Canada Guide
Vancouver Island
Pacific Rim National Park
The Pacific Rim National Park – the single best reason to visit Vancouver Island – is a stunning amalgam of mountains, coastal rainforest, wild beaches and unkempt marine landscapes that stretches intermittently for 130km between the towns of Tofino in the north and Port Renfrew to the south. It divides into three distinct areas: Long Beach, which is the most popular; the Broken Group Islands, hundreds of islets only really accessible to sailors and canoeists; and the West Coast Trail, a tough but increasingly popular long-distance footpath. The whole area has also become a magnet for surfing and whale-watching enthusiasts, and dozens of small companies run charters out from the main centres to view the migrating mammals. By taking the MV Lady Rose from Port Alberni to Bamfield or Ucluelet or back, and combining this with shuttle buses or Laidlaw buses from Victoria, Port Alberni and Nanaimo, a wonderfully varied combination of itineraries is possible around the region.
Lying at the north end of Long Beach, Tofino, once essentially a fishing village, is now changing in the face of tourism, but with its natural charm, scenic position and plentiful accommodation, it still makes the best base for general exploration. Ucluelet to the south is comparatively less attractive, but almost equally geared to providing tours and accommodating the park's 800,000 or so annual visitors. Bamfield, a tiny and picturesque community with a limited amount of in-demand accommodation, lies still farther south and is known mainly as the northern trailhead of the West Coast Trail and a fishing, marine research and whale-watching centre. Unless you fly in, you'll enter the park on Hwy 4 from Port Alberni, which means the first part you'll see is Long Beach, site of the park's main information centre and the nearby Wickaninnish Centre, an interpretive centre. A park fee – $8 per vehicle per day – is payable at the park entrance.
Weather is an important consideration: it has a well-deserved reputation for being appallingly wet, cold and windy – and that's on good days.
The West Coast Trail
One of North America's classic walks, the West Coast Trail starts 5km south of Bamfield and traverses exceptional coastal scenery for 77km to Port Renfrew. It's no stroll, and though becoming very popular – quotas operate to restrict numbers – it still requires experience of longer walks, proper equipment and a fair degree of fitness. Many people, however, do the first easy stage as a day-trip from Bamfield. Reckon on five to eight days for the full trip; carry all your own food, camp where you can, and be prepared for rain, treacherous stretches, thick soaking forest and almost utter isolation.
Weather is a key factor in planning any trip; the trail is really only passable between June & Sept (July is the driest month), which is also the only period when it's patrolled by wardens and the only time locals are on hand to ferry you (for a fee) across some of the wider rivers en route. However, you should be prepared for dreadful weather and poor trail conditions at all times. Take cash with you to pay for ferries and nominal fees for camping on native land.