Sidewalking Ucluelet (and Tofino)
A couple of weeks back I had a week off work and we decided to take a trip to Ucluelet and Tofino on the west coast of Vancouver Island. It has been an odd six month for all of us, but in the 25 years that I have lived here, I have actually never stayed on the Island for this long a straight stretch. Just since March we have visited Jordan River, Point Renfrew, Lake Cowichan, Campbell River, Port Hardy, Cape Scott, Muchalat Lake and now Ucluelet and Tofino. In a strange way, it has made Vancouver Island seem larger than it felt before and certainly given me a chance to be able to focus on the diversity of scenery here, a nuance that previously I was not as conscious of, is now very clear.
Travelling to Ucluelet, where we were booked in for five nights, is a long journey from Victoria still, even longer if you happen to have an almost one year old in the car. We were able to break up the 4+ hour trip with a stop in Coombs in both directions which is pretty much exactly half-way, especially when you factor in the highway closures near Kennedy Lake.
Despite Tofino and Ucluelet being one of the most talked about places on the whole island, especially internationally, I actually haven’t been there a lot. I had some good memories from my childhood of camping there and playing in the waves at Long Beach. I can so clearly remember feeling the pull of the current under my feet for the first time there, standing in the surf. Since moving to Vancouver Island though, I have been only three times: once for a bachelor party in the early 2000’s; and a couple of times in the last ten years for a cabin rental in the middle of winter with a group of friends. In my mind it had still felt small, remote and very west coast. Visiting now, even in the midst of the pandemic, I was pretty amazed at how touristy it felt. To be honest there is a lot of similarity between the feeling you get in Ucluelet and Tofino and what you feel in Hawaii. That was something I was not expecting. The other side of it is though, that I also began to understand why it is so popular as well.
For the five nights we had booked into the Terrace Beach Resort in Ucluelet, apparently up until recently owned by Jason Priestly’s parents. It has a series of cabins along boardwalks overlooking a beautiful little protected bay. It is just about two kilometres from the town centre of Ucluelet and right next to the loop walk down to the Amphitrite Lighthouse.
One of the things that is so amazing about Ucluelet, and I believe Tofino as well, are all the walking trails located along the water, but also along the main routes. There was actually extensive work being done while we were there on the bike trail between the two towns. Once it is done it will be a pretty amazing draw on its own as it will pass all of the main beaches between the towns and provide hours and hours of biking.
We only spent a couple of hours in the time we were there in Tofino and as such I am not sure I can truly speak to a comparison of the two towns, but it was clear that Ucluelet was quieter and I did like that aspect. That said, I was completely surprised that Ucluelet was as full of resorts as it was and there was still a lot of construction going on. The town itself still had a real small town British Columbia vibe but with a few flashes of the tourism that other places may not see. During our time there we really enjoyed Zoe’s Bakery, The Ucluelet Aquarium and the fairly new Ucluelet Brewing Company. In Tofino, we visited Shed for a meal, as well as the Tofino Brewing Company.
I do have a little story about the Tofino brewery actually. So Tofino Brewing has done this beer with spruce tree tips over the years. This beer is absolutely amazing, a little hoppy, but also minty fresh from the spruce. The problem is that they only brew a small amount of it each year and it doesn’t seem to always make it to all of the stores in Victoria. I had high hopes that with heading to the brewery that I might be able to buy some. The rain was coming down in sheets as we walked up to the front to see if there was a line to get into the store, but no, we could go right in. I looked in the fridges and couldn’t see any of the beer and realised that maybe there just hadn’t been any this year. I grabbed an IPA that sounded good and took it to the cashier and told of my disappointment. She told me that it was one of their more popular and that they were actually down to their last keg at that moment and there was not even enough to fill a growler, but that I could have a taster on the house. While it was not as good as getting a couple of bottles, that I could at least reaffirm the flavours and have it at the brewery for the first time was amazing. I am hopeful that I will see it in Victoria in the early new year. If you are in Tofino though, make sure to check in and ask if you can try this beer, you won’t regret it.
Maybe my favourite thing in Ucluelet is the Wild Pacific Trail. This trail went right through the resort we were staying in but seemed to go all around the whole town. It included the Amphitrite Lighthouse Trail but also a long trail along the water near the Black Rock Resort and all of the way up to a grove of massive cedars north of town. It seems that the trail is still growing and I can imagine it will continue to be a huge draw to the area.
Enjoying Sidewalking Victoria? Buy a sticker from the Sidewalk Store!
We spent a lot of time just walking on the beaches along here and it was just a such a breathtaking place to explore. I think we may have seen maybe 5 of the big beaches but I am sure there is a lot more to explore for the next time we visit. They are each distinct but also each have this universal rawness that I have only experienced on beaches along the west coast of north america no matter whether it is in Tofino or Oregon. The brief list that I can remember of where we went and where I will have pictures of here of are: Long beach, Chesterman beach, Wickaninnish beach, Florencia beach as well as obviously Terrace Beach by our cabin.
The whole trip felt like we were getting much further away than we actually were and that was such a treat. I am going to want to get back up to this area sooner than it has been in the past and hopefully since so much was closed this time, will be able to explore much more!