Zone 04 · West Coast

One highway to Tofino and Ucluelet. We plan around it.

Kattz Logistics coordinates commercial freight to Tofino, Ucluelet and Bamfield, from the Duke Point terminal by Highway 19 and Highway 4 through Port Alberni.

Freight for the west coast crosses to Duke Point and takes Highway 4 through Port Alberni and over the mountains: about 195 km to Ucluelet and 220 km to Tofino. When the Cameron Lake section closes, as it did for 17 days in 2023, the coast waits or the freight takes forest roads. Bamfield is at the end of 76 km of industrial road, or a scheduled freight vessel from Port Alberni.

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The request opens with the West Coast as the destination.

West Coast, shaded, with the way in from Duke Point. The road to Bamfield is not drawn. The ringed dot is Kattz, in Nanaimo. Zone lines are approximate: they group the places we deliver to, not municipal boundaries. Coastline: Natural Earth.

The way in

How freight reaches the west coast

We send it by commercial barge to Duke Point, north on Highway 19 past Parksville, then west on Highway 4: past Cameron Lake to Port Alberni, through Sutton Pass and down past Kennedy Lake to the Tofino–Ucluelet junction. Bamfield is reached from Port Alberni on Bamfield Main, about 76 km of industrial road.

Source: BC Government (Highway 4 and Bamfield Main releases, 2011–2025); OSRM on OpenStreetMap.

01Port pickupOne of the five Vancouver-area port facilities, inside the terminal's reservation window.
02The crossingTilbury or Surrey to Duke Point on the commercial barge, a daily, scheduled service. The trailer crosses without a tractor.
03Highway 4From Highway 19 near Qualicum Beach, past Cameron Lake to Port Alberni, about 100 km from Duke Point; then Sutton Pass and Kennedy Lake to the coast.
04The last legUcluelet about 195 km from Duke Point, Tofino about 220 km. Bamfield about 185 km, the last stretch on Bamfield Main.
05ReceiverDelivered to the appointment; the equipment goes back on a return sailing.

Road distances from Duke Point

Road distances from Duke Point
Community	From Duke Point
Ucluelet	195 km
Tofino	220 km
Bamfield	185 km

Road distances: OSRM routing on OpenStreetMap data (© OpenStreetMap contributors), terminal to town centre, computed 2026-10-05 and rounded to the nearest 5 km. A truck's route can differ.

What is different about west coast deliveries

One highway, past Cameron Lake

Highway 4 at Cameron Lake is the highway into Port Alberni and the only one to Tofino and Ucluelet. In June 2023 a wildfire on the Cameron Bluffs closed it for 17 days; the province ran four piloted convoys a day for commercial vehicles on a forest-road detour through Bamfield and Lake Cowichan that added about four hours, and lane restrictions ran until August 31. Planned daytime closures followed in June 2025, December 2025 and February 2026.

Source: BC Government news releases, June 6 to August 31, 2023, June and December 2025; District of Tofino, February 2026.

Kennedy Hill is rebuilt

The 1.5 km Kennedy Hill section beside Kennedy Lake, about 14 km from the Tofino–Ucluelet junction, was finished in spring 2023: two full lanes, a gentler grade than the old 12%, and the overhanging rock that was a hazard to larger transport vehicles cut away.

Source: BC Ministry of Transportation, Highway 4 Kennedy Hill project.

Wide loads stop at Cameron Lake

Under BC's general permit conditions no load wider than 3.2 m may use Highway 4 between Cathedral Grove and Koen Road, and Category B and C loads may use it only between 9 p.m. and 5 a.m. West of the Taylor River Bridge, 40 km past Port Alberni, any load over 3.2 m wide also needs a pilot car to Tofino.

Source: BC CVSE1000 general permit conditions (April 2026).

Bamfield: by logging road or by boat

Bamfield Main was chip-sealed in 2023 but is still an active logging road. The Mount Underwood wildfire closed it from August 2025 until October 24, and gates at kilometres 8 and 9.5, either side of the fire-damaged slope, can close it in high wind or heavy rain. Lady Rose Marine Services' MV Frances Barkley also sails from Port Alberni to Bamfield on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, with room for up to 100 tons of cargo.

Source: Ha-Shilth-Sa (October 2023); Huu-ay-aht First Nations (2026); BC Government news releases, August to October 2025; Lady Rose Marine Services.

New truck tires with green labels stacked in columns inside an open shipping container — Truck tires, stacked in columns.

What we handle on the west coast

How we work, wherever the receiver is

Built around you.
We start with how the shipment needs to arrive.
Early is on time.
Receiving appointments are not suggestions.
Find the practical way.
When freight gets complicated, experience takes over.
Watch the total cost.
We look for smarter ways to move freight, not another line item.

Why Kattz

FAQ

West Coast freight, answered

How does freight get to Tofino and Ucluelet?

We send it by commercial barge to Duke Point, then by road: Highway 19 past Parksville and Highway 4 west through Port Alberni, Sutton Pass and past Kennedy Lake. Ucluelet is about 195 km from Duke Point and Tofino about 220 km. Highway 4 is the only highway to Tofino and Ucluelet.

What happens if Highway 4 closes?

Freight waits, or, for a closure at Cameron Lake, can go round on forest roads. When the Cameron Bluffs wildfire closed Highway 4 in June 2023, the detour ran from Port Alberni to Lake Cowichan via Bamfield on forest and industrial roads, with four piloted convoys a day for commercial vehicles, and added about four hours. Planned daytime closures are announced days ahead.

Can you deliver to Bamfield?

Yes. Bamfield is in our west coast zone. By road it is about 185 km from Duke Point, the last stretch on Bamfield Main, an active logging road whose fire-damaged section can be gated shut in high wind or heavy rain. A scheduled freight vessel, the MV Frances Barkley, also runs from Port Alberni three days a week. Tell us what you are sending and we will say which suits it.

Other Island zones

How freight gets to Vancouver Island, and what the crossing costs