The best camping near Pacific Rim National Park

Ocean swells crash on the sandy coastline of Pacific Rim National Park Reserve, the only vehicle-accessible national park on Canada’s west coast. While over a million visitors flock to Tofino each summer, everyone is somehow able to carve out some solitude here. The park contains three units, each with its own camping areas: the West Coast Trail, a rugged backcountry hiking track that takes the better part of a week to complete, the uninhabited Broken Group Islands near Ucluelet, and the Long Beach Unit, a short drive from Tofino’s surf and by far the most visited section. It’s reached by taking a ferry to Vancouver Island and then driving the dramatic (though sometimes white-knuckle) drive along Highway 4 through the Beaufort Range. The park’s Kwisitis Visitors Centre pays homage to the Coastal First Nations pre-colonial history.

• Best for experienced hikers: All of the ocean-facing campsites on the 75-kilometre West Coast Trail are supreme.
• Best for families and surfers: The frontcountry Green Point Campground is wheelchair accessible and an easy hike to the rollers of Long Beach.
• Best for sunsets: Bella Pacifica Campground has a broad, sandy beach with fire rings for s'mores.
• Best for kayakers: The Broken Group Islands offer remote, yet relatively safe, oceanfront camping on seven islands accessible via sea kayak or canoe.

1. Campsite reservations are required at all campgrounds and typically become available by phone and online with Parks Canada in January of each year.
2. Bounded by deep evergreen forest on one side and a driftwood-littered beach on the other, Green Point Campground is the only one located in Pacific Rim. The campground is open from May 1 to mid-October and operates near capacity for most of the season, so reservations are mandatory. Walk-in clifftop sites are available on a first-come, first-served basis.
3. When reserving a spot in the Broken Group Islands, have preferred dates, locations, and starting access points chosen in advance.
4. West Coast Trail camping areas, including Keeha Beach, Tapaltos, and all other locations in the Cape Beale region, and the Nitinaht Triangle are open from June 4 to September 30.

May and June and September are the best time to visit for fewer crowds, but the weather may be a little more stable in July and August. In summer, the rainforest gains ocean fog that drifts in overnight and evaporates into sunshine. The forest brims with a thousand shades of green and emits deep, earthy smells. Each spring, massive gray whales breach and slap the ocean’s surface as they pass enroute to Alaska. The Green Point campground closes from mid-October to May 1, but campers who love solitude and don’t mind a bit of rain will be generously rewarded with stellar surfing waves if they can safely make a winter trek.

• All stores and services—including groceries, gasoline, and retail—can be found in Ucluelet and Long Beach, almost a half-hour drive in either direction.  
• Permitted backcountry camping is available in the West Coast Trail and Broken Group Islands areas.
• There are no shower facilities or sani-stations at Green Point Campground.
• A valid park pass is required to camp in any Canadian national park.
• West Coast Trail hikers need to be prepared for difficult hiking: climbing over 100 ladders, trekking through deep mud, fickle weather, and wading through hip-deep swift rivers.
• All food and toiletries must be used in designated areas and stored in wildlife-proof lockers before getting packed out with all trash.