The day we we explored Schooner Cove in Pacific Rim National Park started off pretty crazy! We ended up camping the night before in the back woods hippie/free roamer’s camp and it was a long night to say the least. (You can read the whole story on Instagram, starting here with Part 1, then Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, and finally Part 5.) While we’re definitely at home with a more alternative life style, let’s just say I still appreciate a decent sleep.
So anyways… this whole day started off with both of us suffering from exhaustion. But we got up at the crack of dawn anyways because we had a kayaking tour scheduled to Meares Island. It was so much fun, and I’d definitely recommend it to anyone who loves a little hiking and paddling in the ocean.
After our sea kayaking adventure, we headed over and hiked Tonquin Trail, (details coming soon) and then headed over to Schooner Cove as our last adventure of the day. I’m glad we saved it for last because it was one of my favorite hikes we did in the Tofino area.
The trail starts begins on a boardwalk through the magical giant trees and it has a very rainforest feel. The trail is only 2km or 1.3 miles with very little elevation gain.
Soon you’ll come to the beach, and there’s so much to explore at low tide that you’ll want to spend a bit of time poking around.
Over to your left after you break out of the trees there’s all kinds of rocks with tide pools tucked in and around.
I was having lots of fun videoing with my phone and Tyler caught this photo of me getting covered in wet sand. Which as you might imagine is loads of fun when you’re living out of your car!
The tide pools here have all sorts of gorgeous sea creatures, and try and be mindful as you walk around taking a look, not to destroy their fragile ecosystem.
There’s so much variety in tide pools it’s easy to miss things, so pause for a moment… and all of a sudden you see the orange colored crab just lurking there next to the rock.
Bird watching is another popular pass time at Schooner Cove. Apparently they come at low tides, and we just got lucky to see both these gorgeous birds and the tide pools because we definitely didn’t plan ahead!
This is a truly gorgeous beach to walk for hours on, just be sure to remember that you have to walk back out through the trees which are much darker than the beach when night begins to fall. (Not that I speak from experience of anything.) If you enjoyed this adventure, you may also enjoy Wild Pacific Crest Lighthouse Trail & Tonquin Trail Hike.
After we hiked back out, we were pretty hungry from hiking and kayaking all day. We were also pretty exhausted after almost no sleep from the night before, so we decided to treat ourselves to a night out at Wolf in the Fog restaurant in downtown Tofino. It was so good, we decided to go 2 nights in a row before we drove on in our road trip, and you can see a picture of the giant burger I ordered the first night over on my post about Traveling in Tofino.
I NEED TO BE AT THE BEACH. A Pacific coast beach. The Atlantic coast is not the same.
I’ve been feeling the need for some beach time too, after a certain amount of time you just crave it!