The Pacific Coast Highway. Red Rock Country. Route 66. Road trips are about as American as apple pie but, here in Canada, we have our own epic drives.
And the journey from Nanaimo to Tofino is one of them.
To be honest, I hadn’t even heard of Tofino, a town of only 2,000 people on Vancouver Island, until several years ago after a couple friends returned from British Columbia in a state of rapture.
With its mystical and moody beaches, Tofino is a natural paradise in itself, but it would be worth the visit simply for the drive on the winding road past ancient rainforests, rivers and a dramatic mountain range of snow-capped peaks.
The drive from Nanaimo to Tofino will take 2.5-3 hours but it would be wise to give yourself five. This glorious road trip is not to be rushed – you’ll want to make multiple stops along the way to explore, worship the rugged beauty, snap photos and simply reflect on your place in this vast world.
BC’s Big Tree Heritage: Cathedral Grove
Hit the road from Nanaimo and, after just 15 minutes on Highway 4, make your first stop at Cathedral Grove in MacMillan Provincial Park.
Do not skip this. If you do, you’ll miss a national treasure and one of the few places in the world where you can humbly stand next to some of the tallest, mightiest Douglas fir trees on earth. This lush, ancient forest is part of a rare ecosystem with trees up to 800 years old.
The trails are short, but your walk through them shouldn’t be. Look up. Remember this moment. As you stand before these moss-covered giants, you’ll feel the hushed but powerful life force under your feet and around you. Take long, deep breaths of the moist air because, chances are, you may never be nourished with this rainforest scent again.
The south loop displays the most colossal Douglas fir trees, the largest measuring an astounding 76 metres in height and 9 metres in circumference! In the northern loop, you’ll find time-worn Western red cedars on the edge of Cameron Lake.
This is one special place.
The Pacific Rim Highway
Continue along Highway 4 until you reach the fishing town of Port Alberni, a recommended stop for snacks, a restroom break or to fill up on gas.
From here, Highway 4 becomes the Pacific Rim Highway. What follows is a challenging (or titillating?) 90-minute drive on a single-lane, twisting road with hairpin turns. There are magnificent sights along the way – do stop at each one. The final destination of Tofino is the reward, but remember: so too is the journey. Inspired by the surrounding lakes, and mountains standing sky-high and dignified, you’ll be washed over with a sense of peace and deep reverence for a natural world so many of us forget exists.
Absorb the views of Kennedy Lake against a mountain backdrop…
… or rest on the rocks on the edge of Kennedy River to the sound of a gushing waterfall.
There’s even a dark beauty on the Pacific Rim Highway under the gloom of grey clouds, which can be just as soothing as the west-coast sunshine.
If you’re lucky, the skies will open up on your return journey, giving you the opportunity to experience both moods. If time allows, you may even want to consider retracing the route – or part of it – from Tofino on a clearer day.
The Beaches
Once you pass Ucluelet (a wonderful destination in itself that should be included in your itinerary), you’ll want to check out at least one of the several beaches from there to Tofino. So breathtaking they are that I’ve devoted an entire post about their mystical and rugged beauty.
Special thanks to my friend, travel partner and all-around good sport, Jas, for standing in as my subject in some of the above photos. (We photographers can be a demanding bunch!)
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What You Should Know:
- From Vancouver, you first have to make your way to Nanaimo by ferry with BC Ferries. The easiest route is from Vancouver’s Horseshoe Bay terminal (accessible by taxi or bus from the downtown core) to Nanaimo’s Departure Bay.
- The Budget car rental office is located in downtown Nanaimo but near the Departure Bay terminal. For convenience, Budget offers a complimentary shuttle service to/from their office.
- An alternative method of travel from Vancouver to Tofino is by jet or seaplane but it’s more costly (and unsuitable for claustrophobes like me), although views of the coastline are undoubtedly spectacular from the air. You also have the option of renting a car upon arrival at Tofino airport, but know that a car rental from Nanaimo is substantially more economical.
- The winding and sometimes narrow Pacific Rim Highway between Port Alberni and Tofino is challenging but manageable (if I found it tolerable – even enjoyable at times – after an eight-year hiatus from driving, surely you’ll be fine too). The obvious rules apply: exercise patience, drive slowly (even more so in the rain) and avoid driving at night. Do make use of the pullouts on the highway to allow traffic to pass from behind.
For budget accommodations in Tofino, check out my post about Jamie’s Rainforest Inn; for a splurge, see this post about The Wickaninnish Inn. You can also check other hotel options on Booking.com.
Disclosures: I received a media discount for my Budget car rental from Nanaimo. I also earn a small commission from Booking.com if you click on their link and make a reservation through their site (at no cost to you). Thank you for your support!
I know this this Road trip!!! Actually have taken close to the same Shots along the way. My wife and I stopped at the same river and took some amazing Shots. Love tofino.. Always Stay at Sea Star Beach Retreat..
What a luxury to be able to make this journey again and again. Lucky you!
I have done this a few times, in the spring we stopped at Kennedy river and the water pooled in the rocks was full of tadpoles and salamanders.
What a sight that must have been. I’ll have to look out for them next time!
There is also a bus service to Tofino from Nanaimo.
Yes, thanks for bringing that up, Tina. I considered that but I wanted to make the journey a road trip where I could stop wherever and whenever I pleased. Having said that, Tofino Bus is a great alternative for people who don’t drive.
Go again and get some beach photos! I highly recommend visiting the Eucluelet Aquarium – /www.uclueletaquarium.org! For as many times as we make the drive (we have a floating cabin in the Barkley Sound – http://goo.gl/CZFp3v ), we should spend more time smelling the flowers along the way (generally drive right through Cathedral Grove without stopping … unless it’s for tourists crossing the roadway!)
Nice photos!
There are also some custom tour groups that do one day trips out to Tofino and they stop along the way.
I’m interested in some tour like that. How do I get info ?
Hi Jacki! My suggestion would be to reach out to Tourism British Columbia and Tourism Tofino. They should be able to help. 🙂
Oh, I didn’t miss those beaches. My next post will be all out about them 🙂
Thank you so much for sharing this. We’re doing this trip for the first time this summer and now have a great idea of what to look out for. cathedral Grove looks awesome!
You’re welcome, Andrew. I have more posts coming up about Tofino, so stay tuned!
We Make this trip every summer from Alberta. love it we drive there we and I do stop to smell the Roses take in the sights but I will be looking for the salamanders this time .love it and will do again this year
You’re surrounded by tremendous natural beauty – in Alberta too. Enjoy the road trip 🙂
This is one of my favourite drives, I did it last year and will be doing it again in a month. It’s beautiful but I wish I could be the passenger to soak it in even more.
Cathedral Grove and Coombs Country Market are great stops.
Aw, wish I had made it to Coombs Country Market…
I drove that route with my mother. It was all misty and ethereal, one of the most spectacular drives I’ve experienced – if a bit foggy and scary. So agreed about Cathedral Grove. It’s spectacular. As always, your photos amaze.
Thank you, Carol. I agree that the roads would be a little precarious on foggy days.
I haven’t done this drive in along time. Love stopping in Cathedral Grove. Have you ever done the drive in winter? I hear it can be a little wild.
Yikes! I definitely wouldn’t want to do it in the winter!
My girlfriend and I did the drive recently (early-mid Jan) with a rental car and it was fine. Very foggy in the mountains in the stretch between Port Alberni and the Tofino-Ucluelet junction, plus quite a lot of snow too on the road-sides. But this just added to the fun of the experience.
At the same time, I can imagine the drive could be dangerous in winter if there was heavy snow or black ice.
This article was really helpful. It inspired us to make a quick stop at Cathedral Grove on the way back, which was well worth it. Thanks Helen!
I’m so glad you stopped at Cathedral Grove! And thanks for your feedback on winter driving – it’s helpful info for my readers. 🙂
Hi Helen, Jenny and I are here in Tofino looking at the beauty of Chesterman Beach. We decided that we needed a better camera to do the scenes justice and ran into you blog on the Nanaimo-Tofino highway more-or-less by accident. Enjoyed the article and photos very much. We will continue to read your postings and also your advise on camera selection and other travel accessories. Thanks, Jack Derksen
Thanks, Jack! I’m jealous that you’re there right now. I hope you’re enjoying it. Did you do the road trip?
It seems an amazing drive! I must arrange a trip there! Thank you for your experience.
BTW, what do you mean of “a single-lane”? A lane for one direction?
That’s correct. For each direction, there is only one lane.
I have thought about and wanting to do this road trip for a while. I was worrying about the driving. Your article is very helpful and inspiring. I decide to go this coming Spring. Thank you very much for sharing, Helen.
I have no idea how I missed this comment, Jessie. I’m so sorry for such a delayed reply! Thank you for reading. I’m not sure if you already travelled to BC but please let me know if you have any questions. 🙂
Thank for this wonderful post. I found it very valuable. I stumbled across it while searching for info on the road between Nanaimo and Ucluelet. We are here now at the Black Rock Resort in Ucluelet with a magnificent view of the ocean. I loved your photos of the drive and all of your other posts about the area. I would add one additional note about the drive. On the way over on the ferry, I struck up a conversation with some fellow passengers, and they recommended taking a short side trip on the 4A to Coombs. They said that Goats on the the Roof, an Old Country Market, was worth a stop. Indeed it was. There is a whole collection of shops besides the Old Country Market which has a sod roof on which goats graze to keep the grass trimmed.. We visited the open fruit and vegetable market, the plant nursery with plants beautifully displayed and the ice cream store. We plan on stopping again on our way back to pick up some more varieties on the Old Country Store’s smoked salmon.
Hi! Thank you for taking the time to add your tips! I did hear about the Old Country Market but didn’t end up making it out there. I’m regretting it now though. 🙁 I hope you’re enjoying your time there. Black Rock Resort looks stunning!