Vancouver Island photos

[Klazu]

The Vancouver Island section on this forum is so small and viewed by only few that I will post some photos from this beautiful island here instead. After all, Vancouver Island is frequented by us Vancouverites, so it is also quite proper in my mind.

We have so been to Vancouver Island three times and all those trips have been to Tofino, which I find amazing. Here is my first photoset from a trip back in 2012. We had a rainy Victoria Day long weekend to spend in there, but rain only adds to the Tofino experience!







We took the ferry from Tsawwassen terminal to Nanaimo, which is a 1.5 hour sailing.



There was no time to see Nanaimo this time around and we just passed by.



As the weather improved, we opted to drive a smaller road to Parksville. This view is towards Vancouver over the Strait of Georgia. It's a big body of water!



First stop on the road to Tofino is of course Cathedral Grove. The highway takes you through a small patch of ancient forest where few giants still stand tall.



Trees taller than the Leaning Tower of Pisa!



And here is the douglas-fir in question.



Tofino area is a tsunami hazard zone. There are signs for an escape route everywhere.



A nice place to have a break.









At the end of the road there are only two small villages: Tofino and Ucluelet. They are the only major settlements on the west coast of Vancouver Island.



In Ucluelet the most famous activity is the Wild Pacific Trail which is perfect for storm watching (a major activity during winter time and something we have yet to do!).



The pacific coast is rugged.





We stayed at Middle Beach Lodge which was a quiet paradise tucked deep in the rainforest. Just an amazing place sit by a fireplace, watching the rain outside.











Tofino is the western end of the Trans-Canada Highway. St John's is the eastern end, I believe.



From Tofino we took a boat trip to nearby Meares Island. On the way there you see eagles, crabs, birds, seals, ...







Meares Island is an uninhabited island which has been speared from human touch. There is only a small plank trail called The Big Tree Trail and boy, it is exactly that! Boats only bring a few people to the island at once, so you have all the serenity almost to yourself!







The trees on this trail are massive. MASSIVE. There are three especially distinguished red cedars along the trail that are each between 1000 and 1500 years old! These trees are among the oldest in Canada.







These ancient red cedars are huge. HUGE!





Hugging a living giant.



The Hanging Garden is where the trail ends and it is the largest of them all with circumference of 18.3 metres (60 feet)!



Meares Island is a must-see when in Tofino, although hopefully it will stay relatively unknown and is speared from the crowds. I have never seen trees this big and only some individual red cedars down in California should be bigger than them. They are impressive to say the least and make you really humble.



Only on Victoria Day there is an annual free entry to the nearby Stubbs Island which has an impressive private garden. It is very well-maintained!







Another great rainy day trail is the Rainforest Trail inside the Pacific Rim National Park (the road to Tofino cuts right through it). Great way to experience the temperate rainforests that are native to the pacific northwest. It is highly recommended during a rainy day, as the sound of rain in such a forest is just so soothing and relaxing.





Nothing that falls in a National Park is ever moved. Just built around.



Tofino is of course also known as the laid-back surfing capital of Canada and the surf's up especially every time there is an approaching storm.



Most people surf on the 16 kilometers long and aptly named Long Beach. On a nice day it makes for an amazing place to swim, however the water of the northern pacific ocean is cold even during summer.



On the way back we had some poor weather.





We made a brief stop in Duncan to see the totem poles in the city center.





Our ferry back left from Swartz Bay near Victoria, which is a 340 kilometer and 6 hour drive from Tofino. We didn't have any time to spend in Victoria on this trip.





So there you have it. Like mentioned, Tofino was amazing and the secluded atmosphere there is just great. It is getting more touristy year-by-year and accommodation can be quite expensive around high season, but it is a great trip for any outdoors lover and we really loved our trip there.

More photos form Vancouver Island in the future!

[Klazu]

Our second trip to Tofino was only a year later together with visitors we had over. In first photo the tiny Vancouver Skyline from ferry to Nanaimo.



Sunshine Coast mountain range.



We arrived in Ucluelet just before the the sunset.



Black Rock Oceanfront Resort is a very nice and fairly new place to stay in.





View from the room in the morning.







Since we had visitors with us, we visited Meares Island again to see the amazing old-growth on the island.





Words don't describe these ancient giants. Maybe not even photos.





Of course we also did the Rainforest Trail near Ucluelet.





Wild Pacific Trail is also a must-do everytime we are in the area.









Visit to Long Beach was the highlight of our trip thanks to the amazing July weather we were lucky to have!



















Time to head back home. Few stops on the way back to Nanaimo.



The old-growth forest of Cathedral Grove nearby Port Alberni is a stop everyone makes.







On the way back the freeway was closed for few hours due to an accident. Fortunately we had time to make it to our ferry back.





Departure from Nanaimo.



The weather really made our second trip special and Tofino area is absolutely amazing in summer!

[trofirhen]

Geez! Makes me homesick!

[Klazu]

It's been some time since my last Vancouver Island photos. While we have visited also other locations on the island, Tofino remains our absolute favorite and back in 2016 we did visit it in November to try to witness the famous storm season.



Following Halloween, many Port Alberni residents bring their pumpkins in Cathedral Grove park for animals and passerbyers to enjoy.















Cathedral Grove is home to some really old trees and the tallest of them measures a respective 80 meters in height!



Wild Pacific Trail in Ucluelet is a great trail for storm watching. While it was a windy day, the waves were not that huge, yet there were still some nice splashes to see.









Our favorite accommodation in Tofino is the relaxing Middle Beach Lodge.







In recent years there has been some nice restaurants open in Tofino, such as Sobo.







The next day we went hiking nearby Radar Hill. Along this trail there was an abandoned building in middle of the forest.







Back in 2016 the trail was still under-developed and basically ran through a muddy swamp. It was impossible to walk away with dry feet and fortunately the trail has since been re-built with boardwalks and should now be way easier to traverse.







The highlight of the trail is a Canadian Air Force's Canso plane wreck from 1945. It was a severe accident but all 12 passengers made it out of the wreckage alive.







It is incredible how much of the plane remains in one piece. Finding a plane wreck in middle of forest really makes one's imagination run wild. What a cool location!!





















After a long hike, we headed next to check out Long Beach where the surf was up.











To end our nice day, we had made dinner reservations at the prestigious Wickannish Inn.













The Pointe restaurant is famous for its food and their tasting menu was superb. We have since then been back few more times and it has always been fantastic!

















Our night ended with a walk on the beach under the stars. We had had yet another great long weekend in this beautiful part of the world.

[Klazu]

Thanksgiving long weekend provided for a nice opportunity to head over to Ucluelet on the Pacific coast to relax and enjoy some good food.







Enjoying dinner at the Black Rock Resort.







Wild Pacific Trail is a must-do trail whenever in Ucluelet. The trail is also stroller friendly.







It was a misty morning with fog pushing in from the sea.











Thornton Creek Hatchery was open this time and we were hoping to see some black bears trying to catch salmon.







Unfortunately the salmon run had not yet started due to low water levels, so we only saw some fish and no bears.







Thanksgiving dinner at our hotel was tasty.







Next day we checked out how busy Chesterman Beach was.











It was a great and relaxing weekend with nothing special going on, although the west coast itself is plenty special on its own.

[officedweller]

Nice pics, thanks.
At first I thought that stuffed turkey roll was a slice of bread!

[Hourglass]

Great photos, thanks for sharing. Love the Tofino / Ucluelet area.

Was there a lot of fog during your visit? Looked like you had mainly clear days.

[djmk]

Originally Posted by Klazu

Unfortunately the salmon run had not yet started due to low water levels, so we only saw some fish and no bears.

looks like your kid was not too happy about the salmon run

[dleung]

Beautiful photos. One of my favorite places on earth. Have you considered buying a vacation home there or some kind of time-share? I'm considering buying some waterfront and building a small cabin, since staying at any of the waterfront resorts around tofino cost an arm and a leg. I stayed at the beachhouses at Pacific Sands for 2 nights once, and it really hurted my wallet, but the modern post and beam + glass construction absolutely completed the west coast experience. I would go there every month if it didn't cost thousands each time. Went to the indigenous Best Western another year, which was a great deal, but it wasn't quite the same.

[Vin]

Lovely. The misty nights with the fog horns do send a chill down one's spine though, especially considering the numerous wrecks with sailors and passengers perishing around the area back in the days.

If I were to even hear a single scream coming from those jagged rocks in the middle of the night, that would totally send me bolting for the hills even the worst tsunami likely won't catch me.

Fitting for a Halloween weekend indeed.

[Klazu]

Originally Posted by officedweller

Nice pics, thanks. At first I thought that stuffed turkey roll was a slice of bread!

Haha! It was one thick slice of turkey, I give you that. No shrinkflation in Ucluelet.

Originally Posted by Hourglass

Was there a lot of fog during your visit? Looked like you had mainly clear days.

This was over Thanksgiving, so before the rainy season started. There was no firesmoke like in Vancouver, but the fog did push in from the ocean each morning. It seems to be common for the area this time of year, wet or dry weather.

Originally Posted by dleung

Beautiful photos. One of my favorite places on earth. Have you considered buying a vacation home there or some kind of time-share?

Vacation homes in Tofino/Ucluelet seem to have boomed in the past 5 years and we know someone with one in there. They visit theirs often, but it is a tough one if I would be ready to spend that much time in there. It is a magical place to visit once a year, but I might go crazy with how small and far it is. It takes a day to drive there due to ferry and Highway 4 being slow and curvy, so I would struggle to have the time to head there all the time to justify the investment. Of course, one could work remotely from there.

Originally Posted by Vin

Lovely. The misty nights with the fog horns do send a chill down one's spine though, especially considering the numerous wrecks with sailors and passengers perishing around the area back in the days.

The lighthouse in Ucluelet's fog horn is actually quite calming and relaxing from a distance and you complete ignore it after some time. There is no lighthouse in Tofino, as far as I know. Most of the time you are listening to waves crashing on the shore, which is so soothing.

[Klazu]

Cowichan Valley is an interesting area that many people overlook when visiting Vancouver Island.

The first stop on our trip was the newest attraction on the island, called Malahat Skywalk.







While there is no elevator, the massive structure is easy and effortless to climb up do only an 5-7% incline of the climb.













It's often windy on top of due to how open it is.









The attraction offers beautiful views of the Finlayson Arm some 250 metres below you.





Our place of stay for the trip was in a small seaside town of Cowichan Bay.







Cowichan Valley is home to several farms where it is possible to see farm animals upclose.









Shawnigan Lake is location of Kinsol Trestle which is one of the highest railway trestles in the world.



The bridge is 44 metres (144 ft) high and 188 metres (617 ft) long, and it was renovated in 2011.









The bridge was originally built in 1920 for trains hauling timber.



The small municipality of Cobble Hill is the location of several nice and award-winning vineyards.





Duncan is the central city for the valley and home to world's biggest hockey stick, because why not?



Nice place to have a brunch in Duncan.



There are many nice small municipalities on the island and Chemainus is a nice little town with long history in lumber industry.







These days the town is most famous for its 53 historical murals which are very well made and display a lot of local and Canadian history.













Maybe the nicest looking Subway in existence?



It was a nice little trip to visit Cowichan Valley and to us it has some hidden gems that many people are missing out. I hope these photos will inspire someone else to visit the area one day, hopefully with better weather!

[Klazu]

Comox Valley is another lesser known pocket on Vancouver Island that is worth a visit. Our trip took place over this past Thanksgiving long weekend and the weather was absolutely fantastic as we boarded the ferry in Horseshoe Bay.







Hazy Vancouver skyline from afar.



The recommended way to get from Nanaimo to Comox is not to take the highway but instead drive the scenic coastal route.





Goose Spit Bay is a popular leisure spot in Comox.







We don't normally do AirBnB, but accommodation options in the area can be scarce and the carriage house we booked was very lovely.









Canadian Armed Forces have a base on Comox, which is source for a lot of employment in town. There is a great air museum next to the base with an Air Park that is free to enter.









A lot of the equipment has been used in coast rescue missions.







The town of Comox has a pretty fisherman's wharf worth a visit.







Comox Glacier is visible from the town.







Comox is a small town of 14,800 people with a lot of residents being elderly. The main street was rather quiet during a Saturday.



Nymph Falls is a local sight just outside of Courtenay.







Next day we drove up to Campbell River to visit a fun petting farm and we had a great time over there.





Puntledge River Hatchery is definitely worth a visit during salmon run that tends to have its height in late autumn.











Cumberland is another small town in the area with long coal mining history. Nowadays there seemed to be a lot of nice looking restaurants and local breweries, but we didn't have any time to visit them.







Royston has a shore front that was built back in the 1930s by 14 decommissioned ships being sunk. The vessels are still visible from the shore.





The real commercial center and largest city of Comox Valley is Courtenay, but the city has little to see. The downtown can be pretty lively during a weekend, although it is not visible in my photos from Sunday evening.







All in all, it was a fun low-key weekend visiting some small towns with surprisingly lot to see.