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.

Was only kinda cool. Didn't live up to the hype of "beat tide pools in Canada". Went at super low…read moretide and scoped everything out - very few things to see. Maybe May is the wrong time of year?

It could look like the moon's surface, maybe some meteorites hit the land and formed those holes…read more This place is so particular that some curious scientists established there to perform a deeper investigation. What conditions conjugated in order to form such a special shoreline? Apparently, the gravitational forces from the Moon and Sun, Earth's rotation, the waves' force and a long bunch of time are to be blamed. While I was trying to pick a place to explore while on my Birthday, the Juan de Fuca Trail caught my attention. Although Port Renfrew may seem like an ordinary point in the map, think again, it has so much to offer for those who want to disconnect, reflect, or reconnect with something more meaningful. There´s no celular signal (so 90s), be prepared, you´ll need: a map, good music &/or company, active-waterproof gear, shoes you'd trust your physical integrity to (in this part of the Island "beach" doesn't imply you'll be able to wear flip flops, bikini and a dress, it's more the adventure-survival kind of vibe), snacks and a water will make your mood brighter. What I like the most was the mental picture of being surrounded by mutable aquariums. If you or your (inner) child have recently watch an ocean related movie like "The Little Mermaid", "Finding Nemo" or "Doris", you'll find this natural amusement land useful to educate and contemplate. Each pound has different features and inhabitants. You can spot crabs, sea urchins, colorful fish, anemones, big colonies of mussels, barnacles, algae, clams, and a large brown weird mammal running around (I swear I saw it!). As a favour for you not to feel guilty (like me) afterwards: Don't touch or recollect sea creatures!!!. My excuse is that it was a cool lady explorer (who was guiding a group of people), the one who kindly recollected and gave us a beautiful purple urchin to admire and touch (which I put back and hope made it safe). However, if we multiply the experience by the number of tourists, soon we'll be looking at empty holes of dirty salt water... Sometimes we need to cut the cool and be party poopers. A pleasant surprise was that the outhouses were decently clean, with toilet paper and hand sanitizer... fancy stuff!!!

This is SO worth your time if you want to see incredible views of the Washington Coastline. It's a…read morepretty easy hike with walkways, bridges, and foot paths. (Do stay on the main paths or you could risk falling in some areas) There's no charge. Just a winding drive up the mountain to get to the cape. Absolutely beautiful

Such a beautiful location! We visited on a day trip. I recommend staying a few days to enjoy the…read morearea. The area has the typical park style (outhouse) restrooms and garage bins just outside the restroom. The trail path was clean, muddy and recommend hiking shoes. Please keep on path as stated. Several slippery spots. The path has areas with wooden walkways, some with exposed roots and observation view points to keep you safe. Dogs were on trail and area clean. Parking could be scarce but we went on a weekday and was not busy. Cute large chair for photo (added in pictures) and walking sticks were on left side of trail from the chair. At the end of this trail: Right takes you to the beautiful rock formations and small cave image. Left takes takes you to several views of Caves and beyond that takes you to viewpoint of Tatoosh Island. I would not consider this an easy hike due to exposed roots and elevation. Would depend on your experience. Also extra cautious with little one due to end of trail has direct drop down. You will need to stop at the visitors center for a $20 pass. This covers this location and Shi-Shi Beach (no dogs allowed so we didn't go). You can purchase the pass at other locations but the center was super cute. Staff were so helpful and we plan on coming back.

I love trails in Pacific Rim National Park. They all have surprises. The Spruce Fringe Trail starts…read moreoff downhill with a dirt and gravel road during the first 150 or so metres. Don't worry, I didn't encounter anything dangerous like exposed roots, large rocks, or large puddles of water. Just keep a lookout for bears and cougars, because they're out there. After about 150 metres, I was walking on a wooden boardwalk surrounded by tall old growth trees and ferns. Be careful as the old mossy boardwalk was a bit slippery, even though it wasn't raining when I was on the trail. I ended up passing through two swamps too. Not to worry, again, there are bridges that runs across the swamps. Sadly, one section of the trail was closed due to a fallen tree. At the third quarter portion of the trail, I encountered mostly leafless trees which are covered in moss. Nearing the end of the trail, I walked through a really unique tree tunnel which is known as the Krummholz tunnel. The word krummholz is a german word for crooked wood. The trees had crooked branches and the tunnel was actually dark enough to be a bit spooky. This trail was my first encounter with a tree tunnel. That was a surprise for me.

I couldn't believe it when I was one of the few people who was walking through this extremely…read moreamazing and unique bog trail. Everyone else was probably spending their time whale watching, beachcombing, or kayaking. Just think about it, who the heck would even imagine a bog in a wet and rainy place like Tofino? Shorepine Bog Trail is part of Pacific Rim National Park, so expect good things. The entire trail is made of a wooden boardwalk and it's circles around a 800 metre loop. Once I hit the trail, I was awed by the "Out of Africa" landscape. My brain was like, woah, where are the lions, tigers, and giraffes? Unfortunately, the only animals that roam this trail are cougars and bears and they were plenty of warning signs. While I was walking the boardwalk, I was surrounded by dwarfed and twisted trees. They were like big bonzai trees and my head was just spinning with confusion. I wasn't prepared to see anything like it in Tofino. Luckily, there were enough green covered trees and plants to make this trail very photo friendly. This trail is a GEM!

This trail is part of the Pacific Rim National Park so there is a fee for parking, but there is pay…read morestation in the parking lot. The trail that meanders via a continuous boardwalk for 0.8 km through an area that receives 300 cm, 118 inches, of rain per year. The bonsai-like shore pines in the bog grow only meters tall in century due to the acidity in the soil. We spotted a few warblers flitting from bush to bush. An enjoyable short walk for young and old.

A set of rooms and cabins with varying views and settings along a secluded beach looking out into…read morethe Pacific Ocean in Ucluelet. The exact feel and view varies a lot depending on where you stay, but the place is really well situated to explore the Wild Pacific Trail and other hiking around Ucluelet and then up toward Tofino. We stayed two nights in the Oceanfront Cabin 12 and three nights in the Nest cabin. The Oceanfront cabin was very modern throughout, almost to a fault. There are three levels. The bottom level had a bathroom, bedroom with a king bed, and laundry as well as a small mudroom. The Middle level was a kitchen, dining space and living room area with a balcony looking out at the ocean. The top level was a loft (open stairs leading down to the kitchen) with a king size bedroom and big bathroom with a huge shower and soaking tub. Despite the fact that the cabin was big, the space was laid out not as well as we'd have liked for a family of four. Only one bed in the bottom bedroom meant that we needed to use the couch bed in the living room and then meant that the upstairs bedroom wasn't secluded as it was open to the kitchen and living room. Also, the outdoor lights from the adjacent cabins reflected off the cedar trees, which meant that at night you had no ocean view to see only the bright trunks of cedars immediately out your window. The whole space also felt drafty and a bit cold and the WiFi was spotty on the top level. The Nest was a much nicer cabin for us even though it was smaller. The space was much more homey and lived in, but definitely not modern and arguably a bit run down. Still it had a much nicer view diagonally across the small bay out to the ocean and was better laid out for a family of four. Two bedrooms on the lower level one with a queen and one with two twins meant that everyone was sleeping in a bedroom and left the upstairs living space available after people had gone to bed. There was also a couch bed in the living room, so if you wanted you could have slept another set of people. It was also further from all the lights of other cabins (despite being nested in with many cabins) so that the view of the ocean was even there at night. Arguably the best part about the cabins is the location. You can walk directly to the Ucluelet lighthouse loop on the Pacific Wild Trail, which is an amazing 2.5-3 mile loop from the cabin out around the peninsula. You can also arguably walk the full Pacific Wild Trail up, but it's nice to drive to the Ancient Cedars trailhead and do the hike there with the Artists' Loops rather than hike the whole way up and back.

We stayed at the Lodge last week for our honeymoon. We spent three nights at the Lodge - the staff…read morewas incredibly friendly. The room was beautiful - skylights so we could see the stars at night from our bed, a lovely balcony overlooking Terrace Beach, and a very comfortable and spacious room. You really do feel like you are part of the forest and it's such a beautiful and serene environment. We had beautiful weather while we were there - sunny and warm every day. It's a little out of the way to get to Ucluelet but totally worth it for a three-day trip. It was very romantic and secluded - perfect for a honeymoon. My only negative would be that if you're expecting maid service to make your bed every day or you want fresh towels, your wastebasket emptied daily and clean coffee mugs, that's not going to happen. I was a little disappointed (mostly about having someone make my bed - it's always a treat to come home after a busy day to a freshly-made bed) :). I saw staff cleaning rooms but I think that was for guests checking out. Fortunately, my husband and I are used to reusing our towels and we took our own garbage and recycling out daily - there are bins located outside the lodge for this purpose. Also, the Lodge doesn't have a ice-maker so make sure to bring plenty of ice (the mini-fridges do come equipped with ice cube trays, however).

Walked the trail this week (December/winter). Overall, a pretty cool hike composed of two loops…read moreunder a canopy of trees surrounded by ferns, bushes, and fallen tree trunks. Quick notes: -There are two loop trails (A & B), one on each side of the main road. -Parking and bathrooms (outhouse with no sink) are located on the route B side. -You do need to pay park admission (machines located in parking lot, paid less than $8 for one adult). -Each trail loop is about 1km. -The entire trail (besides the initial dirt path) is along a wooden boardwalk (about 2.5 ft wide). -On cold or rainy days, the wooden path can be slippery. I slipped numerous times, but luckily didn't fall. -It took me about 30 minutes to walk each loop (one hour total). I did walk a bit more slowly as the boardwalk was slippery. -While most of the trail is shaded, there are some parts where sun would shine through (bring sunglasses).

Among my favored trails in the Pacific Rim National Park, and one of few that doesn't end at a…read morebeach. It's nice and short (about 1km for each loop), a relatively easy hike, with many many beautiful things to look at throughout. The canopy also makes it a relatively drier hike in Tofino's generally wet weather. Loop A, on the east side of the highway, is a wooden boardwalk that meanders through a forest of primarily western red cedar and hemlock. This is also the older section of the forest. There are nurse logs (fallen trees with new trees growing on top of them) all over the place. Loop B, on the west side of the highway, is wooden boardwalk and stairs. Interpretive signs on the trail are full of all sorts of useful and interesting information. While the boardwalks are well-maintained, the only caution I have is that if the weather is rainy, the boardwalks can get a bit slippery, which can be a challenge for those with mobility issues. (I'd also imagine they can get icy in cooler weather.) Also, while they were quiet enough during our visit (April 2017,) they can get pretty busy during the high season, and the narrowness of the boardwalks makes passing other hikers a bit difficult.

"Ye ghosts of all the dear old trees, The oak, the elm, the ash, Nightly those gentlemen go tease,…read moreWho hew you down like trash." It's like if a menthol punch of freshness sensation would hit the deepest nook of your lungs. That first inhalation provides you with an instant invigoration. What better medicine than nature's air cleaning the toxic waist passing through your veins. Your muscles shaking away negativity will give you an instant mood booster, the oxygen modifying every molecule in your body, a shiver that reconnects you with the source, or in Carr's words "...the God in you responding to the God in them". Welcome to a real "Pandora", an almost intact landscape of natural monuments in where the heaviness of the branches will hold wind's melodies. My neck hurt at times when trying to reach by sight the top of these enchanted trees. Once surrounded by that foggy green darkened reality, I understood why some fairy tales were inspired by forests. It's unavoidable to feel observed, every step felt as trespassing, as if I was intruding a sacred space. I tried to understand Carr's perspective, why trees became her obsession until she exhaled them. Every tree had a personality, some of the roots' shapes reminded me of "Pan's Labyrinth", would those muddy holes take me to other realms? The shadows created obscure introspections, the ambivalence of existence, as above as below, a darker interpretation of nature. Some trees languished and perished long time ago, their remains acting as a pillar for new sprouts of life; moss, younger trees, mushrooms, bushes, they all use the elements of the fallen one to continue life's cycle. The Gnarliest Tree in Canada might be the star, with a conjugation of shapes resembling multiple fists, all kind of stumps appearing to flow in circles, as if its circumference was formed by dozens of human extremities piled towards and unreachable sky. Come hike to realize how tiny, irrelevant and forgettable you are. We all should play to be forest Rangers, deep thank you to the First Nations and Ancient Forest Alliance for standing against logging in this area.

I can believe the hidden gems this world has to offer. I never thought after driving on a rough…read moredirt road in the middle of nowhere would lead to such an amazing place. Don't get discouraged by the road a car can make it. We saw lots of them up there. The journey is well worth it.

A very very nice scenic are along the Puntledge river and a nice place to sunbath and relax but I…read morerecommend being very careful swimming in that area because of strong currents and undertows.

Easily the unexpected highlight of our trip to BC and, especially the Comox Valley. This is a…read moreregional park near Courtenay that's easy to find and worth a side trip for the falls. Its a nice, short hike to the falls, which are just beautiful and super fun for the whole family. Its hard to describe but picture a clear stream with rocks and deeper pools that you can walk or swim across. When we were there, we ran into quite a few families, as well as travelers, many of whom appeared to be ready to spend much of the day there. Super chill and just gorgeous. Don't miss.