Bottom Line:
Blackball ferry from Port Angeles across to Victoria, BC and then a (snow-free) drive over to Tofino on the wild west coast of Vancouver Island. Not far from Neah Bay as the crow flies but a pretty indirect route up and across (east-to-west) on Vancouver Island. Multiple days of beach hiking in Pacific Rim National Park (home to Wickaninnish, South and Lismer beaches below), the rocky shoreline parks of Ucluelet (Lighthouse Loop below), and the surfing beaches of Tofino (Cox, Chesterman and McKenzie). Excellent conditions with tide going out all afternoon and (near) low tide around sunset. Chesterman beach is especially beautiful with a sand spit connecting north/south beach to Frank Island at low tide, and wonderful reflections in the sand. CAUTION: Rogue waves and sharp volcanic rock (I have some contusions to prove it!)
Stats:
- Distance: ~12 miles
- Weather: Mostly cloudy but one day of rain, and another of sun, ~45C, light surf increasing to moderate by the last day (see surf pics below)
- Trails: Use Google maps or AllTrails for public access points outside of the National Park. Mostly flat sandy beaches perfect for hiking or biking, but the beaches in the NP south of Wickaninnish were steeper, black pebble beaches. Long Beach is ~10 miles in length, and most of the other beaches are segmented by rocky headlands, some impenetrable wilderness with amazing wild-swept shore trees (the forest in this whole area is incredibly beautiful and unique). Most beaches are quiet wilderness, but you can see surfers and kayakers at a few spots (mainly Cox Bay and Wickaninnish). CAUTION: Some of the forest boardwalks are quite slippery right now.
- Fauna: Sea urchins, starfish (nice to see them returning after the mass die-off) and anemones; seals, eagles. CAUTION: Wolves, cougar and (beach-foraging) bear warning signs. Kelp forests in seemingly good shape, unlike down in California where there has also been a die-off.
- Takeaway: Lots of other Seattle folks visiting for American Thanksgiving, but overall quiet, relaxing and very beautiful. Missed "storm watching" by about a week, but given that led to power outages, that was probably fine. Check out Horn Lake Caves on the way - wild, natural caves with waterfalls and tight squeezes, where you need a guide to get beyond the conservation gates. The Wickaninnish Inn on Chesterman has a nice bar at the mid-point if doing the south-north loop as we did, although we ended up walking back on the beach in the dark and driving rain! :)
The attached video shows the progressive sunset at Chesterman walking on mesmerizing "mirror sand" out to the offshore island at low tide, as well as snippets from other beach-hiking spots.
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