Day 7: Pacific Rim NP - Ucluelet - Tofino

19.7.24

Contrary to the weather forecast from the National Park (it's supposed to rain today), we are greeted with blue skies and bright sunshine 😍☀️

We start around 9:20 at Wickaninnish Beach. There are only 2 cars in the parking lot, surfers. The beach is also huge, the water is far away due to the tides, and we see surf schools and surfers in the bigger waves out in the water.

We watch for a while and walk along the beach. After that, we take the South Beach Trail to the eponymous South Beach.

A lovely path, passing by small coves (Connys Cover), over boardwalks and through rainforest.

Back at the camper, I help a local lady maneuver her significantly larger camper than ours (+24 ft) out of the parking lot. She had already gotten herself stuck on another camper parked next to hers. While backing out, she shreds her awning on the neighboring RV.

She laughs it off, 'Shit Happens', and drives away. Ouch...

Fortunately, that wasn't our RV next to hers 😱

Next, we want to go to Wya Point, but we can't find the access, and the only road in that direction is a narrow gravel road through the forest - with many low-hanging branches 😵‍💫

Um, no thanks.

We continue to the Lighthouse Trail in Ucluelet. The first parking lot recommended for parking is completely full.

Oh no... We drive further to the Lighthouse and find the last parking spot for our camper. So compared to the USA, they don't seem to like RVs here very much...

Already at Green Point CG, there were beach accesses where RVs are not allowed. Hmm... Well, at least we've had some luck now.

We quickly change our long pants for shorts (at least my son and I) and our fleece jackets for shirts, and then we're off.

The nearly 3 km Lighthouse trail is very beautiful. The circular path follows the coastline, where it feels like every few meters there is a bench with a view, through the rainforest, where there is also a forest education path, back along the coast to the Lighthouse. Suddenly, fog rolls in, adding a mystical atmosphere to the whole thing. We hear the buoys in the sea, sounding and tooting, warning of rocks, and the lighthouse's signal also sounds.

For lunch, we stop at the Cedar Grill Restaurant in Ucluelet. We find a parking spot on the main road. We treat ourselves to Fish & Chips, pasta, and pizza. Very delicious. Refreshed, we continue on foot to Big Beach, which is rather disappointing.

Due to the low tide, everything is full of algae, and the tide pools only contain stinky algae and kelp. We walk back and make a detour to the aquarium and the harbor.

We then head to Tofino. We weren't sure if we should come here because parking with RVs seems to be quite difficult. However, it's already 16:30, so many day-trippers are probably already on their way back. We get lucky and find a parking spot for our RV on Gibson Street, right among many other RVs.

We stroll down to the harbor and walk back through the town. We had imagined Tofino to be much more touristy. Surprisingly, we quite like it here 😅

Since it's still hard to drive around with the RV, we don't visit any more beaches. We indulge ourselves at 'The Candy Jar' with what is probably the most expensive ice cream of our vacation. Okay, the scoop we get in the cone is so big it's like getting 3 scoops, but 18 CAD... and then I have to tip as well... well, whatever, vacation....🙈

By around 18:00, we are back at the campground. It's quite chilly at our site in the woods, so I grab my fleece jacket and take a walk with my husband down to the beach. As soon as we reach the path at the beach (it's low tide), I can take off my jacket. Wow, here in the sun it's easily +10 degrees warmer. Crazy!

My husband sits on a driftwood log while I explore the beach on foot, watch the surfers, and enjoy the beautiful weather. My son also comes to the beach later before we head back to the RV around 21:00.

What a wonderful piece of earth!

For the statistics:

Campground: Green Point Campground

28 €; Site 69

Driven: 92 km

Walked: 12.5 km

Photos: 306

Weather: sunny, 20 degrees