Juan de Fuca Provincial Park is a provincial park located on the west coast of Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. The park was established on April 4, 1996 by combining three former parks - China Beach, Loss Creek, and Botanical Beach - into one provincial park. It is the location of the majority of the Juan de Fuca Marine Trail, which is a southern compliment to the West Coast Trail within Pacific Rim National Park Reserve. History The region was recognized as biologically significant, and Josephine Tilden of the University of Minnesota installed the first marine research station in the Pacific Northwest at Botanical Beach in 1901. The University of Minnesota maintained a research station here for five years, but they left in 1906. Conway MacMillan resigned from the University of Minnesota after the university refused to take ownership of land in a different country. After the departure of the University of Minnesota, the University of British Columbia, University of Washington, Simon Fraser University, and the University of Victoria have done research in the area. Prior to the establishment, there were several parks in the area protecting what is now within the boundaries of the park. Former parks Loss Creek Provincial Park was a Class A park established on June 29, 1959 at the bridge over the creek of the same name. It was the smallest and least developed of the three parks. China Beach Provincial Park was a Class A park established on January 4, 1967. It was the best developed of the three former parks, featuring a day-use area and vehicle-accessible campground. The park's creation came about in a trade between the provincial government and a forestry company. By allowing logging in the Bedwell Valley of Strathcona Provincial Park the company agreed to hand over the land for China Beach. Botanical Beach Provincial Park was a Class A park established in 1989. It was the largest of the three former parks. At the time of creation, the park was 76% natural environment, with plans for complete restoration of the entire park. This included of land and of foreshore. The park was established to encourage education and research in the area. A nature reserve was established in 1961, and expanded in 1966 to include and of shoreline. The initial proposal for the park was investigated in 1981, with the final park was established in 1989 as a Class