interpretive murals, then along the South Beach Trail to the Kwisitis Visitor Centre. After lunch at the Kwisitis Feast House you can either retrace your steps the way you came back to your car at the Florencia Bay/Nuu-chah-nulth trailhead parking or you can follow Wick Road back to your car via a more direct, though not very scenic route. On Wick Road you will pass the Shorepine Bog Trail. This very unusual forest bog is well worth walking through. A short boardwalk trail takes you on a circle route through this weather-beaten, though captivating forest unlike any other in Pacific Rim National Park.
13 kilometres from Ucluelet or 28 kilometres from Tofino look for the turnoff to Wick Road. This road leads to Florencia Bay, the Shorepine Bog Trail, the Nuu-chah-nulth Trail and the beautiful Kwisitis Information Centre(museum) and Kwisitis Feast House(Restaurant). Shorepine Bog Trail has its own parking area as it is a loop trail. The Nuu-chah-nulth Trail, the South Beach Trail and the Florencia Bay Trail share the same parking area/trailhead. The Kwisitis Visitor Centre and Feast House also have their own parking lot located at one end of the Nuu-chah-nulth Trail and just outside the Kwisitis Visitor Centre and Feast House.
The Big Tree Trail Hot Springs Cove Lone Cone Nuu Chah Nulth Radar Beach Radar Hill Vargas Island Virgin Falls Wild Pacific Trail
Avatar Grove Bear Hill East Sooke Park Elk/Beaver Lake Esquimalt Lagoon Fort Rodd Hill Francis/King Galloping Goose Goldstream Park Gowlland Tod Grass Lake John Dean Park Juan de Fuca Trail Lone Tree Hill Mill Hill Mount Douglas Mount Tolmie Sooke Potholes Spectacle Lake Thetis Lake Witty's Lagoon
Victoria Attractions Attractions Easy Hiking Trails Moderate Trails Challenging Trails
