Bird's-eye view of Tofino

View maps of the area:
Map of the Pacific Rim
Map of the Pacific Rim - Detailed Map
Map of the Pacific Rim / West Coast Trail

• Tofino Crab Dock

  The Whale Centre Maritime Museum offers a display of artifacts collected and donated by Tofino locals over the past twenty five years. On exhibit is an assortment of traditional native jewelry, cedar baskets, paddles, sea life, local artifacts - from traditional whaling equipment to original navigation charts of the area - and a complete 40’ gray whale skeleton. The Whale Centre Maritime Museum at 411 Campbell Street is free to the public.

• Crab Dock: One of Tofino's government wharves is known locally as the crab dock and is used by crab fishermen to store traps and tie up their boats - a good place to buy some live and fresh seafood.

• First Nations Artwork: There are two excellent Native art galleries in Tofino: the hand-hewn longhouse, Eagle Aerie Gallery, which displays Tsimshian artist Roy Vickers' works, and the House of Himwitsa. Tofino is home to many artists and features traditional First Nations artwork including totem poles, sculptures, masks, paintings, basketry, and jewellery. Spend some time browsing through Tofino, soaking up the local atmosphere and finding that perfect 'something' to remind you of your stay in Tofino.

• Hot Springs Cove is a splendid hot spring still enjoyable in its natural state. The boiling spring water cascades down a small cliff into a series of layered rock pools, cooled by the incoming ocean surf. Open year-round and accessible only by sea or air, guided tours from Tofino explore Hot Springs Cove, a popular destination with kayakers after paddling passed Flores and Vargas Islands. The spring is located in Maquinna Provincial Park in the remote northern end of Clayoquot Sound.

• Tofino Botanical Gardens constitutes twelve acres of gardens, forest, and shoreline that explore the relationship between culture and nature. A network of paths and boardwalks will take you from the Visitor Centre passed kitchen gardens, the Frog Pond, the Children's Garden, and into the forest, where clearings have been transformed in a series of pocket gardens. Some of these gardens display plants that once thrived in other coastal temperate rainforests around the world. Others celebrate the various cultural groups that have made Clayoquot Sound their home now and in the past, particularly the Nuu-chah-nulth First Nations, early pioneer homesteaders, Japanese fishing families, and, of course, Hippies.

• Eik Cedar Tree: Visit and hug the mascot of Tofino and arguably the most famous tree in Canada. The 800-year-old Western Red Cedar was condemned after the detection of a column of decay inside the trunk. A felling permit was issued and the chainsaw gang arrived. However, the citizens of Tofino came together to save the last example of the ancient old-growth trees that once covered the peninsula where Tofino now stands. In the middle of the standoff, two Tofino residents climbed eighty feet into the tree to spend the next 28 days in the tree's canopy. Engineers and Arborists conspired to find a way to preserve the Eik Cedar Tree. In summer 2002 the tree was finally fitted with a specially designed metal girdle with ground anchors and steel rods embedded in the bed rock.

• Wickaninnish Interpretive Centre, Long Beach

  The Wickaninnish Interpretive Centre is a definite highlight for visitors of all ages. You'll find telescopes mounted on an observation deck at the centre, plus numerous displays inside that introduce visitors to the geographical and natural history of the Pacific Northwest. The centre's purpose is to provide an understanding of the north Pacific Ocean and its influence on man and nature.

  The history of the North Pacific coast is illustrated by a collection of artifacts used by Nuu-chah-nulth Indians, the traditional inhabitants of the area. The Wickaninnish Interpretive Centre is open during the day, from late spring to fall.

• Clayoquot Sound covers over 3,000 square kilometres immediately north of Tofino. The sound can best be described as a tranquil wilderness, and its rugged slopes are home to the largest expanse of low-level, old-growth rainforest left in North America.

• Tours: Tofino's docks also serve as starting points for First Nations cultural tours, hot springs tours, whale watching and wildlife tours, bike tours, and kayaking tours. Diving and fishing charters are popular, and surfboard and bicycle rentals are available.

• Offroad Touring: Exciting raincoast backroad adventures are offered out of Tofino and Ucluelet in the comfort and safety of 4 x 4 vehicles. View the newly formed Clayoquot UN Biosphere, pristine mountain lakes, streams and waterfalls, with magnificent vistas of Barkley Sound and Clayoquot Sound. Walk nature trails through ancient forests with huge old growth cedar trees, see bears, birds and waterfowl. Full or half day trips.

• Whale Watching: Grey whales, Humpback and Killer whales migrate the coastal waters, and porpoises, seals, sea lions, and elephant seals are viewed along the coastline. Every spring, Tofino co-hosts the Pacific Rim Whale Festival, to celebrate the incredible west coast migration of close to 20,000 gray whales! For an even more exhilarating, close-up view of these magnificent animals, one can venture onto the open Pacific aboard local charter boats offering scheduled whale watching excursions from either Tofino or Ucluelet.

  One of the joys of visiting Pacific Rim National Park is participating in a grey whale observation tour led by a park naturalist. Start at the Wickaninnish Interpretive Centre, located beside a lengthy stretch of windswept and surf-pounded beach on Combers Beach in Wickaninnish Bay. The entrance is well marked adjacent to Hwy 4 at the end of Long Beach Road. You'll find telescopes mounted on an observation deck at the centre, plus numerous displays inside that introduce visitors to the geographical and natural history of the Pacific Northwest. Numerous privately led whale-watching expeditions set out from Tofino daily, or you can whale watch from the shoreline.

• Wickaninnish Inn, Chesterman Beach, Tofino

  Storm Watching near Tofino in winter allows visitors to experience the raw power of the mighty Pacific Ocean, as ferocious waves roll in from Japan and pound the shores of the rugged west coast - nature in all it's fierce majesty! The weather in the Pacific Rim area has a profound effect on any planned activities, as precipitation along the west coast of Vancouver Island is amongst the heaviest in the world, especially in winter. Annual rainfall is approximately 3 metres or nearly 120 inches. Match the season with your desired activity, and come prepared for rain, awe-inspiring winter storms and glorious sunshine!

• Surfing: There are only two locations on Vancouver Island where you'll find a surfing community. Jordan River is one, and Tofino (Long Beach) the other. A small but dedicated group of aficionados lives here year-round, while another coterie safaris over as often as possible, particularly in winter months when storm season produces the best peeling surf. As the ocean temperature here hovers at a constant, chilly 42-44 deg F (6-7 deg C) year-round, it hardly matters what month it is: it's the waves that count. Tofino does boast the highest annual mean temperature in Canada, which may help remove some of the sting if you think about it hard enough while you're paddling out to catch one more wave. Long Beach boasts the only Surf Camp of its kind in Canada, providing popular adult camps, youth camps, and daily surfing lessons. You can also learn to surf at Canada's only all-women surf school, offering weekend and weekday Clinics, Mother & Daughter Camps, and Teen Camps. Cox Bay, midway between Tofino and Pacific Rim National Park is Canada's Malibu. Vancouver Island ranks as a rugged wilderness adventure best experienced amongst huge winter swells, beginners stick to the gentler surf and reassuring crows of summer.

• Windsurfing: Thanks to its wide expanse and western exposure, Long Beach is the beach of choice for freewheeling, Maui-style windsurfing when the ocean gets riled.

• Golf: The Long Beach Golf Course is surrounded by the ancient rainforest of the Pacific Rim National Park, one of the most scenic golf courses in BC. The 9-hole championship course is also known to be one of the most challenging courses on Vancouver Island. Golf Vacations on Vancouver Island.

• Fishing: Open-ocean fishing occurs far offshore from Tofino and Ucluelet. The continental shelf runs west of the two ports for almost 30km to La Perouse Bank, an undersea plateau that forms the leading edge of British Columbia's coastline. This is where the action happens, where the currents, swells, and weather combine. Fishing charters and guides are available for day trips to the area's many fishing spots.

  Tofino offers year-round saltwater fishing opportunities, with world-class salmon fishing and flyfishing in Clayoquot Sound, with April through September being the best time. Freshwater anglers can driftfish or flyfish for magnificent sea-run rainbow trout or fall Salmon on the remote, pristine rivers that drain into Clayoquot Sound. Shallow protected waters and the abundance of bait fish, makes Clayoquot Sound an ideal place to catch salmon and sea-run cutthroat on the cast fly. For those who have not caught salmon on a fly, once is all it takes to get you hooked.

• Early morning jog on Long Beach, Pacific Rim

  Beaches: You can spend days walking the beaches between Ucluelet and Tofino, and in the process discover why some folks spend their whole lives caught up in the surf and tidal rhythms here. Located between the village of Tofino and Ucluelet, the Long Beach unit, which offers outstanding beach hiking, is the most accessible and most developed component of the Pacific Rim National Park.

  Radar Beach, Long Beach, Combers Beach, and Wickaninnish Beach run successively from north to south and stretch for 15.5 miles between Cox and Quisitas Points. Radar Beach is rugged and puts up a fight when pummelled by the surf. If you only have a short amount of time, head directly to Long Beach. Depending on the season and the height of the swells in Wickaninnish Bay, not to mention the thickness of the mist, you may see surfers, sea kayakers, cyclists, kite flyers, hackey-sackers, disc tossers, swimmers, joggers, and walkers at play on the hard-packed sand. Something about the enormity of Long Beach just makes you goofy.

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