Tofino and Pacific Rim

Tofino sits at the end of a long road across Vancouver Island, on a coast that takes the full weight of the Pacific, and it has become the surf capital of Canada largely because Long Beach runs for kilometres with consistent swell and a temperature that requires a thick wetsuit year-round. Behind the beaches, Pacific Rim National Park Reserve protects old-growth rainforest of enormous cedar and spruce, walked on boardwalks through moss and ferns. Grey whales pass in spring, black bears forage on the shore at low tide, and boats run to Hot Springs Cove, where geothermal water tumbles down rock into pools by the sea. In winter the town markets its weather honestly: storm watching, with waves and rain hammering the shore while you watch from indoors.

What you actually see

• Long Beach - kilometres of surf beach, the heart of Canadian surfing.
• The rainforest boardwalks - old-growth cedar and spruce in Pacific Rim.
• Hot Springs Cove - geothermal pools by the sea, reached by boat.
• Storm watching - the winter season the town built a business around.

When to go

June to September has the best weather and warmest water, though the Pacific here is cold in every month; November to February is storm season and a genuine draw. Grey whales pass in March and April. The road across the island is long and winding, so allow more time than the distance suggests.

Honest expectations

The water is cold enough that surfing without a good wetsuit, boots and hood is unpleasant year-round. Accommodation is expensive and books out far ahead in summer and at storm-watching weekends. The single road in closes occasionally for landslides and repairs, which strands people. Rain is the default, not the exception.

Nearby

Ucluelet is at the other end of the park; Victoria is five hours east across the island.