One of the most magical places we've been to in Canada was the Western side of Vancouver Island near Tofino, British Columbia. You have big trees, a temperate climate and endless ocean. Rugged coastline, ocean and hiking adventures await tourists who flock to these parts.
The Wild Pacific Trail is part of the Pacific Rim Trail which is one of the most famous National Parks in Canada. Most of Vancouver Island is a nature preserve and for good reason. The environment here is so insanely beautiful it would be a crime to do anything but preserve it.
Cedar trees tower above us, Vancouver Island is where one finds the largest trees in Canada and some of the biggest trees in the world. Some of the trees in the area are over 4 meters wide 70 meters tall and a thousand years old. The rainy weather and remoteness of the area from European settlers allowed the trees to grow unmolested to such heights.
There's something mystic about this forest, we came here in the earlier half of the day. These are temperate rainforests so anyday is a good day when it's not pouring rain.
This trail extends quite a bit and one could walk from Ucluelet to Tofino along walking and biking paths. The more famous portion of the trail, the West Coast Trail is a bit south of here, that hike takes a few days and we didn't have the time.
You only need to walk a few hundred meters to see what hiking on the West Coast of Canada is all about. Big trees, rocks, waves, intense greenery and the great blue pacific. The next bit of land from here would be East Asia, two thousand miles away.
Because of the prevailing winds, the tree branches are more likely to face East than West. While many come here for whale watching and fishing activities, we came here to enjoy the scenery.
Living on the edge of the great plains near the mountains makes one long for the sea. We are from a dry climate facing a drought so any change we get to go to the ocean, we take it. Our Spring vacation is to, you guessed it, the Western Pacific Ocean.
We will visit the coast every single year, not necessarily in Tofino but if you haven't been to these parts, I urge you to go. The towns are cute and have some nice art galleries, there are natives from here, some of whom famously built the totem poles.
As you can see we took many photos of the ocean, it's amazing how they preserved it and there is almost no development here asides from the odd fishing community. Houses and hotels would ruin this place.
To get to Tofino one has to first arrive at Vancouver Island, usually in Nanaimo as is it one of the largest towns, two hours north of the Victoria, the capital of British Columbia and the biggest city on the island. Just north of Tofino the road to Tofino goes westward past Port Alberni and numerous lakes pictured above and below.
It's nearly a three hour drive to get here from Nanaimo and the roads aren't the greatest. Because of the intense rains and coastal mountains, one has to take it slow. They frequently pull cars out of the lakes and ditches along the route and the construction to make it safer adds to the time.
As you arrive in Tofino, it's totally worth it. This area is where most of Canada's Wild Salmon is caught before they make their ways up the many rivers of the West Coast. If you ever watched the show Alone where they try to survive a few of the seasons have been filmed on Vancouver Island in an amongst the many sounds or long bays along the jagged coastline.
Thank you for reading and have a nice weekend!
All photos were taken with an s22 or iphone 13 pro and are unfiltered
