Grant Bay is located on the northwest coast of Vancouver Island. It is one of the nicest beaches on Vancouver Island. Its all-white sand from one end to the other and from the forest to the sea. It’s quite a drive to reach it, and this means fewer people.
Most of the time, you will find that you are the only one there. But the beach is more than big enough for more. Big enough to provide a private area to swim/sunbathe in. The times that l have been there, I found I was far outnumbered by the otters and not humans.
A short video by Sandra Wilson
The area was first surveyed in the late 1860s. For many years the peninsula between Browning Inlet and Grant Bay was connected by trails that were built by the First Peoples. Then settlers began coming to the area and using these trails as well. Life was tough for early settlers, but the beauty of the area made up for it and these old trails were a great way to travel.
In the 1800s, rescue huts were built at regular intervals along the west coast of Vancouver Island. These huts had supplies of food and blankets that were provided for shipwrecked sailors. One of these huts was built on Lippy Point on the Southern tip of Grant Bay. The huts are mostly gone from the island’s coast now, the last one l found was on the outer coast of Nootka Island. This was many years ago when l was a much younger man. I have not seen one since then. I suppose there could still be a few, but they are most likely fallen down now and would be hard to spot even if you were up close to one.
Until about ten years ago Grant Bay was only accessible either by boat or a three-hour hike. You can now walk a short trail into the bay, it takes about 30 minutes. The beauty of this bay and its wide sandy beaches will surprise you the first time you see it, it took my breath away.
The way the beach forms a half-moon, the small river that runs in on the north end, and the wildlife that abounds here. The sea otters seem to be everywhere and don’t shy away from observers, there is always a chance to see one of the whales that travel past the west side of the island on their yearly migration. It’s truly a paradise for your eyes. Bring a camera and take home some memories.
Hi it’s July 30, 2022 and last night there were two parties on the beach, one at each end. The larger one was in that tiny pocket beach at the end, left from the beach entrance. We arrived Thursday and it was ok but Friday night was packed and Saturday as we headed out after a night of trying to sleep amidst two light shows and pounding bass beats from the electronic music blasted via generator powered speakers, we were shocked to see people parked way down the road leaving no turnaround options and hundreds more cars heading in for Saturday night. Yes, people carried in generators and light show devices. It’s just a 10 minute walk from the road so kids were dragging load after load of booze stuffed coolers. I expected this honestly on a weekend but it was far worse than I could have imagined. The regional district really needs to be made aware of this as the parking and the single “green throne” toilet filled to the top are totally inadequate. I can’t even imagine the amount of trash and waste that would have been left behind. It was also difficult to find a place for our tent because the white sand was covered in char from all the campfires people are having. Every square inch has campfire waste.
wow, this is such disturbing news, would anyone like to let us know if there was any cleanup after these parties.
Hi just wondering what type of trail it is into the bay. Would we be able to pull a wagon?
How do you drive there from Nanaimo. Google maps does not work!
go into the page and hold down scroll to control google map located at the bottom of the page if on a desktop, if using cell phone, you need to use 2 fingers
Google map won’t show it
works fine on my comp, not sure what to suggest
Thanks for this Bud. Looks like a great spot & one which I’ll visit this coming spring/summer season.
it is not a 30 minute hike, drive to the end of the logging road and you can park there, theres a trail that goes through old growth its about a 7 minute walk to the beach
Trail has been getting shorter over the years.
If want to camp on beach is their a place to leave truck I guess parking before hike into
Hi Bud, whats the road like down to the rec site at Grant Bay? Do you need a 4×4 / high clearance? Thanks
Hi Paul, its a pretty good road in, a car works fine.
We are looking to head to Grant Bay next weekend, is there a source of potable water?
No, you must pack it in.
Hi Bud, we’re planning a little road trip up towards Raft Cove and were thinking of checking out the campsite at Grant Bay. Your comments mention a 30ish minute walk to the bay. Is that 30 minute walk to the campsite or just to the bay. We’re just trying to figure out if we need to pack in or if we’ll be able to park our vehicle at the campsite. Thanks for the information.
Hi Matt, That’s a 30-minute walk in from the road, there is no parking at the campsite, it’s not a maintained site, just wilderness camping at the beach. It’s so worth the visit though.
you’re have to pack your gear in. There are no facilities so bring a shovel and make sure you take out what you bring in. It’s a nice easy hike in. Sign says 1 km but seems shorter.