The Definitive Quick Guide For A Visit To Ucluelet
Tofino tends to get all of the attention, but I would like to make an official motion to propose that a visit to Ucluelet is better. I love Ucluelet and I’d like to advocate for everyone visiting this stunning place at least once. Give it a go, see how it feels. I’ve got recommendations of where to stay, where to eat, and where to meet strangers by a beach fire (ah, pre-covid times). This may be a quick guide but I recommend making it more than a quick visit.
The Journey
Directions: On Vancouver Island drive west on Highway 4. When you reach a junction after Kennedy Lake, take a left for Ucluelet (instead of a right for Tofino).
The drive to Ucluelet is technically shorter than your drive to Tofino! From the Nanaimo Ferry terminal the drive will be about 2 and a half hours. I tried to include all the fun stops for the journey along Highway 4 in this post but I had so much to say it turned into its own blog. Find my blog with my top tips for the drive to Ucluelet right here. You’ll find out where you can see goats, dip in a lake, and where you have to stop for donuts.
Where To Stay
Ucluelet is a small community but there’s still a load of options of where to stay when you visit (motels, BnBs, resorts). I’m going to highlight two options I love. Please keep in mind, the vastly different price ranges. Usually I don’t mind where I stay when I travel because if the place is too nice, you won’t want to leave to go explore. This was very much true with one of these places…
The treat-yourself price range
Black Rock Oceanfront Resort. I stayed here with my family and it may have skewed my whole image of why I’m so in love with Canada. I was able to have a bath while I watched TV and stared at the ocean, all simultaneously. If that’s not a dream set up, I don’t know what is. As their name suggests, this lodging is right on the ocean with incredible views. This location gives you the most convenient access to the Brown’s Beach section of the Wild Pacific Trail. I still think the run I did along this part of the Wild Pacific Trail from the hotel was the best run I’ve ever gone on. So hard not to stop every few steps to admire the beauty of the scenery. Black Rock has a bar, a restaurant, a spa and pretty much everything you could ever want in a west coast hotel. You can enquire about staying at the Black Rock Oceanfront Resort here, if you tell them I sent you, absolutely nothing will happen because this isn’t sponsored and they don’t know who I am.
The I-can-afford-myself price range:
Canadian Princess Lodge and Marina. Ideal. That’s how I will describe this primo location cozy 2 star hotel. It worked perfectly as a place for me to show my friends Ucluelet. My two girlfriends and I booked a room with two queen beds and it was less than $50 each for the night. You’d be hard-pressed to find a bed for that little in Tofino. We had a small patio with a harbour view where we sat to drink our boxed wine and eat our snacks as the sun set. The location worked great for us, with Howlers pub right across the road, and within walking distance of everywhere we wanted to visit in town. Most importantly, it had comfy beds for 3 drunk beach bonfire-goers to collapse into after we’d staggered home. Once again, if you tell the Canadian Princess Lodge I sent you, they won’t know who I am, but you can try name-dropping if you like.
Food and Drink
This is a quick guide so I can’t go over every single spot to eat in Ucluelet. A quick run down of a few favourites:
🍻 Ucluelet Brewing Company if you like a craft beer this is a can’t miss in Ucluelet. Ucluelet Brewing’s rooftop patio gives you great brews and great views across the harbour. Visit their brew-tiful website here.
🍖Frankie’s Resto-Bar Quebec inspired vibe right in small town west coast. Locally famous for their brisket, simple yet delicious food, and another great patio view. Their website sells it much better than I ever could, so have a look. The photos of the cocktails and food here will probably convince you you need to visit Ucluelet ASAP.
🍔Howler’s Family Restaurant Your classic Canadian pub. Friendly staff, good food, and local beer and wine. Check out Howlers restaurant and food truck offerings online.
🥐 Zoe’s Bakery and Cafe Great place to get fuelled up for a day of activities. Homemade baked goods and good coffee, what more could you need? A short walk from the water, so grab your food and head down to enjoy it with a view. You can learn more about Zoe’s and even order online on their website.
Activities
🐳Wild Pacific Trail An iconic short lighthouse loop with stunning views (2.6km). We saw an owl in the trees here, had a few eagle sightings and I saw my first grey whales from the rocks at the lighthouse, so I recommend spending some time in this area. At the time of writing the loop was one-way only due to Covid-19 protocols. Find more information on the Wild Pacific Trail Website.
🏔️Hiking Mount Ozzard (that mountain that looms over the town with a golf ball looking thing on it). This hike is along a gravel service road, so not the most exciting trail itself but the 360 degree view at the top is breathtaking. We’re talking views of the town of Ucluelet, Tofino beaches, The Broken Group Islands, and the nearby mountains! It’s a 12km out-and-back hike, with just under 700m elevation gain, find out more on AllTrails.
🛶 Kayaking in the harbour. My family and I took a kayak harbour tour at sunset honestly the best little kayak I’ve ever done. There are a number of sea kayak trips you can take from Ucluelet, including day trips out to Barkley Sound and tours of the The Broken Group islands. I’ve included a link to the company we kayaked with, Majestic Ocean Kayaking, but there are a few options in the town so shop around!
🐳Whale Watching. My family and I went on a tour with Jamie’s Whaling Station (closed at the time of writing, another one we owe to Covid-19) which is based in the heart of Ucluelet. There are a few other options in town too so have a Google! We sadly didn’t see any whales on our trip but we did see bears, sea lions, a sea otter, and harbour porpoises!
🌊Visiting Tofino Beaches . Well, one of the great things about Ukee is it’s proximity to Tofino. Use Ucluelet as your base and explore Tofino’s beaches. Drive north on Highway 4 and follow the signs.
🏄♀️Surfing I have never been surfing, I honestly don’t know if I could do it. BUT, if you want to do it, Ucluelet is a great base to spend your days surfing. Surf Sister is a surf school based on Tofino’s beaches with an all female crew of instructors. I’ve been recommended this surf school time and time again so I need to give them a shout out here. Let me know if you catch some waves with these babes!
Local Secrets
Salmon Hatchery. Down the Port Albion Road is the Thornton Creek Hatchery. If you go around September time you will see many a bear. *Edited to add in 2020 due to Covid-19 they are sadly closed with no salmon on site and no wildlife viewing opportunities.
Beach Bonfires If you stay in town, locals often do beach fires down at “Little Beach” (drank wine and met a few cute locals last time I visited with my girlfriends 
.)
🎥 Live Streams Something WILD I learned while fact-checking for this blog, is that this awesome town has live streams! You can access these live streams year-round at UkeeLiveCams.com . There’s one cam in the harbour and one at the Lighthouse on the Wild Pacific Trail, so you can storm watch, whale watch, or watch the sunset from home! I guess now I’ve told you this you don’t actually need to visit Ucluelet.
I don’t know what else I can tell you about the wonderful town of Ucluelet, except for go visit and see how you like it. For legit info on visiting Ucluelet, not just my personal opinions, visit the Discover Ucluelet website. On visiting their website I saw their slogan is “Hard to pronounce, harder to forget.” and I love that a lot. I also found this page full of special offers for visiting, so check that out if you’re thinking of making a trip! Let me know if you visit, and definitely tell me how name-dropping me at the local hotel goes (don’t though).
