Tofino walking tour & city guide

The town and the harbor

Tofino's small town center is built around its harbor, where floatplanes and whale-watching boats come and go. Galleries show work by local and First Nations artists, including the Roy Henry Vickers Gallery in a carved longhouse-style building.

Beaches and rainforest

South of town, a string of beaches faces the open Pacific: Chesterman Beach, Cox Bay, and the 16-kilometer Long Beach in Pacific Rim National Park. Trails like the Rainforest Trail lead along boardwalks through giant cedars and hemlocks. Boat trips go out to see gray and humpback whales, sea otters and bears, and to the hot springs at Hot Springs Cove.

A classic beach walk

Start at Cox Bay, a favorite with surfers, and walk along the sand at low tide. Continue to Chesterman Beach, where at low tide you can walk out to Frank Island and explore tide pools.

Then drive or cycle along the paved Multi-Use Path to the Tofino Botanical Gardens and on into town for a stroll along the harbor. Check tide times before walking out to the island.

Visiting tips

Summer is the busiest and driest season, while November to February brings dramatic storm-watching. The drive from Nanaimo takes about three hours through mountains and forests. The water is cold all year, so surfers wear wetsuits.