What should i see on vancouver island

More info. Open In Google Maps. Visit Website. Give us feedback. Visit Facebook page. The combination of the land and sea area encompasses sq km sq mi. The reserve is known for its rugged coast and temperate rainforests, which visitors can experience along the 75km 47mi West Coast Trail.

The Broken Group Islands consist of over small islands and inlets in the Barkley Sound, while the Long Beach section is the most visited and includes the picturesque coast between Tofino and Ucluelet including Long Beach itself. British Columbia, Canada. Architectural Landmark. In summer, Victoria Harbour is home to festivals, markets and concerts, but its most beautiful feature may be the historic architecture in the background, including the Fairmont Empress and BC Legislature Building.

Cathedral, Park. British Columbia 4, British Columbia, Canada. If you don't have a 4WD vehicle, you can park here and walk in, and many people do. At this point, you will also likely see people who have come here in an effort to protect the forest from logging.

They are an extremely helpful and friendly bunch who are happy to see you, point you in the right direction, and answer questions. Eden Grove is in a logging area and at extreme risk of being destroyed. Also worth seeing is Avatar Grove , which you will pass on your way back to Port Renfrew. Here, trails run through the forest on both sides of the road, and also lead past several giants.

Pacific Rim National Park, just outside the resort town of Tofino, is another excellent area to see the giant trees of Vancouver Island's rainforest. Two one-kilometer loops lead past hundreds-of-years-old trees. You can even settle in on a park-provided Adirondack Chair for a while and gaze up at one of these beauties while you listen to the sounds of nature.

The little town of Tofino is the jewel of Vancouver Island's western shore. Looking out over Claoquot Sound and surrounded by old-growth forest and seemingly endless beaches, this little fishing village is a popular tourist destination on Vancouver Island, but rarely feels busy. It's also known for being Canada's hottest surf destination , with people coming here to surf year-round. If you aren't into surfing, storm watching from November to February, when huge waves roll in off the Pacific Ocean, is another reason people like to visit Tofino in the quiet of the off-season.

Just outside of town is Pacific Rim National Park , an incredible natural area with some of Tofino's best hikes and campgrounds. This area is home to ancient cedars, which are some of the oldest trees in Canada. It's also where you'll find Tofino's famous Long Beach , stretching along the coast for 16 kilometers.

Approximately 42 kilometers north of the small town of Ucluelet , Tofino is one of the oldest settlements on the West Coast, and it has a very remote feel. Despite its popularity, it has remained small. The town has surf shops, tourist stores, restaurants, and hotels. Nearby are a number of outstanding lodges and resorts with great views out over the ocean.

The Wild Pacific Trail, one of the best on the island, is located just south of town. The rainforest of ancient cedars and shoreline of beaches and rocky headlands reveals the wild and rugged natural beauty of Vancouver Island. Long soft-sand beaches are found all along Pacific Rim National Park. The kilometer-long Long Beach is a vast expanse of sand where people come to walk, beachcomb, surf in the big waves, or simply enjoy a sunset. Whales can sometimes be spotted offshore, especially in spring and autumn.

Storm watching has become a popular activity in fall and winter, when photographers and visitors come to the park to watch the huge waves crash against the shore. Massive piles of driftwood along some of the beaches testify to the violence of the ocean waves.

Butchart Gardens. For those with a love of gardening, a visit to Butchart Gardens will be one of the highlights of Vancouver Island. Set in an old quarry outside Victoria, these fabulous gardens provide a year-round opportunity to step into a peaceful natural setting with flowers, trees, pathways, and places to relax. Begun in by Jennie Butchart, the grounds have been over a century in the making. In the evening, the gardens are illuminated with creative lighting and on Saturday nights you can enjoy a firework display set to music.

Every evening in July and August live music performances take place at Butchart Gardens. Botanical displays change seasonally and are particularly lovely between spring and fall. At Christmas, the gardens are lit with a display of Christmas lights and decorations , and various festivities and activities are on offer, including ice skating in an outdoor rink.

Goats on the roof in Coombs. One of the more unique and long-standing attractions on Vancouver Island is the Old Country Market, complete with resident goats on the roof.

For over 30 years, goats have been happily posing for pictures as they munch contentedly away on the sod roof. The goats are only out in summer, but the area is a popular place to visit year-round.

Located a short drive from the cities of Parksville and Qualicum, the Old Country Market is a fully-fledged tourist attraction and perfect family outing.

Not only will you find the goats, you'll also find an assortment of restaurants, an ice cream stand, gift shops, a vegetable and fruit market, a garden center, and a surf shop. Vancouver Island is a dream destination for hikers. Remote, yet well-maintained, the trails here offer outstanding scenery, a chance to see wildlife, and a solitude rarely found in popular national parks and more well-known hiking areas.

The most famous hike is the West Coast Trail , although this is often much more than a typical hiker is looking for. Much more reasonable and open year-round is the Wild Pacific Trail. But you can find interesting hikes from one end of Vancouver Island to the other. One popular hiking area on Vancouver Island is Port Renfrew. This is where you'll find the start of the kilomter Juan de Fuca Marine Trail , but also shorter hikes, like a walk out to Botany Bay or Botanical Beach that can be completed in a day or even an hour or two.

From here, you can walk a couple of kilometers along the trail to the waterfalls on Mystic Beach. This is an easy day hike that can be done on a day trip from Victoria.

There are several popular day hikes around Victoria. You won't exactly find solitude on these hikes but they will take you through beautiful scenery and to high lookouts, waterfalls, or old train trestles. You can find dozens of great hiking trails around Tofino , many of which can be completed in a half-day or less. You can even combine a kayaking trip with a hike here. Hiking around Tofino involves a mix of forests and coastal trails, and time spent walking along the beaches.

Other areas for hiking on Vancouver Island include the remote regions to the north. Both of these have interesting hikes to explore. For more details on these trails and other hiking areas, see our article on the best hikes on Vancouver Island. West Coast Trail. The almost kilometer-long West Coast Trail is one of Canada's most famous hiking trails.

Known for fabulous coastal scenery and treacherous conditions, it's a bucket-list hike. Until the beginning of this century, Canada's stormy Pacific coast with its deceptive shallows and rocky headlands was known to sailors as the "graveyard of the Pacific.

To give survivors a means of escape from this otherwise impassably rocky coastline backed by impenetrable rain forest, a primitive trail was opened in , following the route of the telegraph lines laid in between the various lighthouses. The trail eventually became obsolete but was discovered by backpackers in the s. Now managed by Pacific Rim National Park , the West Coast Trail is an extremely popular, although arduous hike across challenging terrain.

With the salmon run also come the wildlife. By Zoe. Please help us make your emails more personalised by filling in these extra details. Rest assured that your privacy is important to us and your details will not be shared with any 3rd party marketing companies.

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Book with Peace of Mind. Flights to Canada. Read our blog. Canada Hub. Flights Flights. Holidays Holidays. Car hire Car hire. Hotels Hotels. Flights Holidays Car hire Hotels. Home Blog Top places to visit on Vancouver Island. Top places to visit on Vancouver Island posted. Choose from our waterfront hotels: Fairmont Empress — The iconic Fairmont Empress is grand and elegant throughout and has a great location in downtown Victoria.

Hot Springs Cove Even just getting to this magical-sounding place is an adventure. Comox Valley This beautiful valley and its surrounding area is a glorious location for wildlife watching and outdoor activities. Gulf Islands There are more than islands which make up the Gulf Islands, sprinkled across the Strait of Georgia between Vancouver Island and the mainland.

Chemainus — Cowichan Valley This town is truly unique and well-worth dropping by for lunch to admire the artwork. Little Huson Cave Regional Park Following a well-marked forest trail, look out for incredible limestone formations, natural rock arches and platforms. Latest on Twitter Tweets by CanadianAffair. Canadian Affair on Facebook. Sign up to our newsletter