Ultimate Rain Hiking in Pacific West Coast of Canada
As soon as we watched a documentary in Netflix on Tofino and the wild life that it beams of , we knew we had to visit Vancouver Island in spring time. So starting from Toronto we landed on a 5 hour flight to Victoria. I am fan of secluded remote hiking places so without further adieu we drive away from the city to Parksville, BC and spend the night at The Bayfront Oceanside Resort. (Check out the Little Mountain Lookout, a hidden gem in Parksville if you are in the area.).
Next day it was cold and rainy, Thats what I consider perfect weather to hike groves and rain forest. Over the years of hiking I have learnt that It doesn't always has to be bright and shiny! So our first stop was at Cathedral Grove. This place is surreal. Do not miss this! This place introduced me to the concept of nurse logs and how old forests grow over years. Its pretty cool to see how small saplings on nurse logs have grown into these huge cedar trees. Nature does not waste a thing! . Make sure you do both the loops that are across the road.
If you are hungry, grab a bite at Old country market(They have goats on the roof). Post this hike, we stopped at Coombs Country Candy for some ice cream. Sweet staff with delicious flavors.(Tortoise flavor was yum! )
We settled that night at Waters edge Shoreside Suites. I would highly recommend this place as their Suites are fully equipped with all kitchen supplies, you can hear all sorts of wildlife and they also have a view.
Our first stop Day 2 was Rainforest Trail. The trail has two loops A and B. However B part was closed so we could only explore Part A. This is well built boardwalk with old growth forest trees. This is where we came across the skunk cabbage (Apparently bears use this as a laxative). Since it was early morning, there were just the two of us on the trail and the silence helped us hear chirping and sounds of all sorts of birds.
Next we parked right outside Cox beach and wandered the shoreline. We could see people taking surfing lessons. There is a hidden trail somewhere on the beach that leads to Cox bay lookout but we opted out since we were already satisfied with the beach views.
From there we headed to Tofino and our goal was to do the Tonquin trail. However the trail was closed from the trailhead so we had to go to Tonquin park and start the trail from there which is like skipping 1/4th of the trail. Nevertheless I am glad we did it. If there is one trail that you want to do in this area, this should be it. You go through lush forests then to secluded beach with a beautiful view and then end up through some good amount of walking until you reach Middle beach where you witness plethora of mussels lining the shore.
It was noon by this time and we decided to fill our stomach with some tacos at Tacofino. From there we went to Chesterman Beach. If you want to view surfing or do it , this should be your beach.
Then we took a nap to rejunivate our selves and hopped back to Combers beach. This trail is one of my favorite. To be honest, I liked it more than Long beach. There is less crowd here and the scattererd logs all along the beach make this a totally breathtaking experience.
After spending for more than an hour, we wanted to view the mountains from Tofino. So there is small marine area right behind Shelter restaurent that has a good view of the Meares Island. We spent some quite time mesmerising the view and then headed back to a good old beer at Tofino Brewing.
Oh last but not the least, do not overlook this local cafe called Chocolate Tofino. Not only their chocolates are topnotch, their hammerhead ice cream is just yum.
