BIKE PACKING EXPEDITIONS
Tree to Sea Loop 1000kms
Tree to Sea Loop 1000kms
Water Taxi Connection between Tahsis and Zeballos #treetoseaboat
New for 2024, Secure gated pay parking in North Courtenay available for Shorebird guests.
Shorebirds’ landing craft makes the roll on, roll off very easy with bikes.
The following information is provided by Miles Arbour at Bikepacking.com
The Tree to Sea Loop is an incredible 1,000-kilometre gravel loop around the lesser-known areas on the north end of Vancouver Island, British Columbia. The route links massive valleys, oceanside villages, towering coastal mountains, and deep fjords via an impressive patchwork of forest service roads. Aside from some of the best gravel riding on the coast, there are opportunities for spelunking, whale watching, waterside camping, and much more…
Vancouver Island is a playground for outdoor enthusiasts, boasting year-round access, diverse landscapes, and loads of bikepacking potential. Unfortunately, some outdoor recreation is prohibited due to land access issues stemming from the logging industry, making it challenging to share larger routes that head south from the middle of the island. Thankfully, the north end of Vancouver Island has a fantastic network of publicly accessible forest service roads that can be linked together into a genuinely epic gravel bikepacking route.
The Tree to Sea Loop takes advantage of the gravel roads north of Campbell River, linking together small coastal villages, incredible landscapes, and impressive granite mountains into a 1,000-kilometre bucket-list bikepacking route. Along the way, riders tackling the route will have the chance to whale watch, explore caves, and unwind at some of the best waterside camp spots in the province. The track bundles much of what the North Island offers into a well-rounded route that can be tackled in two weeks or easily expanded into a 20+ day endeavour with side trips and rest days.
The Tree to Sea Loop starts and ends in Comox on Vancouver Island, providing the perfect starting location for those ferrying in from the Sunshine Coast, flying into the Comox airport, or travelling north from Victoria or the mainland. The route follows a network of side roads and multi-use pathways along the coast towards Campbell River before joining forest service roads for the majority of the loop. After leaving Upper Campbell Lake, the route skirts along the west coast of Vancouver Island, passing through Gold River, Tahsis, Zeballos, and Port Alice, leading to Cape Scott Provincial Park and the most remote pub on Vancouver Island, the Scarlet Ibis in Holberg. Riders head east towards Port Hardy and navigate along the east side of the island (with several chances for beautiful oceanside camping) before eventually heading back into the north end of Campbell River. The route wraps up with an urban rail-trail connection back to the coast and south to Comox.
Though beautiful, this route is no walk in the park. Logistics and coastal weather create a sliding difficulty rating that is both hard to predict and manage. As presented, the route requires a water taxi from Tahsis to Zeballos, which will be replaced by the Unity Trail that will eventually connect the two communities. It’s an expensive ride that’s best split between a larger group, but the boat trip is incredibly beautiful and rewarding in its own way. Many of the remote coastal communities have general stores and resupply points that aren’t entirely reliable, especially in the off-season, forcing riders to pack several days of food at a time. On top of all that, the unpredictable weather of northern Vancouver Island makes proper rain gear and multiple layers a necessity, especially during the spring and fall, which are some of the best times to enjoy the route.
Route Development: The Tree to Sea Loop was inspired by the North Island 1000, which was created the year before we scouted and published this route. They share many of the same roads, but the Tree to Sea includes some bicycle-only trails and is designed specifically for bikepacking. The name pays homage to the scenic Tree to Sea Drive from Gold River to Tahsis, a truly spectacular section of road with many interesting side trips along the way. Peter Buco of Vancouver helped scout the route during the first week of September, and further assistance was provided by Brett Baldwin and Hannah and Madi Friesen, who joined in on some of the fun. Further input was also provided by Bruce Grant, who also tackled a variation of the route with a group of friends. A shout-out to Rob (Salty Beard Bikepacking) who provided input on the route and helped finalize the section between Campbell Lake and Gold River.
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