Welcome to ʔapsčiik t̓ašii (pronounced ups-cheek ta-shee)

ʔapsčiik t̓ašii (pronounced ups-cheek ta-shee) is the new multi-use pathway, located in the ḥaḥuułi — the traditional territories and homelands — of the Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation and Yuułuʔiłʔatḥ. It extends approximately 25 km from the southern to the northern boundary of the Long Beach Unit of Pacific Rim National Park Reserve. The pathway is paved along its entirety and provides access to numerous points of interest found in the national park reserve. Although the pathway is fairly flat, there are a few short, steep hills and curves along the way.

How to pronounce ʔapsčiik t̓ašii

Recording of Kaamatḥ, Levi Martin, Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation Elder

ʔapsčiik t̓ašii means going the right way on the path and ʔapsčiik t̓ašii has a second meaning & make sure you speak the truth.

 
 
Trail Etiquette Your safety Video Gallery

 

Please respect the following advisories:

  • Please use caution when riding or walking along Highway #4 between the District of Ucluelet’s multi-use path and the southern boundary of the Long Beach Unit of Pacific Rim National Park Reserve and the ʔapsčiik t̓ašii.
  • Stay on the path: Respect the Stay on the path: Respect the privacy of the communities of Esowista and Ty-Histanis by not entering or cutting through them without permission. By staying on the path, you can also protect sensitive ecological areas.
  • Road safety: Use extreme caution at the uncontrolled crossings near Radar Hill and on Wick Road.
  • Respect workers: Expect to encounter construction crews at any point along the pathway. Please be patient and only pass when they indicate it is safe to do so.
Trail Etiquette
This multi-use recreational pathway supports a variety of activities. To ensure a safe and enjoyable experience for all users, please respect the following trail etiquette.
  • Share the pathway:
    • Always keep to the right.
    • Announce “on your left” and pass with care.
    • Travel at a reasonable and controlled speed.
    • Move off the paved pathway to take a break.
  • Cyclists must yield to all other users.
  • Keep pets on a leash, under control and on the designated path at all times. Please keep pets on the same side of the pathway as you.
  • Pick up after your pet.
  • Do not litter or leave anything behind. Pack it in, pack it out.
  • Harvesting of any object, artifact or natural resource is prohibited.

A cyclist riding along right hand side of pathway with couple and dog on leash on left side of pathway. Beach and Lovekin Rock in the background.

Your Safety
Before you set out:

Parks Canada makes every effort to ensure visitor safety, however all outdoor activities involve some degree of risk. Please remember that your safety is your personal responsibility. Be well prepared for your chosen activity and wear appropriate safety equipment related to your activity.

  • Stay alert and be aware of your surroundings.
  • Cell phone coverage is not always reliable. Let someone know your plans before heading out.
  • Weather may change at any time. Check the forecast and bring appropriate clothing/gear.
  • Wind events can leave large debris on the pathway. Use caution and avoid travelling through the forest during a wind event.
  • The pathway surface may be slippery in icy or wet conditions.
  • Bridges and boardwalks are often slippery, but especially in wet or icy conditions.
  • In winter, daylight hours are limited, so plan enough time to return safely.
Protecting Wildlife

When you visit Pacific Rim National Park Reserve, you are visiting an area that is home to a diverse array of wildlife. Your behaviour can have an impact on the safety of wildlife, yourself, and other visitors.

Wildlife respect and safety
  • Always stay on designated pathways.
  • Keep pets on a leash and under control at all times.
  • Keep a safe distance from wildlife.
  • Freshwater fishing is prohibited.
  • ‘Do not feed wildlife. Human food kills animals.

In case of emergency, contact: or

Report all wolf, cougar, and bear sightings to Parks Canada at

In the case of immediate conflict, if you encounter or are approached by wildlife:

  • Act big
  • Make noise
  • Don’t run

Video Gallery

Building ʔapsčiik t̓ašii - Part 1: Creating a Pathway Together

Transcript

[Music]

<> Well, ʔapsčiik

in our language it has two meanings

ʔapsčiik is going the right way on the path.

You know, also, ʔapsčiik means to

make sure you speak the truth.

That was a very important teaching for

our people to speak the truth.

<> The ʔapsčiik t̓ašii is a

multi-use

path that is 25 kilometres within the

homelands of the

Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation, the Yuułuʔiłʔatḥ First

Nation

and within Long Beach Unit of Pacific

Rim National Park Reserve.

So it's 25 kilometres connecting

every community within the region from

Tofino to Tla-o-qui-aht to

Yuułuʔiłʔatḥ lands, into the Ucluelet

district.

So, it's providing that route and that

artery

for this region that allows people

to experience what this area has from

land

to sea. It's a wonderful path that's

going to connect

everybody.

[Music]

<> Building in a national park reserve is

not an easy thing.

It's not like building your standard

highway or building your standard trail—

there's so many things to take in

consideration.

We're working with First Nation

partners, we're looking at environmental

consequences,

we're looking at invasive species and

amphibians and archaeological sites. So

when you're looking at

moving the trail slightly two meters

away from the highway or closer to the

highway

you really have to take into account all

these different elements and think ahead

about those things and plan with them

and talk to your experts.

<> The ʔapsčiik t̓ašii connects the

visitors to the originators of this

area who still reside today and have

been working with us from

day one on the ʔapsčiik t̓ašii to really

help us understand

the appropriate route to take that not

only is environmentally sensitive

and culturally protecting the area but

also that

really connects the visitor to what they

experienced in their homelands and

that's what the ʔapsčiik t̓ašii was meant

to do,

was to help visitors really see and

understand

the First Nation context that is within

this area.

<> There's always berries and other growth

like

roots that we can munch on and the beach

is

very generous with seafood. You know, you

could survive out there all day without

bringing lunch from home and we want it

to stay that way.

We want everything in that area to stay

as natural as possible.

<> This is going to be a project that

in 25 years is going to change the

landscape to this area

but is also going to really bring

Pacific Rim National Park Reserve, First

Nations,

and districts together to really

look at how we welcome our visitors to

this region

and how we protect it because that's

what it has done—

it has allowed us to really

embrace the one team, the one voice and

the one vision

with different parties, not just Parks

Canada.

<> We're really hopeful that this is

something that many people are going to

enjoy for years to come...be able to use

to connect destinations, to connect

communities.

<> There is not only the environmental

benefits

the economic opportunities for

Indigenous partners,

but it's also just the benefit of

something new to the area.

<> With us First Nations and Pacific Rim

National Park coming together and

working together and acknowledging the

land

I felt like, "ʔapsčiik t̓ašii"—we are going

the right way, like you know. We're coming

together and

walking together and turning together

in a good way.

Building ʔapsčiik t̓ašii - Part 2: Planning the Pathway With Care

Transcript 00:06 <> Our ancestors had an understanding about 00:11 the cycle of life. We come from Mother Earth and then after life, then we go back into 00:19 Mother Earth. If we fall a tree 00:22 we put a part of the tree—the spirit of the tree— 00:27 back into the ground so that he will 00:29 always come back and always be plentiful. 00:46 <> Building in a national park reserve has taken 00:51 more studies and work and investigation and care than any projects I've worked 00:57 on in my lifetime. 01:12 <> We really wanted to stay within principles that the First Nations 01:17 and the Park Reserve had established of 01:20 "hishukish ts'awalk", 01:21 everything is one. "uu-a-thluk", taking care of, and "iisaak" respect. 01:27 <> We teach them from very young that we are all one with the land the 01:33 water 01:33 the air and everything in it. [Music] 01:41 <> The design wasn't chosen until we came 01:45 out to the park and did specific studies. So, we worked with the First Nations to 01:48 do traditional use studies, 01:50 we worked with our environmental experts to do a detailed impact assessment, 01:54 and we also worked with archaeologists and once all that information was put 01:58 together, we were then able to 02:00 flag the best route which really minimized environmental impacts and 02:03 archaeological impacts and would provide the 02:05 best visitor experience. 02:08 <> In taking the trail through this area it 02:11 was important to 02:13 make sure that it's done responsibly and that we're still maintaining that refuge 02:16 for animals 02:17 while also presenting these really unique habitats to park 02:22 users, so we can go buy them without going into them 02:25 and harming these areas and just show people how beautiful these habitats are. 02:30 <> For archaeological preservation, we follow the Parks Canada 02:34 Agency guidelines. The general protocol 02:37 is to always avoid impacts and avoid disturbance to site where possible. 02:40 Where not, we do data recovery to find as much information as we can 02:45 and try and find a design that's going to have the least impact and disturbance 02:49 to archaeological materials. 03:04 <> We are doing things now the way things should have been done 03:09 in the beginning and the people that are going to be coming in 03:13 and walking the pathway, I feel like it'll be 03:16 important for us to share these teachings about honour and respect 03:21 and humility.

Building ʔapsčiik t̓ašii - Part 3: Human-Wildlife Coexistence

Transcript Transcript 0:01 <> One of the things, like, when I was taught 0:07 as a child with my father...there's a place in 0:11 Kennedy Lake… …a river there called Tla-ook. 0:14 He said we're going into a place where 0:16 there's going to be a lot of fish and where there's a lot of fish 0:21 the bears will be there and the wolves will be there. 0:24 Before you go in, you talk to the bears, you talk to the wolves, you ask them to 0:31 allow you to do the work that you need to do. 0:34 And you will not do them any harm or their territory. 0:48 [Music] 0:58 <> It was really the highest standard of 1:09 environmental oversight on this project and for good 1:14 reason, 1:15 you know, it's a really beautiful coastline and this 1:18 this refuge for all these animals, so it was really carefully considered where 1:23 the trail 1:29 went through. 1:36 <> We have six species of amphibians that 1:42 are living 1:44 in the park along the ʔapsčiik t̓ašii. 1:46 Because we couldn't avoid 1:47 them—they would be moving in and 1:49 breeding in all these little pools along the trail— 1:52 we had to do some salvage. 1:53 <> It's the last chance to kind of get these animals out 1:56 and we're protecting them 1:58 and keeping them in the part of the stream that won't be harmed during 2:01 construction so that by the time they move through, there's 2:04 nothing in there and it gets restored back to normal and then 2:08 the animals get released back into the 2:10 site [Music] 2:14 <> The next thing we did was to install 2:20 culverts which will try to allow the amphibians to move 2:23 underneath and this provides moist 2:26 habitat for them during dry periods of 2:28 the year. 2:29 So, for instance, in the summertime 2:31 when they wouldn't want to cross a dry trail, but they will go through an 2:36 underpass that's nice and moist and has lots of 2:39 forest cover in there. 2:41 This will now allow them to cross safely from one side of 2:44 the highway to the other and under the trail and into the forest. 2:52 <> The park, we're finding, is even more 2:57 diverse than we realized. 2:59 We're seeing crayfish and cutthroat 3:01 trout, coho alongside northwestern salamander larvae, 3:05 red-legged frog, dragonfly larvae and all kinds of species that are living 3:10 all together in these tiny little streams. 3:13 So that's been a treat to get to see that and record 3:16 that and that information is going to go towards the park in future. 3:18 [Music]

Building ʔapsčiik t̓ašii - Part 4: Taking an Adaptive Approach

Transcript <> When you're looking at an adaptive approach, it really was about how do we create something brand new and bring it to life at the same time of incorporating everybody's thoughts and everybody's needs and everybody's concerns and being able to adapt and weigh how all of it can make one project come alive. <> If we come across one area and there's a nice big old tree that we are able to micro-route around, we've absolutely done that. So, it's just shifting the pathway over slightly. So, as you bike or stroll or hike along the trail, you'll be able to just see a little shift in alignment <> Immediately ahead of the tree falling we walked ahead with teams. It was one last look to make sure we're avoiding any major trees to make sure there weren't any bear dens nearby that weren't identified or wetlands or pockets of amphibian breeding habitat. So, it was that last chance to go through and just make those micro adjustments of the trail. And then other times we're right in there and we're doing the amphibian and fish salvage. So, right in the creeks with nets and we're trying to get animals out right before a crew moves through an area. <> We're generally looking for any kind of material culture left behind. It could be anything from Indigenous site to early European contact, shipwrecks, early homesteaders, early resource procurement. There was gold mines here back in the late 1800s. The archaeologists, we have a very specific role and that's for the scientific data and recording in a certain manner for Parks Canada. The First Nations monitors, their role is to communicate a part of the history and heritage that we don't have access to through material culture, so ethnographic history, stories from Elders… The Indigenous communities and the First Nations monitors— they have the most intimate relationship with the land and the area since they've been here since time immemorial. Their role, largely, in the past has been left out, so the engagement in this project and the involvement in every level and stage of the project has been amazing, and the way we want to see this kind of work move forward in the future and with other projects. <> There's many many many things that our ancestors did with the cedar. They use it for their clothing they used it for making ropes, you know, for their canoes or when they went whaling. We depend on cedar a lot so we have to really be careful when we're doing these things. So, all this has been done with the utmost honour and respect. <> It's been about three years in the making and walking past every single big tree and every single wetland, every single stream and every single unique pocket of forest. I'm definitely excited to be able to bike it myself but also have a bunch of people from all over the world come and use this trail and see these really unique habitats that otherwise they were just driving past. [Music]