Why Choose San Josef Bay for Your Vancouver Island Elopement?

San Josef Bay is located in Cape Scott Provincial Park on the northwest coast of Vancouver Island. It has a rugged wilderness that captures the soul and ignites a sense of adventure. This is OFF THE BEATEN PATH! Famous for its sea stacks and sea caves, for its wide sweeping white sand beach and for backcountry camping right on the shore, this is a Vancouver Island destination like no other.

For this reason, San Josef Bay is the ultimate adventure elopement beach location. In my opinion, San Josef Bay is more beautiful than the beaches in Tofino, more wild than the beaches in Jordan River and less crowded than anywhere else on Vancouver Island. Here you will find a bit of everything that Vancouver Island has to offer. There is a 2.5 km well maintained trail to the beach through a rich forest of Douglas fir and cedar trees towering above a carpet of moss and ferns. It also offers a pristine white sand beach with rugged rock formations full of sea life and tide pools. To top it all off the beaches most iconic feature of sea caves and sea stacks invite you to marvel at their thousands of year old formation as you wander the shore at low tide.

Visiting this remote and rugged destination requires planning and time, but it is well worth the effort!

Tips for Getting Married at San Josef Bay

Getting There

San Josef Bay is accessed from a 68km gravel logging road that originates in Port Hardy, at the northern tip of Vancouver Island. Although 4-Wheel Drive is not necessary to travel these roads, having mid-high wheel clearance is recommended. Bring a spare tire and/or a repair kit and know how to use them. Sharp rocks have been known to do a number on tires! Expect the drive to take 2 hours or more depending on the condition of the roads. These are active logging roads so give way to logging trucks. It is important to note that there is no cell service once you get on the logging road, and no gas stations, so come prepared for the journey!

Accessing the Beach

From the parking lot it is a 2.5km (40 min) walk along a nicely groomed trail to the beach. The trail is a mix of crushed gravel, wooden boardwalks and tree roots. Expect some sections to be muddy. Once at the beach it is a further 10 min walk along the shore to get to the sea stacks and sea caves. Head right and keep walking. You'll see them!

Access to the seastacks and caves is tidal dependent as they are only accessible at a low tide. You can check current local tides here.

Permit Requirements

There is no permit required to get married within Cape Scott Provincial Park, however a Letter of Authorisation (LOA) should be acquired from the park supervisor prior to your ceremony to ensure that there are no conflicts for the date you are planning to be in the park. Your photographer should contact the supervisor in advance and bring a copy of the letter on the day. Still, handheld photography is allowed within the park but the use of drones is not permitted and video footage requires a separate permit.

Camping Options

Since accessing the park requires so much time and requires timing with the tide, it often makes sense to stay the night either within the park or near the park in one of two different campgrounds.

If you plan to camp on the beach overnight you will need a backcountry camping permit which can be purchased here . This doesn't reserve you a spot, as it is first come first serve, but it does give you the convenience of prepaying before you get there. There is plenty of open beach above the tide line to camp at as well as multiple pit toilets.

If you have a camper van or prefer to camp off of the beach, there are two campsites just before the entrance to the park. One is the recreation site run by Western Forest Products and the other, San Josef Heritage Campsite, is privately owned and operated. Neither campsite takes reservations and offer very basic amenities including a pit toilet and fire pits. There is no access to running water at either site, so come prepared to be self-sufficient.

How Kylie and Paul brought their 10 Year Vow Renewal to Life

Kylie and Paul contacted me from Colorado when they were in the beginning stages of planning a Vancouver Island road trip in their campervan in celebration of their 10 year wedding anniversary. We started planning via video chats and emails to hash out different ideas but the remote region of the northwest coast of Vancouver Island captured their adventurous spirit.

We planned out the drive across dirt logging roads, coordinated camping spots for our vans, and mapped out a day based around the sun and the tides to bring this day to life. Kylie and Paul had so many personal and unique elements that they wanted to bring into their anniversary and vow renewal as well, so together we crafted a custom elopement style day that was 100% THEM!

Here is the timeline for their Elopement Experience:

• We arrived the night before and camped at San Josef Heritage Campsite, as we had an early start the next day. This gave us a chance to meet ahead of time and go over any last minute details. The campsite is a short 5 min drive from the trailhead for the park.
• We met at the trailhead the next morning at 6:15am to begin the 2.5 km hike down to the beach. Saying their vows amidst the evergreens and ferns was important to them, so we met early in order to take advantage of the early morning light in the forest.
• We found a beautiful moss covered spot to say their vows to each other surrounded by ferns and cedars.
• Following their vow renewal ceremony we hiked to the beach for low tide and explored the famous sea stacks and sea caves and got to watch the sealife that is so abundant in the tide pools along the rocks.
• We headed back to the parking lot for lunch and to take their 2 dogs for a walk along the trail. And of course we took photos with their dogs too!!
• Kylie is a professional cake baker, so she prepared a beautiful cake in the van for their anniversary celebration. This small touch added so much personality to the day!
• After dinner, we hiked back through the forest down to the beach to watch the sunset and to share a bottle of wine from their commemorative anniversary vow box. This beautiful wooden box carries their vows which they re-commit to each other every 5 years as well as a bottle of wine to uncork on each occasion. Another personal touch that added so much meaning to their day!
• We headed back to the trail as the last light left the beach and donned head lamps for the hike back. We camped one last night under a night sky ablaze with aurora borealis. It was an epic ending to an already epic day!!

See full photos of this day below.

Considering Eloping on Vancouver Island?

You can check out my full How to Elope on Vancouver Island Guide that will give you all the info on what to consider when eloping on this beautiful island. And, if you want to read about other fabulous beach elopement options on Vancouver Island, you can read my Top 5 Beach Elopement Locations of Vancouver Island blog post.

And if you are planning to elope at San Josef Bay and want a full North Vancouver Island itinerary to extend your stay check out my detailed North Vancouver Island Road Trip Itinerary Guide.