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Tofino Vancouver Island
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There are several less expensive places to stay in Tofino Vancouver Island. The Long Beach Lodge Resort has equally lovely views, though the accommodations are comfortable rather than luxurious.
At the Pacific Sands Beach Resort, you can take a dip at the friendlier sandy beach. Or you can rent one of numerous small condos and cabins in the area. For the traveler on a budget, you'll also find hostels and campsites. There are of course, provincial campsites as well.
What To Do In Tofino Vancouver Island
In the Pacific Rim National Park, you can try one of three areas.
Long Beach is a lengthy stretch of beach from Tofino to Ucluelet, where you can find excellent camping at the Green Point campground. Hiking trails range from boggy wetlands filled with life to lush green temperate rainforests. In addition to the natural beauty of the area, you can find great surfing here especially in the winter, though the water can get chilly.
The Broken Group Islands offer fantastic kayaking between their hundred green or rocky islets. No one lives on any islands, but you have a choice between several campsites.
For longer stays, you can take the week-long hike along the famous West Coast Trail, a challenging route that takes you past Canada's largest tree, a 95 m Sitka spruce.
If you prefer glimpsing wildlife, try the Clayoquot Sound area: cougars, elk, bald eagles, river otters, osprey, orcas, and dozens of other species make their homes here.
Though a little over a decade ago this densely-wooded area was pristine, recent laws made logging legal here, and today even the old-growth forests in the valleys are endangered. If you want to get a look at a true old-growth temperate rainforest before it's cut down and transformed by logging, you must see Clayoquot Sound near Tofino Vancouver Island.
Maquinna Marine National Park is a fantastic place to visit after that long hike. A hot springs overflows and cascades into several natural stone pools below, forming natural hot baths. Its position at the edge of the ocean means that as the water gradually cascades closer to the ocean's edge, it cools; you can find a pool that is just right for your aches and pains to soak in for an hour or ten.
Because the springs are accessible only by boat, you'll need to find a tourism company in Ucluelet or Tofino Vancouver Island, or rent your own in order to get here. Campers are welcome on the north end away from the hot springs.
Discovering the Tofino area is a true west coast experience which combines natural wildlife, coastal beaches and surfing and genuine small town hospitality: and the drive to get there is pretty spectacular as well!
More on that elsewhere under "Cathedral Grove"
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