Vancouver Island Road Trip: Victoria to Tofino on a Budget (Part 1)

​In June of this year, 2019, we decided we would make the trip from the interior of British Columbia to the world renowned Vancouver Island on the west coast. As with many of our destinations, Vancouver Island and especially its capital of Victoria, are typically considered to be harsh on the wallet. In this guide I want to showcase how you can visit the island of towering forests as budget friendly as possible. There's so much to do on the island we decided to put the trip into two blog posts! See Part 2 here for more information on what to do in Tofino and Ucluelet!

DAY 1

Getting to the Island itself is no doubt going to be the single most expensive part of the adventure for most budget visitors. As our trip was going to start in the provincial capital of Victoria, we decided we would catch the ferry from Tsawwassen (try saying that three times quickly!) to Victoria. The price for one regular sized car and two adults was about $90 one way ($57 for the car, $17 for each adult). Its worth mentioning here that the terminal will only accept cash or credit payments but fortunately has an ATM machine on site which will charge you a small fortune to withdraw from, make sure you have cash handy beforehand if you intend to pay this way. We departed the ferry terminal at 8:00 am and arrived into the Victoria terminal at about 9:30 am. The drive from the terminal to Victoria proper is about half an hour, dependent on traffic of course.

Our first stop on the Victoria leg of our trip was to meet up with a lifelong friend of Caitlin's, Amy, the founder of AimOutside, an organisation promoting outdoors adventure as a way to inspire mental well-being. This is actually our second visit to Victoria and we will provide an in-depth guide for the city in a future post. On this trip in particular we decided to buy a day pass for the city transit ($5) and head downtown. Amy had arranged for us to explore the city on E-Bikes. As both Caitlin and I seldom ride bicycles, at first we were a little nervous as we sat on the bus heading to Ocean River Sports, the rental company. Reassuring us that Victoria is one of the few cities in North America that is designed with bikes and biker safety in mind, something that became more evident as we got closer to the downtown heart of the city, with bike lanes on every single street and many of which guarded by a curb.

Victoria is known for being a very bike-friendly city.

We rented e-bikes from Ocean River Sports our first morning in Victoria.

As we arrived at Ocean River Sports the three E-bikes we were to take out were sat proudly by the door, waiting for us to hop on. The bikes had a real unique look to them, totally different to what I was expecting. The saddle positioned low on the bike, reminiscent of the Chopper motorcycles of the 1950s, with wide handlebars and beautiful dark leather masking where the battery and motor sits in the frame. Even as someone with no real interest in bikes or motorbikes, I could really appreciate the design of these E-bikes was incredibly excited to 'cooly' tour the city on them.

The staff at Ocean River were very helpful in giving us all the information we needed for our two hour e-bike excursion and gave us a run down of what signals to make so cars and pedestrians know what we were about to do. Fortunately the store sits adjacent to a fairly large parking lot and we were able to cycle up and down it to get comfortable with the controls of the throttle as well as the surprising weight of the e-bike itself. After maybe 5 minutes of getting used to the vehicles, we got onto the streets of Victoria (bike lanes of course!) our first stop? Beacon Hill Park.

The park was only a 7 or 8 minute bike ride from the rental store (go back east on Pandora then south on Douglas). Beacon Hill is a must see in Victoria in our opinion. Waterways crossed by Victorian bridges run throughout the park and its diverse array of trees, shrubbery and flowers feel a million miles away from the busy streets by parliament building just a mile away. As we ventured deeper into the park, watching squirrels rushing around serenaded by all manner of bird songs, we arrived at Beacon Hill Childrens Farm (don't worry, as far as we know it doesn't farm children). While Amy waited with our bikes by the entrance of the petting zoo, we spent a few minutes in the company of at least 30 goat kids who were more than happy to indulge in some head rubs. Even if renting e-bikes around the city isn't on your itinerary, be sure to spend an hour or two relaxing in Beacon Hill Park, if the weather is just right, you won't find a better place to chill out in Victoria.

Beacon Hill Park has an entry by donation petting zoo.

Both these "kids" are named Caitlin.

The goats are very friendly but will chew material if you let them!

After our slow exploration of Beacon Hill Park, we decided to take the Dallas road trail which runs on the coastal edge of the park. The trail is utterly breathtaking and on a hot day as ours was, provides a welcome sea breeze. Although bikes are not allowed on some parts of the trail, the road running parallel to it isn't overly busy and in all honesty, even if an area of the trail isn't bike friendly, if no one is on it, common sense insists on using it anyway. The views of the vast and harsh pacific ocean from the trail are unforgettable and fortunately there are several places you can stop and take a while to fully appreciate them. Perhaps the two best, in our experience, are Clover point and Trafalgar park. Sitting on the rocks at Trafalgar park as the pacific breeze caresses your cheeks feels like such a uniquely Victoria experience. Luckily for us, as we rested a while at Trafalgar park, a tour bus guide on his break inquired about our E-bikes and then proceeded to give us a run down of the history of the area, notably that it was home to much of the cities early Chinese population and to this day is the site of a Chinese cemetery.

Clover Point is a popular viewpoint for cars, bikes and pedestrians!

Trafalgar Park on the Dallas Scenic Marine Route offers amazing views of the Olympic Peninsula.

Returned to downtown and had lunch at local favourite: The Drake

After stopping at several viewing points on the coastal trails around Victoria, we decided it was time to head back to the downtown, return our Chopper-esque E-bikes and recharge with some lunch. Similar to the journey to pacific trails a few hours earlier, the ride back to rental shop again was an easy one, thanks to Victoria's bike friendly infrastructure. Just a short walk from Ocean River Sports is The Drake, a gorgeous pub with a wide array of craft beers and a fancy but inexpensive menu. The pub also boasts a private outdoor seating area, however after spending a few hours in the sun on our bikes, we opted to take respite from it as we ate and drank.

The Drake in downtown Victoria, British Columbia.

Amy sampling craft beers before ordering lunch and a drink.

Goldstream Provincial Park

After returning to our friends house for a while to recuperate on a very busy morning, we headed towards the majestic Goldstream Provincial Park. With the trail head located only a little more than half an hour away from Victoria, it is one of the most accessible provincial parks on the Island, yet even though we visited in the height of summer we didn't find it to be particularly busy. Day hiking is free within the park and park staff gave us a trail map to help us choose a hike. ​On our previous trip to Victoria, we also visited this provincial park and followed a totally different trail complete with trestle bridges and a second Niagara Falls. On this this visit we decided to follow the Goldstream Falls trail.

The hike to Goldstream Falls was a very easy one, with minimal elevations and a clear and well maintained trail to follow. The provincial park is full of stunning old growth (Forest never cleared or felled), as such, walking amongst the gargantuan trees made us feel like we had stepped into another world entirely. Even the strong summer sun struggled to break through the thick rainforest canopy, what little rays could breach it lit the trail up as if it were straight from a fairly tale of old.

As the trail runs parallel to the river, there are many occasions where it is possible to climb down and sit beside the water. Some of the trails down to the river are a little steep, so if you encounter one you don't feel comfortable scaling wait for an easier one further along the trail. As a true reminder to the fact Vancouver Island is a rain forest, ferns sit to the floor as if a thick green carpet. Difficult as it was, we forced ourselves to stop gawping and snapping hundreds of pictures by the river and continued down the trail towards the waterfall at its end. You will hear the falls some time before you are able to see them, which only adds to the excitement of what it to come. The hardest part of the hike is descending the staircase that takes you down to the waterfall, however it couldn't be more worth it. The waterfalls beauty doesn't lie so much in its height or its width but the force at which it shoots from the fern lined rock edge into the pristine pool at its base. We sat for some time on our own on the rocks not far from its base. The climate sitting in the basin by falls is totally different from the trail, at least several degrees cooler which is totally welcome relief after tackling the imposing stairs prior. The trail itself is linear, and as such you will take the same route back that you came on.

Caitlin sitting amongst the ferns in Goldstream Provincial Park.

Both the Goldstream falls and Niagara trestle hikes are beautiful. Ask park staff for a free map.

DAY 2 

Our second day on Vancouver Island started bright and early, getting up to leave at 6:00 am. Our first destination of the day would be Cameron Lake and the fabled Cathedral Grove, a 2 and a half hour drive at the very least. Caitlin knew that stops on the way to Cathedral Grove were few and far between, and as such we filled our gas tank in Victoria and stocked up on food for breakfast and lunch the night before.

As a result no doubt of leaving so early in the morning, the drive to Cameron Lake and Cathedral Grove was an easy one, not really encountering too much traffic en route. We arrived at Cameron Lake at around 8:30am, although the parking area was right around a bend and would be very easy to miss. Be sure to not be driving too quickly when the lake appears to your right next to the road so you don't miss it! The parking area provided an outhouse, which after a large tea and no prior stops, was much needed to say the least! Cameron lake is as serene as it was vast, its surface unbroken throughout, save for the occasional fish diving into the air to catch its breakfast. Again thanks to the early time of arrival, the lake wasn't busy at all, the only other person around was an old fisherman who afforded us a polite smile as we passed by. We thoroughly recommend stopping off at Cameron Lake on your journey through Vancouver Island, the untouched natural beauty of the lake as well as the dense forest surrounding it really sets the tone for the rest of the Island.

Continuing only a few minutes on from the Cameron Lake stop you will find yourself entering Macmillan Provincial Park, home of the world renowned Cathedral Grove. The parking for the park lines both sides of the road, yet we only hiked around the left side of the Grove. Even at just before 9am, the road had begun to get busy, so be careful crossing the road if you decide to explore both halves of the park. Exploring Goldstream just the day before, we assumed we had seen most of what an old growth rainforest had to offer, we were very wrong.

Cameron Lake has beautiful deep blue water.

Cathedral Grove looks like a fairy tale.

This stream in Cathedral Grove had the clearest water.

The big tree is located on the left side of the highway if you are traveling from Victoria. It's 76 m tall!

The trees, both standing and those fallen were like nothing either of us had ever seen before. Many of the Douglas fir's in the park are over 800 years old, which has allowed them to become natural skyscrapers. Walking the trails around the park, it was hard to find words to describe the awe we felt. The park is well signed, giving a great deal of interesting information about the history of the area as well as the biodiversity that Cathedral Grove boasts. Luckily many of the signs pander to the natural curiosity 'how do these trees compare to...?' with many of the trees being larger and older than man made structures, such as the leaning tower of Pisa. Cathedral Grove is a must see when visiting Vancouver Island and if you are able, visit in the morning where you will be left to your own devices to explore (with head permanently pointed skyward!).

Hole in the Wall and Port Alberni​

Continuing onward from the Cathedral Grove, our next destination would be the Hole In The Wall waterfall and then the beautiful little town of Port Alberni. The Hole In The Wall waterfall (below) is a water feature created by a team blasting through the rock over half a century ago. The cities fresh water supply came through a pipe in the hole which has since eroded away. The waterfall is a little tricky to find however. Heading towards Port Alberni from Victoria, you will need to take a left turn across traffic (not a busy road), the turn off for which is a little hard to see. If you see Alberni veterinary clinic on the right, you have gone 50 meters too far and should turn around in the parking lot of the clinic and turn left back onto the highway (just as we had to!). Once you have found the turn off for the hike, continue past the gate and head down the road, take the first right then when you reach a fork, go right again and continue on until you come across a clearing which is a makeshift parking lot. Head down the trail that starts next to the road you entered the 'parking lot' area on and follow the signs to the waterfall.

We were the only people at the Hole In The Wall and as such were able to really enjoy the area at our own pace without distraction from others. Don't be tempted to try and drive down the trail past where we advised you to park your car as the trail hereafter isn't suitable for a vehicle. You can see how beautiful the waterfall is below and a log sits in front of the chute offering a perfect opportunity for a quick photo-shoot!

Hole in the Wall at Port Alberni is a must see!

Next we headed onward to the village of Port Alberni, an old shipping settlement which today seems to serve more tourists than it does freight. We researched places to grab a lunch extensively before visiting the town (we were peckish on the drive to the town) and decided on Blue Door Cafe, a cute family run cafe which served up a terrific and hearty brunch. The owners were very friendly and chatty and offered some information on the area. Just a short walk from the cafe is the historic waterfront. Make sure to climb the red staircase attached to the restaurant on the water for panoramic views of the area. While we were taking pictures of the horizon, a huge bald eagle flew only meters overhead, showcasing his brilliance. Remember to fill up on gas here as there are no real towns between Port Alberni and Ucluelet/Tofino! 

View of the lake at Port Alberni

Ancient Petroglyphs (Sproat Lake)
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Not a long drive from Port Alberni, we stopped off at Sproat lake to take a look at their famous petroglyths.  As the road to our final destination of the day, Ucluelet and Tofino experiences frequent scheduled closures thanks to rock blasting, we decided stopping at Sproat Lake would be the perfect way to spend an hour, much better than the alternative of being stuck in the car in a row of traffic (in the 30+ heat!). The petroglyphs can be enjoyed by standing on a floating viewing platform on the lake. Initially, thanks to the glaring midday sun, the images were hard to make out, but once our eyes adjusted, the animals on display became clear. After some research online, we learned the age of the images are undetermined with some estimates putting them at a maximum of 3000 years old. Stopping at Sproat lake is great way to pass the time if you happen to travel at a time you would end up stuck at temporary road closure. Here is an article detailing when you can expect the road to be shut.

Take a dip at Sproat Lake and walk to the ancient petroglyphs.

Can you see the mythological creatures carved into the rock?

The drive from Port Alberni to Tofino is a beautiful one that should be driven slowly to fully appreciate the sights around you. On your right after a while you will come across a pull out, full of hippie camper vans and people swimming among the rocks. This is Wally Creek (below), considered by those who know about it to be a secret. It isn't a secret, nor is it worth stopping at, unless you enjoy a small creek full of people and the stench of cannabis. Instead, skip this 'secret' and continue down the road for a few hundred meters and pull off into the small layby and head down into the rocky area where a waterfall meets a narrow rocky valley. We were the only people here (presumably because its harder to get to) and enjoyed the amazing views in peace. The climb down to the rocks is a little tricky, but simply being careful is enough to nullify any risk. If you brought mosquito spray with you on your trip, which you really should have, put some on at the car before heading down as there were a few black flies that were interested in us. Had we have had any sandwiches with us, this would have been a perfect place for a quick picnic, just be sure to take everything you brought back up with you!

This was one of our favourite stops on the island.

The water is really this colour!

Many people were swimming in the river further up the highway.

Vancouver Island is truly a magical place to visit, and in our opinion fully merits the reputation of being one of the beautiful places to visit in North America. As a result of the island providing so much that deserves mentioning, our guide to roadtripping from Victoria to Tofino is in two parts. Check out Part 2 here, which details our time in and around the town of Tofino as well as our breathtaking visit to Hot Springs Cove.

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