Sword Fern Trail - Salish Trail - Iron Knee Trail

Sword Fern Trail – Salish Trail – Iron Knee Trail is a relaxed forest walk on the west side of Pacific Spirit Regional Park, right by UBC in Vancouver. The route is about 10.9 km out-and-back with only 156 m of gain, topping out around 99 m, so it feels more like a solid walk than a climb and usually takes around two and a half hours. It’s a good option when you want time in the woods without driving far from the city.

The trail runs through classic coastal forest with thick ferns, big trees, and plenty of shade, so even on a drizzly Vancouver day you stay fairly dry under the canopy. Most of the route is easy, smooth, and gently rolling, though starting from SW Marine Drive gives you a decent uphill workout on the way back. You’ll likely share the path with off-leash dogs and a few cyclists, and if you follow Salish Trail down toward Acadia Beach you get that satisfying “forest to coast” feel in one outing.

Recent hikers report the Sword Fern – Salish – Iron Knee combo as a quiet, low-stress trail, with mud that’s usually manageable even after rain. Parking is the main catch: the lot at the trailhead near SW Marine has a strict 15-minute limit, but there’s three-hour parking across the road and more along Marine Drive closer to the Salish trailhead. There are outhouses at the bottom of Salish and at Acadia Beach, but no reliable water sources, so bring what you need and be ready for bikes that don’t always yield and the odd pile of horse manure hidden in the leaves.