Your Must-See Stops On The Drive To Tofino
If you’re driving to Tofino and Ucluelet, there’s a few stops along Highway 4 you absolutely have to make. Highway 4, also known as Alberni Highway and the Pacific Rim Highway snakes across the width of Vancouver Island and is the road you take to get to Ucluelet and Tofino from your Nanaimo ferry. It’s almost always under construction, and you almost always get caught in a line of traffic following an RV or truck, but driving it can still be fun. Read on for my favourite Tofino drive stops including the places I stop to caffeinate, the places I love to explore and swim on the way, and THE place I fill up on donuts.
🐐 Goats on the Roof
Located just 2 minutes off Highway 4, this iconic stop will give you some of the weird and wonderful that Vancouver Island does so well. Inside: a veritable bazaar with a coffee shop, a marketplace of local food, and a lot of random knick-knacks you definitely don’t need. Outside: Goats, on the roof. Visit the Old Country Marketplace website to check on their opening times for when you’re going to be driving by. There are also donuts available here, but in my personal opinion, hold off for a stop further down 👇.
🌲 Cathedral Grove
You’ll drive through this area anyway, but if you like big trees and forest bathing, make a quick stop here for the giant old-growth Douglas Fir trees. Conveniently located between Coombs and Port Alberni this is a great place for a pee break after your Goats on the Roof coffee (TMI? Well, welcome to my blog). Parking is sometimes crazy, so if you’re not really into very tall trees, I would maybe say this stop is missable. Driving through these behemoths you do get to admire them, it’s just not the same impact that walking amongst them gives.
💦 Hole in the Wall
You’ve may have seen photos of this waterfall/ swimming hole before, but did you know this stop was basically on your drive to Tofino & Ucluelet? As you come down the hill on the approach to Port Alberni you’ll see Coombs Country Candy Store to your right, pull in here. There’s places to park that aren’t technically the store parking so park up in one of those spots. Carefully trot across the highway to the pathway you’ll see emerging in the bushes. Follow the path down for 10 mins and you’ll come across the famed Hole in the Wall.
🍩The Donut Shop
I never miss this stop on the way to Tofino, it’s a bit of an obsession of mine now. My family and I first stumbled upon this shop in 2014 when the maple bacon donut changed my life. The Donut Shop, that’s their actual name, is located right by the water in Port Alberni (here it is on Google Maps). Just across from the shop is a red tower (you can’t miss it) that you’re able to climb up to get a view down the Alberni Inlet and of the surrounding mountains. The soft delicious perfectly-baked donuts pair beautifully with the stunning views. You’ll want to get one to enjoy with the view and at least one for the remainder of the drive.
☕🚣Sproat Lake Landing.
I like this stop because usually on the drive back from Tofino it’s located exactly where my insatiable need for caffeine kicks in. I tend to grab a latte from the conveniently located Della’s Cafe and then sip it on the dock admiring the view before I’m ready to hop in the car again. If you have a bit more time and want to get wet and wild at Sproat Lake there are day use areas to access the lake at Taylor Arm Provincial Park.
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💦Wally Creek
56km (50ish min drive according to Google Maps) from Port Alberni you’ll find a not-really-signposted-at-all pull-off that is Wally Creek. The creek itself is signposted with a small green sign as you drive over the bridge, but it’s on you to be paying enough attention to identify that this is your next stop. Apparently this is BC’s best kept secret so I guess I’m busting that wide open. It’s got views of mountains, rocks to run about and play on, and on a hot day it’s got pristine swimming holes. Also, if you’re the sappy kind you can contribute to the love lock fence you’ll find there (I don’t personally advocate for this, but you may be into it). Wally Creek has plenty of parking space and is the ideal place to swim or stretch your legs (or I guess your whole body depending who you’re with.)
🏊🏼♀️ Kennedy Lake
Surprise, surprise I have another wild swimming recco (If you don’t know this about me I will swim in almost every body of water I see). Kennedy Lake is a big big lake you pass on your drive just before you reach the Tofino/Ucluelet junction. You’ll probably find yourself a little dumbstruck when you first catch a glimpse of it, I’m personally stunned every time. There are a few points along the highway to stop and enjoy the lake, but the last time I visited we managed to find ourselves a private sandy beach to frolic on. We took a very unsuspecting looking turn off the highway (DM me on Instagram and I’ll find the coordinates) and we were so rewarded with a long empty sandy beach (I’d only found rocky beaches before).
Summary
Well, if you make these stops, I will have successfully exponentially extended your 3hr drive from your Nanaimo ferry to your Tofino and/or Ucluelet destination. You’re welcome. Let me know if you discover anything awesome at these stops, and definitely tell me if I’m missing any important must-see stops on the Tofino drive!
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All solid spots!!!
Thanks, glad that an Islander thinks so!