Tofino and Pacific Rim Weekend
Take the ferry from Horseshoe Bay to Nanaimo and cross Vancouver Island on Highway 4: the goats on the roof at Coombs, the giant Douglas firs of Cathedral Grove, and the winding road past Kennedy Lake to the open Pacific. Spend Saturday in Pacific Rim National Park Reserve and Tofino, from rainforest boardwalks to a sunset on Chesterman Beach, and walk Ucluelet's Wild Pacific Trail on the way home.
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In July and August Tofino averages highs near 19 °C (66 °F) and lows near 11 °C (52 °F); June and September are a degree or two cooler. Summer is the dry season on this very wet coast: July averages about 70 mm (2.8 in) of rain and August about 90 mm (3.5 in), against more than 3,200 mm (125 in) a year, but June and September each see about 130 mm (5 in). Morning fog and low cloud are common in summer and often clear by afternoon. The ocean stays cold all year. Inland, Port Alberni and Coombs can be much warmer than the coast. These are seasonal expectations, not a forecast for your travel dates; check the Environment and Climate Change Canada forecast the evening before you leave.
Admission and parking are separate. Check current conditions before departure.
Drive Highway 99 from Vancouver along the fjord of Howe Sound to Whistler: a pier on the water at Porteau Cove, the 335 m (1,100 ft) drop of Shannon Falls, the Sea to Sky Gondola above Squamish, Brandywine Falls on the way north, and an afternoon in Whistler Village with the Squamish Lil'wat Cultural Centre.
A full day across the water from downtown Vancouver: an early hike to Quarry Rock above Deep Cove, the free suspension bridge over Lynn Canyon, the Skyride or gondola up Grouse Mountain for the city view and the grizzly habitat, and dinner by the harbour at Lonsdale Quay and The Shipyards.
Walk Vancouver's waterfront from the cobbled streets of Gastown along the Coal Harbour seawall and around Stanley Park, past the totem poles at Brockton Point, Siwash Rock and Third Beach, to English Bay. Then take the little Aquabus ferry across False Creek to Granville Island's Public Market.
An easy country day east of Vancouver: a riverside walk at Derby Reach, where the first Fort Langley stood, the Hudson's Bay Company fort where British Columbia was proclaimed in 1858, lunch in Fort Langley village, waffles and berries at Krause Berry Farms, a tasting at the Fraser Valley's oldest winery, and a boardwalk loop in Campbell Valley.
Head east up the Fraser Valley past Abbotsford to the 60 m (200 ft) veil of Bridal Veil Falls, lunch at the 1906 general store and farm of Kilby Historic Site, a forest walk or swim at Hicks Lake in Sasquatch Provincial Park, and a late-afternoon soak and lakeside dinner in Harrison Hot Springs.
Take the BC Ferries crossing through the Gulf Islands to Victoria for two nights: a free tour of the Parliament Buildings and an evening on the Inner Harbour, the Royal BC Museum, Fort Rodd Hill and Fisgard Lighthouse, a sunset walk on the Ogden Point breakwater, and a quiet Sunday morning at Butchart Gardens on the way back to the ferry.
Drive the Coquihalla to Kelowna, stopping at the Othello Tunnels on the old Kettle Valley Railway. Spend Saturday crossing the rebuilt Myra Canyon trestles and tasting at Summerhill and Mission Hill, and Sunday on the Naramata Bench above Okanagan Lake before the drive home.