You can't get further away than Mussel Beach - which makes for a perfect "powering down" time…read morewithout the loss of cell reception of course. Mussel Beach is a trek - 20 minutes down a gravel road once you head south towards Ucuelet, which means only real keeners are camping out. There's no drinking water or electrical hookups but there are hot, hot showers for $3 a time. Firewood can also be purchased at $10 a wheel barrel from the office where someone actually lives all year round. There are an assortment of campsites to choose from - and after walking through the campground, I'd have to say that one with an ocean view is the best, and of course, the most expensive at $45 a night. Each campsite has a different flavour with everything from driftwood bars (yes, as in serving up some of your own drinks) to seats carved right into fallen logs. There are private spots that are great for a couple of people, or large double spots where tents could fill every nook and cranny. Mussel Beach is also well known for a music festival that they host every July, but for me it's all about the secluded spot, a view of the ocean and a campfire - no campfire bans here during the summer either, which equaled mountains of smores galore!

Stayed at Mussel Beach last week for 8 nights, and wow. Spectacular location looking right out into…read morethe pacific ocean. Quite off the "beaten path" - an hour from Tofino and 30ish minutes from Ucluelet, meaning only people who are truly into camping or the outdoors seem to stay here. It's also a quiet, relaxed atmosphere with amazing beachfront sites, like the one we stayed in. You can also book small cabins and sites that are more secluded/sheltered in the bushes and forest. Hot showers, tho they cost $3/use. Gates close at 10pm sharp, which we found frustrating. If you arrive back late, you need to park down the road and walk in. If you stay at Mussel Beach, be prepared for a bit of adventure. You do need to watch for bears, cougars and wolves, so don't be wandering around the surrounding forest without proper gear and bear spray. However, you'll also see a lot of eagles, possibly some deer and LOTS of ocean life. The road to get to the campground is 20-30 minutes down a pretty rough dirt/gravel road. What pushed this from a 4-star to a 5-star for me, though, was the friendliness and hospitality of the hosts, who appear to live on-site. When hubby and I arrived, it was pissing rain and very windy. The hosts offered us a more sheltered site for the one night, and in the morning, set up a canopy for us and some other campers to take shelter in. Because it was so nasty out, the host gave us a wheelbarrow full of free firewood (usually $10 a barrel) so we could keep warm. Overall, if you are looking to fully disconnect and spend some time with nature and other camping enthusiasts, this is a great place to do it. Just be prepared for the bumpy drive and bring your tarps and bear spray!

Had a lovely little camping escape here the other weekend. Very friendly staff + got a lot of use…read moreout of the sauna and the hot tub. Next time we come back we definitely need to do the surf lessons!

Labour day weekend was approaching, and my lady friends and I grew worried that the weather was…read moregoing to be miserable for our camping adventure that we had planned for months. We had second thoughts about what was to be an epic time, to never-leaving-the-campground waiting-to-go-home sort of situation. Regardless of how the weather could have been (it ended up being sunshiny most of the time!) Surf Junction made our trip to Ucluelet enjoyable and memorable. The staff were super friendly, the hot tub was bumpin' in the eve, and the camping spaces were adequately sized. With our car full of beer, shelter, and food, plus four happy bodies, we cruised the winding roads from Nanaimo to Ukee awaiting our exciting arrival. Upon entering the main area, the staff at check-in were chatty and informative. Later on, they do check your camp ground and have a curfew of sorts, around 11 I believe. They want to keep the noise level respectful, and the earliness of the curfew was not too much of a problem because we would have been drinking all day and/or tired from the day's activities. Located just off the main highway, Surf Junction is also close by to the beach, by about a ten minute drive. Tofino is actually quite a bit further, and has become quite touristy so we were glad to stick to Ukee. The Junction offers surf lessons! For $80, they provide transport, equipment, and a super cool and very patient instructor, who in our case was Tanner (he was awesome). The gals and I had a wicked day of shreddin' some gnarly waves at Wickanninnish Beach, thanks to Tanner. The other guests varied from families with young children, to some wild ones escaping for the weekend to get rowdy. Quite the mix of people gathered at the hot tub area, there were always some interesting characters to socialize with. Campsites are equipped with a fire pit and picnic table. All you need! Plus lots of trees from which to hang tarps and clotheslines. The prices were reasonable, and the facilities were great, considering you're camping. The showers do cost money, but understandably, since hot water is expensive and hard to come by, aaaand who cares, you're camping haha! I would highly reccommend this spot for younger groups of friends, we're talking 20's and 30's, since the atmosphere is something you would definitely dig. Be sure to check out Pina Print shop in town, they advertise at the main desk at the Junction, was totally worth the visit :) Happy camping!!

Way Point is a place that I have stayed at in the past multiple times and unfortunately, this year…read morewill be the last. While booking this year's trip for my family, there were multiple website errors when I went in to book the second (of two) sites that we needed for our family trip. There were 3 RV sites available at the time, including the one I was choosing. I received an error message saying I had to go back to choose another site. When I went back to book another and received another error message when choosing it. Going back again a second time, all the sites appeared to be booked so I was unable to book a site during my required dates. At this point, I already had a tent site booked for half the family and now could no longer get another site so I had to go in and choose other dates to book. Now we were left with a campsite we are unable to use and due to their completely absurd 50% cancellation policy and their system errors, we will now be out $291. I choose new dates and booked two new sites. Now we had three sites on two separate dates. This all happened within 15 minutes which seems crazy that they don't have a full refund policy within a certain timeframe, or due to THEIR system issues. A half hour later I went back to look at our booking and decided to check on the sites on the first set of dates and ALL the sites that appeared available to begin, but then were "booked" when I went to choose them were all back to being available. I immediately contacted the Way Point to make them aware of the system errors and to hopefully get refunded due to this being a problem with their system and not the user. Once I eventually received a reply they were extremely unhelpful, had some of the worst service I've experienced, and stopped replying once I asked to cancel the first campsite. To make it worse, their campsite increased the pricing by $40 a night this year, making it $139 a night (and we need two sites) which is hands down the most expensive campsite we've ever stayed at. May as well rent a house on/near the beach in Tofino where you get a lot more for your money. We will not be returning after this years trip which we are now obligated to go to due to their horrific refund policy and will NOT recommended this campsite for friends or family anymore. Hopefully they figure out some new system and courteous, helpful staff. DO NOT BOOK if you receive any system issues or, if there's ANY chance you may have to cancel. Also, the original dates we wanted were June 29 - July 3 but the site doesn't allow you to book between July 1 - August 31 of less than four nights, even though it was four consecutive nights but two were at the end of June so we had to change our dates before I even began booking. To conclude, they do not offer a full refund from the moment you submit your payment, big system issues on their booking site, and they had horrible customer service which made it not worth it. * I never write reviews but this experience was bad enough that it should be known so future campers don't get duped by them, their system issues, and their tragic cancellation policy.

Never have I camped somewhere this beautiful. The yurts are just a stumble away from the pacific…read morewhile you are tucked away in a forest of mossy redwoods. The yurt had everything we would need for a simple evening including a fireplace. They were having some issues with their generators and showers were down at the time, but we were surprised at the level of service we received when the issue was resolved quickly. We will definitely be back!

This may just be the best place on earth. It definitely is when you luck into a sunny day. Lots of…read morecampgrounds on the west coast are privately owned and only exist to milk the tourists of cash by cramming as many people as possible into tight sites. Green Point is the exact opposite. It has spacious, private sites, well maintained facilities, friendly staff, and is centrally located for exploring one of the most scenic and beautiful parks in Canada. But really, the reason to go to Green Point is its proximity to Long Beach. Long Beach is the Omega Beach, the template from which all other beaches were wrought. A ~15 kilometer long crescent of fine white sand that faces the open Pacific, Long Beach is perfection. Surf, skimboard, make sand castles, run with your dog, watch the sunset, build towering beach fires, and enjoy a completely unimpeded view of the stars at night (at least in the summer, when it doesn't rain as much). Even when it rains, it's easy to take solace in being in one of the world's few temperate rainforests. No services, RV accessible, ~$25 per night per site. Book as early as possible because the place is always full all summer long. Reservations open for the year on March 21st.

If I were looking to book a vehicle accessible campsite at Green Point Campground I would try to…read moreget a high numbered site (say #67 or higher) on the outside (i.e. ocean side) of the loop road. These sites are the furthest from the highway (especially the higher numbered sites) and the closet to the ocean (but expect very limited/no water views). In contrast, I would try to avoid sites #32-#60, especially those on the outside of the loop road, because of their proximity to the highway. Other than those two suggestions, most of the sites seem similar in terms of privacy (decent) and size (fairly large), although there is of course some variation. With regards to the walk-in sites, we stayed in #11 and I thought that was a good choice, although it wasn't anything special. The walk-in sites are on the small side and some are close together, such as W13 and W12. W10 and W11 stand out only because they're on a tiny spur trail and therefore have less foot traffic passing by. W10 has a hint of a view, but I wouldn't go out of my way for it. Overall I was a bit disappointed with the Green Point Campground. Apart from it's proximity to a cool beach it's a pretty standard campground. I didn't notice any campsites with a good view or especially nice setting, and some of the vehicle sites are practically on top of the highway. In the walk-in area they've established a number of "equipped" campsites, which means they come with a tent already set up (on a tent pad) and some other equipment, all for triple the price. Oddly, even though the campground was supposedly full every night we were there, these sites appeared to go unused. That's a shame. On the plus side, the facilities in the vehicle accessible area are new and quite nice, and the group campsite has a great setting in the forest. I don't value either of those things too highly, but they are positives. Finally, Pacific Rim National Park entrance fees* are in addition to camping fees. This is pretty standard for national parks and is something to keep in mind when planning your trip. When you add the entrance fees to the camping fees some of the private campgrounds in the Tofino area might pencil out a better deal. Of course this assumes you wouldn't pay the entrance fee if you weren't camping there and many visitors to the area still pay the fee. Frankly, while Long Beach is pretty, I'm not sure I'd go out of my way to see it again in the future. There are plenty of cool beaches in the area outside of the park that are free. *Canada's National Parks are set to have free admission for all of 2017 to celebrate the country's 150th birthday.

If you love nature, you will absolutely love coming here. It's worth the ferry ride and drive from…read moreVancouver. It's stunning, we did a few hikes, and they were all so different. They have the Forrest side, as well as the beach, so the variety of hikes are fantastic. Unfortunately we didn't have time to do the longer ones, but we were very satisfied with the ones we did. The boys enjoyed them, we didn't do hard ones, all were easy to moderate. We recommend the rainforest trail, radar hill (if it's clear), and south beach. I really recommend all if you have time.

If you are looking for the true West Coast Experience, this is it…read more The park consists of 3 Units: The Long Beach Unit The Broken Islands Unit The West Coast Trail Unit I have been to the Long Beach and West Coast Trail units, and plan to one day kayak the Broken Islands. Long Beach is a popular spot for those going to Tofino or Ucluelet, and is a pretty amazing beach. Even if you aren't into surfing, just watching the waves roll in and strolling the sandy beach is worth the trip. The West Coast Trail is a truly amazing experience. I have been twice now, and it's a tough, but rewarding right of passage. The trail is a 75 km trek across beach, up and down ladders, across rivers and trails through bog, forest and stunning scenery. Some people are so in love with the trail they do it every year. Despite the mud, roots, logs, and ladders! Or maybe because of them. It takes planning and money, though, so not for those who like to do things on a whim. The peak season is June 15th to September 15th, but the trail is open as early as May 1st and goes to September 30th. You won't ever catch me out there that early. I don't care if there are less people on the trail, the weather can be downright nasty! Reservations during the peak season are highly recommended, though there are limited spots available at each trail head for standby spots on the trail. The WCT is NOT for those with: A fear of heights Knee or back injuries Limited mobility Big egos and no experience Children accompanying The inability to clean up after themselves My only complaints about the WCT are the lack of info regarding parking areas at the trail heads, and ignorant people that do the trail with their kids (min age of 12 is still too young for this trail. 15 should be the minimum), or those who leave their garbage around (pack it in, pack it out, and burning your plastic food bags is not cool). Tips: Parking at the Pachena Bay trail head is not recommended, as there are many break-ins to vehicles that occur, despite being able to park on Parks Canada land. Parking in Port Renfrew for the Gordon River trail head is not on park land, and you either go to the Port Renfrew hotel in town, or the Gordon River Campground 1 min up the road from the trail head. This spot is also called Soft River (very confusing at 7:45 am). There are some places on the reserve (some guy's yard) that offer parking, too, but aren't open that early. Book the Trail Bus early to get to your trail head starting position. Park at the end you intend to finish, take the shuttle to your start. Hike back to your car. The shuttle picks up at the Port Renfrew Hotel (and trail head and Gordon River campground) and if you park there you can get a free ride back to your car from the trail head when you finish. This is your cheapest option. I parked at the Gordon River campground since it is closer to the trail head, not knowing you get the free ride back to the hotel. Despite being more expensive, it was safe. I accidentally left a window fully open, with all my friend's belongings in the trunk, and not a thing was touched. The bears didn't even take the half empty bag of Tostitos under the open window. Bonus! We ate these when we got back to the car.

We had a great time camping here at this campground. The bathrooms are tidy and clean and the staff…read moreare really friendly. It's nice and close to get to long beach and the town centre. Highly recommend this spot to camp at.

Been there for three nights because everything else is full. We were surprised because we haven't…read moreheard of that campground anywhere. We payed for the whole stay upfront and the guy at the reception even wrote down my full credit card details, including the security code which nobody should ever do. The campground itself is nothing special, just a run down set of campsites with facilities that look like nobody has taken care of them in years. The portable toilets were clean though, I give 'em that. The sinks were disgusting, dirty and close to non functional. The showers were ok, even warm. I would not go there again, just not a nice place with any love in it. There are plenty of other lovely campgrounds nearby.

The worst campground I have ever been to. The staff is horrible. Can't wait to get out of hereread more

This has been the worst customer service we've EVER experienced from a campground. We booked 4…read moresites with our extended family back in October and we're told that we'd have to move to a different site for our last 2 days. That's alright, we understand they're booked up. But what made zero sense was when we noticed the site we were to move to had been vacant for 24hrs prior to us moving, they wouldn't let us move over to it 2 hours earlier. They kept saying it "was their policy that you can't move early or you're charged a $25 fine", shouldn't your policy be to make sure the guests have the best possible experience, especially when they're having to move campsites mid stay? When my father-in-law tried to reasons with them they were completely rude and unsympathetic. He's a retired CPA and when he said that in all his years of owning businesses he'd never treated customers like that, the manager insulted him saying his businesses probably all failed. Seriously?! What kind of manager insults their customers? When my FIL tried to explain that we had a trailer, a puppy and a 3 year old with us and it would really help out if we could move early the manager just said "I don't care". "I don't care" sums up the experience here. The showers are filthy and cost a fortune. $2 for 2 minutes. There are literally holes in the shower walls between stalls where the wood has rotted away and people can peep through and see you. At one point a staff member was using a leaf blower to blow dirt? pine needles? who knows what! off the road but all she succeeded in doing was blowing dust all over the campsites. Our clothes that were hanging out to dry were covered with dust. My sister-in-law is in a tent site and there has been a dog barking all night every night in the site next to them and no staff have done anything about it. DON'T STAY HERE! Campgrounds shouldn't be allowed to get away with such horrible customer service just because they're in a nice location. Oh and we've also heard from others that they've been denied their refunds even if cancelling within the allowed cancellation window

After my other shoes floated away by the rising tide, I had to walk the trail to and from Shi Shi…read moreBeach in my water shoes. It turned out to be a blessing in disguise because that trail was an absolute muddy mess. While there are some constructed walkways, the vast majority of the trail is dirt and/or mud. The mess was well worth the beautiful beach though. I loved the tide pools and views of the pacific. Just dress for mud

A must do hike. It's muddy so wear good shoes. It's about a 9 mile round trip hike. Bring lots of…read morewater, food and sunscreen. We had a picnic at the end of the beach and explored the tide pools and cave.

we used to camp there every year, and took advantage of their black Friday sale to camp in May. But…read morethis past year they shortened the booking window by a month and increased the prices significantly I called them out on Facebook about this change, as did others, but rather than discuss the reasons for the changes they blocked everybody who was critical of the change. Do yourself a favour and stay anywhere else.

2nd year in a row camping here. Sure the sites are a bit closer together as most private sites are…read morebut you cant beat the location, right on Cox bay and a few minutes from Tofino, and facilities. showers and bathrooms are always clean, the outlet at each site is handy as is having a water tap every 2-3 sites. Bonus to have wifi while camping.