Where to stay · Port Renfrew
Pacheedaht Campground
A mile of driftwood beach for roughly the price of two cocktails back in Victoria.
what it is
oceanfront camping (budget / solo)
the damage
from ~$45-66/night per site; Barrel Sleepers ~$160-170
from Victoria
~2 hr by car
The Pacheedaht First Nation runs this campground where the rivers meet Port San Juan, along a full mile of driftwood strewn beach, and it may be the finest waterfront real estate you will ever occupy for $66 a night. Sites come in beachfront, riverside and forest varieties, with serviced options for anyone who regards electricity as a human right.
This is proper coastal camping, which means the surf thunders all night and the outhouses will remind you that you are not at the Fairmont. Reviewers who compare the place to Malibu and Hawaii are talking about the view, not the plumbing. Come for the driftwood, the beachcombing and an ocean with nothing between you and Japan.
Booking opens 90 days out and the waterfront sites vanish quickly in summer, when a serviced beachfront spot runs $66 against $60.50 in spring and fall. The Gordon River trailhead of the West Coast Trail is practically next door, so expect neighbours with enormous backpacks and thousand yard stares, every one of them deeply happy.
The setting
On Pacheedaht First Nation land at the edge of Port Renfrew, at 305 Pachidah Road, stretched along a mile of driftwood beach between two rivers, near the Gordon River trailhead of the West Coast Trail. The village pub is a short drive around the bay.
Getting there
The same road as everything here: Highway 14 from Victoria through Sooke and Jordan River, about two hours of curves and no ferry, then signs to Pachidah Road at the far end of the village. You park at your own site. The seasonal West Coast Trail Express bus reaches Port Renfrew, though a car makes camp logistics far saner.
good to know
Why it works
- Beachfront tent sites on a mile of driftwood beach
- Serviced and unserviced sites from about $45
- Barrel Sleeper cabins for the tent averse
- Steps from the West Coast Trail's Gordon River trailhead
- Open year round