Following the Trans-Canada Highway to its unofficial end, at the westernmost edge of Vancouver Island, just beyond the Pacific Rim National Park Reserve and its deep swaths of temperate rainforest, you would expect to find something entirely wild. Yet the small coastal town of Tofino, home to around 2,000 year-round residents, is that and then some.

Untamed in its own right and surrounded on all sides by the Pacific Ocean, “the place at the end of the road” also offers unique contrasts — everything from world-class surfing championships to luxury oceanfront resorts to a hyper-local culinary scene led by some of the country’s most notable chefs. It is one of those rare destinations at just the right moment in time, when access, faraway-ness, the great outdoors and all the right luxuries strike a magical balance.

Flying into Tofino-Long Beach Airport is the most convenient way to get there but robs you of a ridiculously atmospheric (albeit, three-hour) drive that sets the stage for Tofino as no flight can. The east coast of the island disappears behind you, the highway narrows to two winding lanes that are enveloped by cliff sides and old-growth forests, and then suddenly, lakes and the Pacific pop into view.

Aerial view of Tofino

Tofino has rightfully earned status as Canada’s surf capital with its year-round swell. These same glistening waves serve as the stunning backdrop for Long Beach Lodge Resort, which is built for adventurers and surfers alike. Set on Cox Bay Beach, where sand dollars and luscious orange sea stars show up in numbers, and fringed by forested trails that open to incredible sunset views, the resort is home to the only on-site surf school at a coastal resort in British Columbia. A more lavish stay is found at the Wickaninnish Inn, which juts into the sea from a rocky perch and which pulls in elements of that sea, such as kelp from the island, for treatments in its cedar-framed spa.

There is an imposing sense of flora and fauna, no matter which direction you turn here, though the ways in which Tofinians connect with this wildness is what makes it most exciting. Brisk, quick-moving waves rolling in as high as 33 feet are no hindrance to surfers, who may be paddling out on an Aftansa Surfboard, the only custom boards that are made in Tofino. 

Cedar Sanctuary Treatment Room at Wickaninnish Inn

Road signs state that you are entering a tsunami hazard zone, and trail signs warn of the presence of cougars, black bears and coastal wolves, at the same time that adventurous chefs are organizing foraging quests into this intensely alive natural world. In the fall, join Long Beach Lodge’s chef, Ian Riddick, (or the Rainforest Education Society) to hunt for mushrooms in an ancient rainforest. Or set out on newly offered fishing charters that include having your catch prepared by chef Nick Nutting at Wolf in the Fog, Tofino’s star restaurant in the heart of town. The two restaurants are among the innovative set leading Tofino’s hot dining scene, one that is fuelled by a bounty of unique resources that includes five species of salmon, spot prawns, gooseneck barnacles, salal berries, and year-round mushrooms.

Cedar Sour from Wolf in the Fog

That same scene extends to a small but hyper-curated beverage scene. A rich Kelp Stout is among the brews coming out of Tofino Brewing Company. Wolf in the Fog pours a house-made, cedar-infused rye. It’s the main ingredient in the bar’s famous cedar sour, which bar manager Hailey Pasemko calls a one-trick pony. “It’s one degree away from a typical bourbon drink.”

Perhaps a perfect reflection of a place just one degree away from something totally wild. 

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By Nina Kokotas Hahn – *This article originally appeared in INSIGHT: The Art of Living | Fall 2017

Photos: Chris Pouget, Wickaninnish Inn, Wolf in the Fog