THE SUNNY SIDE OF STORM-WATCHING
Rain or shine, Tofino and Ucluelet have plenty to offer winter visitors
Storm-watching has been a boon for Tofino and Ucluelet’s winter economy. Ever since hotels started promoting the wild waves, lashing rain and strong winds that often occur between November and March as a must-see for visitors, they’ve turned the west coast of Vancouver Island into a yearround tourism destination.
But what happens when the weather doesn’t co-operate? On my recent trip to the two Pacific Rim communities, the skies were blue, the breezes were gentle and the seas were calm.
As far as storm-watching goes, my visit was a bust. But when you’ve got sunny, autumn-like weather in December, can you really complain?
I didn’t. I ditched my rain boots for sneakers and headed out to revel in the glorious outdoors.
Chesterman Beach, just outside Tofino’s venerable Wickaninnish Inn, is a great place to start exploring. You can go just to gawk at the surfers, or you can learn a bit more about the ocean, the forest and the Indigenous people on a gentle walk with Liam Ogle of Long Beach Nature Tours.
In the forest, we nibbled on traditional Indigenous delicacies like candied salmon and dried seaweed as Ogle told us about sea wolves, the special breed of west coast wolves that have learned to swim and live off ocean life to survive. I know I wasn’t the only one to stare out into the waves, hoping in vain for a sighting.
We fared better when we hopped on a boat at the Adventure Centre at Tofino Resort and Marina for a tour around the inlet near Tofino. A sighting of a pair of eagles was followed by a few seals poking their heads out of the water, then a group of sea lions basking on the rocks. The big payoff was a grey whale, a late-season hangeron who surfaced languidly to show us its mottled hide.
If all that fresh air and sunshine works up your appetite, the Hatch Waterfront Pub is just across the dock as you land. Or if you’re just thirsty, the Tofino Brewing Co.’s new and spacious taproom is not far away. For a truly unique west coast beer, try a kelp stout.
Tofino has been upping its culinary game over the past several years, and the Wolf in the Fog is one of its standouts. The restaurant’s menu changes depending on what’s in season, but the cedarinfused rye sour is a cocktail-menu staple.
At the other end of the island’s western coast is Ucluelet, once a rough-around-the-edges fishing village that drew few tourists away from Tofino’s laid-back charms. But all that is changing. Ucluelet — Ukee to locals — is becoming almost as well known for surfing as Tofino (and a dry suit will keep you warm in the water even in the winter).
For hiking, the self-guided Wild Pacific Trail gives you a taste of both old-growth forest and ocean waves crashing on shore. Or take a guided hike with Hello Nature Adventure Tours to see a blowhole that spews water up the side of a granite cliff — whether or not a storm is blowing in.
Ucluelet is also no slouch in the food and drinks department. Zoe’s Bakery and Café started as a tiny bakery but morphed into a go-to lunch spot serving hearty sandwiches and homemade soup, along with sweet treats.
Warm up in the afternoon at Thay Tea with upscale loose leaf teas like white peony or fermented butterscotch puerh.
In the evening, Abbondanza serves inventive thin-crust pizza fired in a wood oven; their taco pizza with roasted-corn salsa and chipotle crème fraîche is seriously addictive.
So go ahead and hope for nasty weather if you’re planning a winter visit to Ucluelet and Tofino. But if you get sunshine instead of storms, you won’t be too upset, right?