1,000 Places to See in the U.S.A. & Canada Before You Die (137 page)

Canada’s tallest tree—a Sitka spruce measuring 312 feet tall—is one of many amazing sights along the West Coast Trail.

The park’s third unit is its most accessible, the 9-mile curve of Long Beach, some 500 yards wide at low tide. Broken here and there by rocky outcrops and groves of cedar and Sitka spruce, the beach is popular in summer, when the area enjoys sunny weather and mild breezes. Families gather to build sand castles and stroll along the strand, wet-suited surfers brave the still-cold waters, and hikers can explore woodland and coastal trails.

Winter brings a different kind of beach experience: Exposed to the full fury of north Pacific winter storms, with howling winds, sheets of rain, and crashing 20-foot waves, the Long Beach section of the park is home to the curious Northwest pastime of winter storm-watching, best done from a number of surprisingly luxurious inns and hotels in the small coastal towns of Ucluelet and Tofino (see facing page) that bookend the park. Just north of the park boundary and perched on Cox Bay is Long Beach Lodge Resort. A favorite of design magazines that praise its sensitive design and respect for the environment, the luxury inn is the quintessence of the island’s rugged beauty. Visitors enjoy First Nations art, handsomely appointed beachfront and forest rooms, secluded cottages, and a magnificent great room with an oversize fireplace and regional dining at its best.

W
HERE
: west coast of Vancouver Island. Tel 250-726-7721;
www.pc.gc.ca/pn-np/bc/pacificrim
.
Cost:
West Coast Trail hiking permit US$98/C$110.
When:
West Coast Trail open May–late Sept; the rest of the park open year-round.
L
ADY
R
OSE
M
ARINE
S
ERVICES
: Tel 800-663-7192 or 250-723-8313;
www.ladyrosemarine.com
.
Cost:
round-trip between Port Alberni and Bamfield US$45/C$50, round-trip between Port Alberni and Ucluelet US$49/C$55.
L
ONG
B
EACH
L
ODGE
R
ESORT
: Tel 877-844-7873 or 250-725-2442;
www.longbeachlodgeresort.com
.
Cost:
rooms from US$151/C$169 (off-peak), from US$223/C$249 (peak).
B
EST TIMES
: June–July for warm weather and long days; Nov–Feb for storm-watching.

Summer Home of Orcas

Vancouver Island, British Columbia

Separating Vancouver Island from the cedar-covered coast of British Columbia, Johnstone Strait near Telegraph Cove is seasonal home to the world’s largest concentration of orcas (killer whales): Roughly 200 inhabit
these waters from late June into the winter months before heading south. The orcas have good reason to gather here. The confines of Johnstone Strait force migrating salmon into a narrow channel, which means easy hunting and an all-you-can-eat fresh fish buffet to an orca. The area also features “rubbing beaches” where orcas scoot along on their bellies on shallow beds of gravel to rub barnacles from their hides. Although tour boats aren’t allowed to disturb the orcas at their grooming, they can visit nearby areas and watch from a distance.

Stubbs Island Whale Watching operates two 60-foot Coast Guard–certified vessels, with hydrophones that allow passengers to eavesdrop on the whales’ haunting melodies and other communications. With a curiosity that matches the visitors’, the whales often approach the boats, which have become familiar to them over the company’s quarter-century-plus years of cruising (and with a 90 percent success rate of sightings). Identified by their scars, white “saddle patch” markings, and the shapes of their flukes, the whales are natural show-offs, slicing through these calm waters, diving and surfacing to the viewer’s delight.

W
HERE
: Telegraph Cove is 250 miles/402 km north of Victoria. Tel 800-665-3066 or 250-928-3185;
www.stubbs-island.com
.
C
OST
: US$67/C$79.
W
HEN
: late May–mid-Oct.
B
EST TIMES
: July–Sept during salmon runs.

Orcas often spyhop (similar to treading water).

A Luxury Oasis at the Pacific’s Rim

Vancouver Island, British Columbia

You wouldn’t expect to find one of the world’s top-ranked hotels on the edge of a rocky promontory, hours from the nearest urban center. Yet the Wickaninnish Inn, a rustically elegant and highly sophisticated inn
surrounded by beaches, old-growth forest, and the surging Pacific on Vancouver Island’s untamed west coast, is consistently rated among the world’s best, and one of the very finest in North America. Nature was extravagant when it created the Long Beach section of Pacific Rim National Park (see p. 1053), which is just to the south, and the Wickaninnish Inn is that rare modern structure that blends harmoniously with the glories of its natural surroundings.

Built of local cedar, stone, and glass, the hotel is like a natural extension of the landscape. The interior is filled with light and thoughtfully chosen objects, from the dramatic high-ceilinged lobby with Northwest Native carvings and the warmth of the stone fireplace, to the large and luxurious guest rooms, each with ocean views, floor-to-ceiling windows, and private balconies close enough to the sea that guests hear the waves while relaxing beside the fireplace—or in the window-side soaker tub.

To capture the sheer drama of the location, visit during winter’s “storm watch” months, when howling winds, sheets of rain, and crashing 20-foot Pacific waves nearly engulf the inn. Don’t miss the Northwest specialties at the inn’s Pointe Restaurant or its 240-degree views. The in-house Ancient Cedars Spa offers a selection of body treatments, which along with long walks on Chesterman Beach will help guests keep in shape and de-stressed. And service? With a guest-to-staff ratio of one to one, you’ll feel like rusticating royalty.

Kayaking in Tofino offers myriad possibilities for exploration.

Just to the north, the little seafaring village of Tofino is a quirky, unpretentious place that thrives on contrasts—it’s both lively and relaxed, and young, buff ecotourism outfitters rub shoulders with grizzled fishermen, while upscale European tourists share tables with tattooed, back-to-the-earth surfer dudes. With the tang of the sea in the air and a busy harbor filled with fishing boats and Zodiacs, Tofino (population around 1,500) manages at once to feel like the edge of the earth and the center of the universe.

W
HERE
: 206 miles/332 km northwest of Victoria. Tel 800-333-4604 or 250-725-3100;
www.wickinn.com
.
Cost:
from US$196/C$220 (off-peak), from US$392/C$440 (peak); dinner at the Pointe US$71/C$80.
B
EST TIMES
: 10 days in March for Pacific Rim Whale Festival, when some 20,000 gray whales migrate north; 1st weekend in June for the Tofino Food and Wine Festival; July–Sept for weather; Dec–Mar for storm-watching.

Tented Opulence in Coastal Outback

Vancouver Island, British Columbia

The small ecotourism resort town of Tofino is literally the end of the road on Vancouver Island’s wild west coast—unless you’ve got reservations at the Wilderness Outpost at Bedwell River. At this ultra-premium resort,
accessible only by floatplane or water taxi from Tofino, there’s no roughing it allowed, even if your lodging is a tent. Against a backdrop of pristine coastline and primordial forest on Vancouver Island, the eco-safari camp is located within the fragile Clayoquot Sound Biosphere reserve, a wilderness so lush and exotic and so dense with wildlife that
National Geographic
deemed it an upside-down rain forest. Inspired by the late 19th-century Great Camps, this unique enclave promises indulgent pampering while treading gently in a little-visited Eden.

Eleven roomy prospector-type white canvas tents, with wooden floors, beautifully furnished with Adirondack-style furniture, Oriental rugs, rich fabrics, antiques, and other worldly comforts, serve as guest rooms and suites. The dining tents, lounge tent, games tent, and even a library tent offer visitors a taste of upscale safari life; all are connected by cedar boardwalks along the water’s edge. The heart of the resort is the ranch-style log cookhouse, with a towering double-sided fieldstone fireplace, outdoor lounge, and showpiece open kitchen attended by chef Timothy May, a master of West Coast cuisine.

The camp is surrounded by verdant coastal wilderness, and the resort offers unparalleled access to both guided and unguided recreation, including horseback riding, whale- and bear-watching, hiking, ocean and river fishing, and kayaking. Or your day’s adventure may be finishing that book you’ve been meaning to read, or being alone with your thoughts in a primal setting you once only dreamed about.

You may not be able to wind down any further, but wander by the spa treatment tent nonetheless for a massage or a revitalizing soak in an outdoor wood-fired hot tub, under tbe stars.

W
HERE
: 15 minutes east of Tofino by floatplane. Tel 888-333-5405 or 250-725-2688;
www.wildretreat.com
.
C
OST
: 3-night minimum, from US$4,231/C$4,750 per person, double occupancy, includes floatplane transfer from Vancouver, meals, activities, and a massage.
W
HEN
: mid-May–Sept.
B
EST TIMES
: May–Sept for fishing; Aug–Sept for weather.

Mountaintop Xanadu on Vancouver Island

Malahat, Vancouver Island, British Columbia

High above the filigreed coastline and islands of southern Vancouver Island, atop Malahat Summit at 1,200 feet, and just 20 miles from the metropolitan gem Victoria, is a Mediterranean-style villa designed to
accommodate the most discriminating—even extravagant—tastes. The Aerie Resort is a sprawling complex of opulent rooms and suites, dining rooms, and spa center scattered over 85 acres of manicured gardens and fir forest. Austrian-born owner Maria Schuster designed the entire resort according to her personal vision of luxury. The result is a series of neo-Palladian villas boasting sumptuous furnishings and top-of-the-line decor. The suites, especially in the unparalleled Villa Cielo development, offer million-dollar views over Finlayson Arm and Victoria; on a clear day, they say you can see Washington’s Olympic Peninsula (see p. 894). This mountaintop enclave exudes a sense of place and occasion more fitting to a European palace than a rugged Canadian peak.

The Aerie Dining Room with marble columns, gold-leaf ceiling, and panoramic views scales similar heights. Meals combine elements of classic French with Pacific Northwest cuisine, flavored with a dash of decadence to match the setting. The extensive menu makes the most of local ingredients—90 percent of them from Vancouver Island’s nearby Cowichan Valley—and offers a variety of a la carte choices and prix fixe menus; the seven-course Discovery Tasting Menu is the most inventive, featuring dishes such as veal tenderloin with foie gras fritters and a delicate squash cheesecake.

The Aerie’s undisguised opulence spells romance, and it’s little wonder that a stay at Aerie Resort is a favorite for couples celebrating a special occasion—or just each other.

W
HERE
: 20 miles/32 km north of Victoria; 600 E. Bedora Ln. Tel 800-518-1933 or 250-743-7115;
www.aerie.bc.ca
.
C
OST
: from US$165/C$185 (off-peak), from US$220/C$247 (peak); 7-course Discovery dinner US$85/C$95.