The 21 Best Hikes and Trails in Tofino (From Someone Who's Done Them All - 2026 Guide)

The hikes/trails/beachwalks in Tofino vary greatly. Some are punishing climbs, some are easy boardwalk strolls, and some are just a walk along the beach that can be as long or short as you choose. 

Picking the right trail for you really depends on what you’re looking for and what kind of weather you have. The weather in Tofino is notoriously fickle, and you will be balancing weather factors that you probably haven’t normally considered.

When picking a trail here, we need to consider: is it sunny? Rainy? Windy? Is the tide high or low, and is it coming in or out? What is the wind level? And is there any fog in the forecast? And what time of day are we going out?

For a rainy day, I always go for Rainforest Trail.

On a sunny day, when I feel like a moderately challenging hike, I will always pick The Tonquin Trail.

On a sunny day with low wind, when I feel like taking it easy, I will go for a beach walk on Chesterman Beach if the tide is low, so I can check out the Rosey Beach Caves (at the south end of the beach). And if the tide is high, I will choose a stroll along tin wis beach.

If it’s looking like it will be a good sunset and I’m up for a challenge, I will head up to the Cox Bay Lookout. And if I want an easier sunset walk and the tide is low, I will head to Pettinger Point.

If I’m feeling bored and want something unique, I put on a pair of shoes I don’t mind getting muddy and head out to the Casno Plane Wreck.

If I’m out for a walk with anyone with mobility issues or a stroller, I would take a quick lap of the Shorepine Bog Trail.

And if I feel like getting out of Tofino for the day, I head over towards Ucluelet to do either the Willowbrae Trail down to Halfmoon Bay, or a section of the Wild Pacific Trail.

And if I really want to wake up tomorrow with sore legs and fond memories, I will take on Lone Cone.

Read Next: How To Get To Tofino

I've put together a map (see below) to help you understand where to park for each hike/walk and where each trail actually begins. Click the pins to see my notes about anything that might be confusing about the trailhead and details like how to pay for parking.

1. Tonquin Trail

The very start of this one is a bit confusing. At the trailhead by the parking lot, there's a billboard with a trail map. To the left, there's a sign that says "not beach." That's the connector trail that brings hikers from another parking lot, and it is the wrong way to go. Head right toward the sign that says "beach." That leads you to the AllTrails trailhead, and from there it's easy to follow the trail out to Tonquin Beach, then Third Beach, then Middle Beach.

It's a great local trail that's accessible from town, has easy terrain, and the beaches along the way are quieter than the main surf beaches. This is a solid option for a morning walk without driving anywhere, and a good one to have in your pocket on your first day before you've got your bearings.

You can walk to the trailhead from town, or if you're driving, you can park in the free lot here.

Since this is an out-and-back trail, you can make it as easy or difficult as you want. There are three beaches you will pass: the first is Tonquin Beach, which is actually my favourite one along the trail. During our last pet sit in Tofino, we would take the trail to this beach and just hang out and play fetch for a while with our dog and then turn back. If you're short on time, this is what I suggest.

After Tonquin Beach, you will come across Third Beach. It is much smaller and at high tide it almost disappears entirely. You can take a path down to the beach, but I actually think it is best appreciated from the viewpoint just before the beach that looks down to it.

The final beach is Middle Beach (I know the naming is a little confusing since Middle Beach is at the very end).

Aside from the beaches, there are several well-marked and obivious view points that give you amazing views of the rugged coast between beaches.

This is one of my favourite trails in Tofino, and I would say it deserves a spot in any itinerary, but if you can manage it, I would suggest going on a sunny day, with low wind, and at low tide. The beaches are best at low tide, and the wind can be a lot as you walk along the coast.

2. tin wis Beach

tin wis is a quieter beach just north of the national park boundary, sitting in front of the tin wis Resort on the Tla-o-qui-aht First Nations reserve. It gets a fraction of the traffic of Long Beach, partly because it doesn't show up as prominently on most visitor maps, which is exactly what makes it worth knowing about.

It's smaller and more sheltered than the national park beaches, which changes the character of it entirely. Where Long Beach is expansive and exposed, Tin Wis feels contained and calm. It works at all tides, and depending on conditions, it's more of a swimming beach than a surfing one. It's short enough that walking it end to end feels natural rather than like a commitment.

This is also one of the better sunset spots in the area. Paid parking is available in the small lot near Crystal Cove Resort, and if you don't mind a short walk to get to the beach, there's free street parking a bit further out.

The naming here causes some confusion. Mackenzie Beach was renamed to tin wis beach, and yes it lack of capitalization is intentional. People still sometimes use both names interchangeably, and you will see a mix of references on Google Maps and in travel guides. But they both refer to the same amazing stretch of sand.

Read Next: 9 Stops You Need to Make Along Highway 4 on the Way to Tofino

3. Chesterman Beach

Chesterman is one of the longest beaches close to town and one of the most popular with locals. There are three access points off Lynn Road and Chesterman Road. There is no free parking at this beach. Street parking on Lynn Road and Chesterman Road is payable by the Pay By Phone app, and if you park at the main lot at the south end of the beach, you can pay by app or at the machine.

This isn't really a trail or a hike, but it's one of the best walks you might take in your life. For this one tide doesn't really matter, because the beach is wide and expansive at all tides. A sunny day is ideal, but I've also never seen a beach that looks better in light rain than Chesterman.

The only time I would avoid this walk is during really high winds or in the fog. I once was walking a dog on this beach, and the fog rolled in so heavily that I couldn't see the dog at the end of the leash, and I had to use my Stava map and the sound of the waves to navigate myself back out to the road.

The beach is hard-packed sand that is easy to walk on or even ride a bike on, and it is lined entirely by rainforest. One of the more interesting parts of the walk is going along the Chesterman Split out to Frank Island. You can't miss it. It is a massive sand bank in the middle of the beach that shoots out into the water and connects a small rocky island.

The island itself is private property, so you can't go explore it, but it is definitely worth going over and checking it out from a distance. There's also an eagle's nest on Frank Island that locals have been watching for years. If you're there in spring, keep an eye out for the young ones.

If you take this walk at low tide, head over to the south end of the beach and explore the Rosey Bay Caves. These are a collection of caves on the beach that are only accessible at low tide. Some are tiny and covered in marine life patiently waiting for the tide to come back in, and others are massive caves you can walk right into.

4. Pettinger Point

Pettinger Point sits on a headland between Chesterman and Cox Bay, and it is one of the best sunset spots on the island. The walk out is short and easy with a few rooty, steep sections. It's nothing technical, but not stroller-friendly either.

The easiest access is via the boardwalk at Pacific Sands Resort, which is technically for guests only. There isn't going to be anyone there checking for room keys, but it is technically a rule.

If you're not staying at Pacific Sands, you can reach the trail from Cox Bay Beach, or you can scramble up from Chesterman at low tide. If you take the Chesterman route, just be mindful of the tide, because the point can get cut off when it comes in, and getting stranded up there is not part of the plan.

Time this one for the hour before sunset on a clear evening, and you won't regret it.

5. Cox Bay Lookout

This one starts right from Cox Bay Beach and goes uphill immediately, which is enough to put some people off. Don't let it. It's only 127 metres of gain, and the payoff at the top is a sweeping view of the entire bay that justifies every step.

Fair warning though: it's a harder hike than the stats suggest. The root sections are gnarly, and we tripped on them a few times on the way up. We also came out with muddy shoes that were effectively out of commission for the rest of the trip. That said, we met a girl at the top who had done the whole thing barefoot, so I think it's at least partly a matter of mindset.

The trail has markers the whole way up, but there are plenty of little side trails that don't go anywhere, so we were checking the AllTrails map a lot. You can't get too lost, but tracking the main trail can get confusing, especially on the way down in the dark.

Do this one at sunset. It is one of the best sunset spots on Vancouver Island. I know I just said that about Pettinger Point, but this is the same view, just from higher up. We stayed until the sun was properly set, and it was absolutely worth it, except that picking your way down root sections in the dark using phone flashlights with both hands needed to climb, really doesn't work at all. Go hands-free with a headlamp, or commit to heading down as soon as the sun dips and making it back to the beach in the fading light.

6. Esowista Peninsula Loop

If the Tonquin Trail is a great morning walk, the Esowista Peninsula Loop is what you do when you want to make a full day of it in town. It covers a lot of the same ground, including Tonquin Beach and Third Beach, but wraps them into a longer loop through forest and coastline that circles much of the peninsula.

You can start from Bella Pacifica Campsite or from Arnet Road, so there's some flexibility depending on where you're coming from. The terrain is similar to the Tonquin Trail: easy and accessible, with the same beautiful coastal stretches.

Honestly, the highlight of this loop is the section that follows the Tonquin Trail, which tells you something. If you're short on time or just want the best parts, do the Tonquin Trail as an out-and-back and call it a day. But if you're after a longer walk without getting in a car, this is your best option in town.

Parking for all the beaches in this section requires a Parks Canada pass. We have a discovery pass since we use it a lot year-round in other national parks. If you're planning more Canada travels, consider if the annual pass might work for you, but if you're here on a shorter trip, a shorter-term pass probably makes sense for you. Here is a summary of the pass options:

The following definitions apply to entry and service fee categories unless otherwise specified

• Adult - Person 18 to 64 years of age
• Senior - Person 65 years of age or over
• Youth - Person 6 to 17 years of age
• Family/Group - Up to seven people arriving in a single vehicle in a national park

Check the Parks Canada website for more details and up-to-date prices. The prices I've shown here are up to Date as of June 2026.

7. Long Beach

Long Beach is the centrepiece of Pacific Rim National Park and one of the longest stretches of sandy beach on the entire BC coast. It is about 16 kilometres of open Pacific shoreline. Most people access it from the main parking area off the highway, which is large, well-organized, and covered by the park pass.

The beach is enormous and never feels fully crowded, even on busy summer days. Incinerator Rock, a large sea stack near the middle of the beach, is the postcard shot you've seen from this area and is worth walking out to see in person. At low tide, the sand flats stretch out endlessly, and the walk south toward Combers or north toward Schooner Cove is as good a beach walk as you'll find anywhere in BC.

Wind is a factor here. Long Beach is fully exposed to the Pacific, and on windy days, the sandblasting is intense, making it not a great day for eating lunch on the beach, but a spectacular day for watching the surf.

There is no real trail here, just nearly endless sandy coastline. So you can make this a massive all-day hike walking the beach end to end, or you can just do a quick walk before moving on.

8. Combers Beach

Combers Beach is basically just an extension of Long Beach at low tide, but it has its own parking lot. The parking lot is huge and paved, and parking here is covered by the park's pass.

The path down to the beach is a gentle slope, wide and maintained with easy terrain. Halfway through, it becomes a boardwalk, and there are a few steps at the end going down to the beach. At most tides, you can easily walk over to the south side of Long Beach. You can only really not cross at super high tides.

It's a great beach, but it's a long way to carry a surfboard, and it's really expansive and exposed, so there is often serious wind. Worth coming down for the forest walk and for walking the beach itself, especially when the tides and winds are both low.

Note: Dogs are not permitted at Combers Beach between April 1 and October 1.

Read Next: 15 Best Things to Do in Tofino, BC (2026 Guide)

9. Wickaninnish Beach

Wickaninnish Beach sits at the south end of Long Beach, just past Combers Beach, and it has its own parking lot and the Kwisitis Visitor Centre right above it. The visitor centre is worth a stop. It has exhibits on the cultural history of the area and a viewing deck over the beach that's one of the better storm-watching spots in the park when the swells roll in.

The beach itself is wide, beautiful, and great for a long walk. The Nuu-chah-nulth Trail runs from behind the Kwisitis Centre along the mossy forest fringe, connecting to scenic coves that we will go over in the next section of the guide.

The national park has some amazing beach walk options, but the trail selection is actually even better. Parking for all of these trails will also be covered by the same Parks Canada Pass. So if you get a day pass during your visit, it makes sense to align all of the parks, beach walks and trails in the same day if your legs are up for it.

10. Shorepine Bog Trail

The Shorepine Bog Trail is a short boardwalk loop built over a bog inside the national park, and the trees here look nothing like the towering old-growth you'll see everywhere else in Tofino. They're stunted and gnarled, shaped by the waterlogged soil into one of the most unique patches of forest in the park.

It's fully stroller and family-friendly, and the boardwalk keeps it easy underfoot regardless of the weather. This isn't a destination hike so much as a worthwhile stop if you're already driving through the park. It's an easy detour that takes maybe thirty minutes and shows you a completely different side of the Tofino landscape.

Parking is in a large paved lot right at the trailhead, and it's covered by your park pass.

11. Rainforest Trail

This is our go-to hike for a rainy day in Tofino (and there will be rainy days). Along this trail, you're mostly protected by the forest canopy unless it's really coming down, and a little mist adds a whimsical cinematic quality to the whole scene. The trail winds through towering western red cedars, moss-draped trees, and fern-covered forest floors. It's a perfectly iconic Pacific Northwest ecosystem and a beautiful walk.

That said, we wouldn't use up a rare sunny day on this one. The trail is a single boardwalk loop with no grand finale viewpoint, which makes it a great walk but not a spectacular one. There are better hikes for a clear day, like Cox Bay Lookout or Lone Cone, and there will be a rainy day for this one soon enough.

The boardwalk makes the terrain easy, so you won't be tripping over roots and slipping in mud, but it is far from a flat path. There are stairs throughout as you go up and down over the uneven rainforest. There aren't many sections with too many stairs consecutively, so it's not too much of a workout, but they do start to add up after a while.

It's suitable for all skill levels and great for families or anyone wanting a calm, immersive nature walk. One thing to know: there are actually two routes, one on each side of the highway. Route A requires crossing the highway from the parking lot. Speed limits are up to 80km/h on that stretch, so be careful and wait for a proper gap. There is a crosswalk, and you have the right-of-way as a pedestrian, but the highway is full of tourists who don't know the roads and might not be watching out.

Both trails are similar. If you are short on time, you can definitely just do one, and you will get the idea, but if you loved the first one, do both!

12. Radar Hill

Radar Hill is one of the easiest viewpoints you'll find anywhere in the national park, and one of the most rewarding. The road in is steep, but that works in your favour, since it does almost all the elevation for you, so from the parking lot it's only a five-minute walk to the first viewpoint.

The view from the top is wide, unobstructed, and faces west over the Pacific. As a sunset spot, it's outstanding.

There's a second viewpoint on the other side of the hill, another five minutes down the same path. It has a decent enough view, but you can also see the parking lot from it, and the forest beyond. It's nice, but it's really nothing compared to the first one. Especially if you're here at sunset, go for the west-facing one and don't worry about the second.

Parking is ample in a paved lot, covered by your park pass, and right at the base of the short walk up.

13. Canso Plane Wreck

This is one of the more unique trails in the area and one of the most memorable hikes we've done in Tofino. The path leads through the forest, past an unsettling abandoned building that will pique your curiosity, creep you out, or, in our case, both!

Past that mysterious building, the trail leads out to the crash site of a vintage Canso aircraft that's been sitting in the bush for over 80 years after a crash landing during WW2.

It reminded us a lot of the Train Wreck hike in Whistler. If that comparison means anything to you, you already know whether this is your kind of thing.

The trail itself is a muddy mess, and super swampy in sections, though there's a makeshift boardwalk through the worst of it. We had a few near-slips in our group. One person made it through in white pants without incident, so maybe it's a skill issue, but wear shoes you don't mind ruining.

The wreck itself is impressively intact for something that's been out there for more than eight decades. Spray paint, stickers, and decades of forest growth have left their mark on it, which adds to the atmosphere.

Give yourself time to properly climb around and take it all in. We spent about an hour and a half on the whole thing, including plenty of time at the site. My brother-in-law climbed inside, but be careful doing this because there are sharp metal bits, and the whole thing is a bit sketchy.

14. South Beach Trail

There is a bit of confusion between the Nuu-chah-nulth Trail to South Beach and the South Beach Trail. AllTrails has these two trails mislabeled. 

The South Beach trail leads to South Beach from the parking lot at Kwisitis Visitor Centre.

Nuu-chah-nulth Trail goes to South Beach from the parking lot at Florencia Bay. This is the much longer option, but it includes a nicer forest walk.

The South Beach trail is the shorter and more direct way to get down to South Beach. The path is wide and easy, running through old-growth rainforest with several viewpoints along the way looking out to hidden beaches and the coastline of the national park to the north.

Most of the elevation comes at the very end, where a long boardwalk staircase drops you down to South Beach. It's a beautiful cove, rugged and remote-feeling despite being a relatively easy walk in. That said, it's not really a beach day destination. Getting there with all your gear is more hassle than it's worth, and it's better appreciated as a hike-in, look around, and head back kind of stop.

The real highlight is timing your visit for low tide. Cross the beach and get out onto the rocks on the other side, where you'll find tide pools full of lime green anemones, sea stars in purple, brown and orange, and, depending on the season, whales or seals visible offshore.

Parking is in the large lot at the Kwisitis Visitor Centre, covered by your park pass.

15. Nuu-chah-nulth to South Beach

This is the longer route to get to South Beach. This starts at the Florencia Bay parking lot and weaves through the rainforest, alternating between rooty forest path terrain and wooden boardwalks. 

This is one of the best forest walks in Tofino, and there is a little bit of up and down throughout, but the elevation change is minimal, making it a great one to actually stroll through and take in the forest.

This trail eventually meets up with the South Beach trail and takes you down the same wooden staircase to the beach.

Make sure to carry bear spray on this trail and leave the dog at home because there is a large amount of wolf activity around this area. Fines for walking your dog here can be as high as $25,000 dollars as the dogs and the urine they leave behind attract the wolves, and there is an active effort on going by Parks Canada to reduce the wolf risk here.

There is actually no AllTrails map for this path, but it is straightforward, and there are no forks or turns between Florencia Bay and South Beach Trail. Start from the Florencia Bay parking lot and follow the signs by the washroom to find the trailhead, and then turn left once you reach South Beach Trail. You will soon come across the big wooden staircase going down to the beach.

Either before or after the trail, take the short walk over to the viewpoint of Florencia Bay. It’s a great view of the entire bay, and if there are some good waves, it is a great spot to watch the surfers from. Getting there is easy, and it’s less than 5 minutes from the parking lot. Follow the large trail at the end of the parking lot, and instead of turning right down the path to South Beach, continue straight, and you will soon see a big wooden platform that looks out over the bay. A few more minutes down this path will take you to a massive wooden staircase that goes down to Florencia Bay.

16. Willow Brae Trail to Florencia Bay and Half Moon Bay

This is my favourite trail in the national park. The first stretch is wide, flat and fast-moving and the kind of terrain you could comfortably ride a bike on. After about fifteen minutes, you hit a fork where the trail splits into two boardwalks, each leading down to a different beach.

It's worth knowing before you go that this trail has some history to it. The path formed part of a two-day travel route between Ucluelet and Tofino before the road connecting the two towns was built in 1942.

Right at the fork takes you down a long wooden staircase to Florencia Bay, one of the most beautiful stretches of beach in the park. Massive sandstone cliffs line the shore, and the beach goes on so long you could walk for hours without running out of sand. The stairs make the descent easy, but you'll feel them on the way back up. Worth it though. The one thing to know is that Florencia Bay loses a lot of its beach at high tide, leaving only a narrow strip near the driftwood at the back. If you can time your visit with low tide, that's ideal.

Left at the fork leads along a lovely boardwalk for another five minutes before dropping down a similarly steep set of stairs to Half Moon Bay. This is the better destination. It's smaller and more sheltered, which makes it a better swimming spot, and it holds substantially more dry beach at high tide. Once you're down there, walk to the far south end of the beach before you set up. The views are better from that end.

Parking for this hike is included in your park pass and is in a dirt lot just before Wya Point Resort. Spots are limited to around a dozen, and the road in is unpaved and potholed. Any vehicle with reasonable clearance will manage fine, but take it slow, because there's steady two-way traffic on a narrow road, and it's not one to rush.

17. Big Tree Trail: Meares Island

Meares Island is an island near Tofino and is home to the mountain you can see from the Tofino waterfront. It looks close, and it is just about a 10-minute water taxi ride across the harbour. But it's a completely different world once you get there.

The Big Tree Trail sits within the Tla-o-qui-aht Nation's Wanachus-Hilthuuis Tribal Park, the first Tribal Park established in Canada. In the early 1980s, Meares Island was earmarked for clear-cut logging, meaning up to 90% of the trees there were marked for falling. The Tla-o-qui-aht people, joined by Tofino residents and environmentalists, blocked it in what became the opening battle of BC's "War in the Woods." The trees survived. Walking among them now, you feel the weight of what was nearly lost.

The first 1.2 kilometres follow a boardwalk made of hand-split cedar planks that can be uneven and slippery when wet, so watch your step. The trees along the way are between 800 and 1,300 years old, and their size is staggering. The boardwalk ends at the Hanging Garden Tree, a western red cedar with an 18-metre circumference and a height of nearly 43 metres, estimated to be around 2,000 years old. It's named for all the other plants growing out of it. The boardwalk wraps all the way around it.

You have two options from there. Turn around and retrace your steps back to the dock for a 2.4km round trip, taking about an hour to an hour and a half. Or continue on a rougher 3km loop trail through the forest that is muddy in sections, with fallen trees to scramble over and under, that eventually passes a beach before looping back to the dock. The full loop takes about 2.5 to 3 hours.

Book your water taxi in advance and bring your cell phone, because you'll need to call for pickup. A portion of your fare goes directly to the Tla-o-qui-aht Nation to support the trail.

18. Lone Cone: Meares Island

Lone Cone is on Meares Island, the same island as the Big Tree Trail, but the two have almost nothing else in common. This one is steep and challenging, and I mean STEEP AND CHALLENGING. The trail doesn't let up, and near the top, there are massive rooty steps that require real scrambling to get yourself over. Coming down is its own challenge, especially if you have short legs. Those same root sections that were hard going up become a proper obstacle course on the descent. My legs were sore for days after this one, and I write BC hiking guides for a living!

The views from the top are supposed to be outstanding, all of Tofino and the surrounding sound spread out below you. I say supposed to be because when we went, the clouds had other ideas. We summited into a complete whiteout and saw nothing but grey. It was a little demoralizing after all that effort.

The pattern in summer is for clouds to sit around the summit through the morning and clear by the afternoon, but that's not a guarantee. Given how much the hike takes out of you, this one is really only worth doing on a clear summer day when you have a reasonable shot at a view. Check the forecast and consider going later in the day rather than first thing in the morning. And don't even think about combining this with the Big Tree Trail on the same day unless you're seriously fit and have a lot of time to spare and energy to burn.

In our stats block above, I gave the trail a 7-hour time frame, and this is probably accurate, but the time can vary a lot. If you're with a small group and you're all avid hikers, you could probably dust this in 5 or 6 hours. But because it is such a demanding trail, anyone who is not really a hiker might need so many breaks and have a hard time coming down to that, the total time will creep closer to 8 hours.

19. Wild Pacific Trail: Ucluelet

Technically, this is in Ucluelet rather than Tofino, but it's the most common reason people staying in Tofino make the drive south, and it is absolutely worth the trip. The trail runs along the coastline for about 10 kilometres, weaving through old-growth rainforest and breaking out onto headland viewpoints with the Pacific crashing on the rocks below.

The full trail is relatively flat, so no serious hiking experience is required, though it's not realistic with a stroller or if you have severe mobility issues. The viewpoints come constantly. You will be stopping every few minutes because every gap in the trees shows a new angle of the dramatic rock formations along the coast.

AllTrails is a bit confusing for this one because it's a huge trail with lots of ways to do it. Here are your best options:

For a longer hike, or if you're without a car: Follow the AllTrails route for Wild Pacific Trail: Brown's Beach to Rocky Bluffs. It starts in town at Brown's Beach and goes all the way up to the sweeping views at Rocky Bluffs. The round trip is about 7.6km with 112 metres of elevation gain and will take around two and a half hours.

For the short version of the same view: Drive out to the trailhead and park alongside the highway, then follow Wild Pacific Trail to Rocky Bluff. This cuts the hike down to 2.6km with 69 metres of gain and takes less than an hour.

Our personal favourite version: Combine both. Follow the second map out to Rocky Bluffs, then cut back toward the trailhead and turn off to follow the Rocky Bluffs via Ancient Cedars map down toward the Artist Loop section. The labelling on this map is a bit misleading, because it doesn't actually go to Rocky Bluffs, but the Artist Loop stretch has some of the best uninterrupted coastal views on the entire trail. The Crows Nest lookout is our personal favourite point and usually where we turn back. You really can't take a wrong turn on this trail, so don't stress too much about following the exact route.

20. Wild Pacific Trail: Lighthouse Loop

If you're doing a day trip to Ucluelet, the Lighthouse Loop is the main event and not something to squeeze in at the end.

The loop is 3.1 kilometres and wraps around the peninsula, alternating between dense rainforest and exposed rocky headland where the Pacific comes in hard against the shore. The anchor of the whole thing is the Amphitrite Point Lighthouse, sitting on a rocky point where even on a calm day, the swells rolling in are worth stopping for.

The trail is easy enough for most fitness levels, but don't let that fool you into thinking it's not spectacular. The effort-to-reward ratio here is one of the highest payoffs for an easy walk that I've seen anywhere in BC.

Start at the Whale Lot rather than the lighthouse. Most people do it the other way, which means the trail gets less dramatic as you go. Starting at the Whale Lot builds toward the lighthouse as a midpoint payoff, which is the better experience.

Go at high tide if you can, and budget more time than you think you need. Every viewpoint on this trail will make you stop.

21. Wild Side Trail: Flores Island

This one requires a bit more effort to get to, but that's part of what makes it special. Flores Island is only accessible by water taxi, seaplane, or kayak from Tofino, and the trail itself is managed by the Ahousaht First Nation, whose people have been travelling this route for thousands of years. You'll need to pay a trail fee, which goes directly to the Ahousaht through the Maaqutusiis Hahoutlhee Stewardship Society.

The water taxi departs from the 1st Street dock in Tofino and takes around thirty minutes to reach the village of Ahousaht, where the trail begins. The 11-kilometre route connects eight beaches, alternating between forest boardwalk and open coastline. The inland sections can get rooty and muddy, but the terrain is largely flat, and the difficulty is easy to moderate for a one-way trip.

You can do this as a long day hike or as a multi-day camping trip with three wilderness campsites along the route. As a day hike, be realistic about timing and make sure you know the water taxi schedule before you head out.

Wildlife, including wolves, bears, and cougars, live on the island, and depending on the season, you may spot whales offshore. This is one of the most remote wilderness experiences you can get on a day trip from Tofino.

This is one of the most rewarding and exciting trails near Tofino, but it's honestly not meant for the average tourist. This is a hike for a prepared and experienced traveller looking for an adventure. If this is one you're curious about, I will hand you over to Taryn, who is an incredible BC creator who covers these kinds of adventures in depth and based on first-hand experience. Check out her full guide here if you want to turn things up a notch.

• Footwear matters more than you think. Several of these trails, especially the Canso Wreck, Cox Bay Viewpoint, and anything after rain, will be very muddy. Trail runners or waterproof hiking boots are the right call for most of them.
• Don't let the rain put you off. Tofino is a rainforest. A perfectly dry day is the exception. The Rainforest Trail, Shorepine Bog, and the Wild Pacific Trail are all excellent in the wet, and most of the others are fine with the right layers.
• Get the Parks Canada Discovery Pass if you're spending more than a couple of days. Several of these trails sit inside Pacific Rim National Park and require a daily fee of $11 per adult. The pass pays for itself quickly.
• Download AllTrails maps offline before you head out. A few of these trails have confusing starts or unsigned forks. Having the map available without a signal has saved us more than once.
• Watch the tides on beach walks. Several of the beaches here, particularly Florencia Bay, Half Moon Bay, and the Chesterman Spit, change dramatically with the tide. The tides move quickly and can also leave you stranded and unable to retrace your steps. You should always check when the low tide is and when high tide is, and pay attention to whether it’s coming in or going out while you’re out on your walk. I use Tide Forecast to stay on top of these.

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