Tofino (/təˈfiːnoʊ/ tə-FEE-noh, Nuu-chah-nulth: Načiks) is a town of approximately 2,516 residents on the west coast of Vancouver Island in the Canadian province of British Columbia. The District of Tofino is located at the western terminus of Highway 4 on the tip of the Esowista Peninsula at the southern edge of Clayoquot Sound. It is situated in the traditional territory of the Tla-o-qui-aht First Nations.
A popular year-round tourism destination, Tofino's summer population swells to many times its winter size. It attracts surfers, hikers, nature lovers, bird watchers, campers, whale watchers and fishermen. Despite its small population, the town attracts a number of chefs and culinary professionals, which has resulted in a burgeoning choice of restaurants and specialty shops. In the winter, it is not as bustling, although many people visit Tofino and the West Coast to watch storms on the water. Close to Tofino is Long Beach, a scenic and popular year-round destination, in Pacific Rim National Park Reserve. With its natural hot springs, Maquinna Marine Provincial Park is a popular day-trip destination for tourists. Reachable by boat or floatplane, the park is located about 45 km (28 mi) north of Tofino.
The settlement acquired its name in 1909 with the opening of the Tofino Post Office, named after the nearby Tofino Inlet.[3] This geographical feature had been named in 1792 by the Spanish explorers Galiano and Valdés, in honour of Admiral Vicente Tofiño de San Miguel y Wanderiales (or Vanderiales), under whom Galiano had learned cartography.[4]
In the 2021 Canadian census, Tofino had a population of 2,516 living in 945 of its 1,205 total private dwellings, a change of 27.9% from its 2016 population of 1,967. With a land area of 10.56 km2 (4.08 sq mi), it had a population density of 238.3/km2 (617.1/sq mi) in 2021.[5]
According to the 2021 census, religious groups in Tofino were:[6]
Tofino-Long Beach Airport (YAZ), 6 nautical miles (11 km; 6.9 mi) southeast[7] of the town, is accessible to private and commercial aircraft. Floatplanes land on the inlet in town. Coastal fog is a common morning phenomenon in the summer, complicating access by air until the weather clears.
Tofino is located at the western end of Highway 4 that connects the community with Port Alberni and the population centres on the east coast of Vancouver Island. A monument in the city declares Tofino to be the western terminus of the Trans-Canada Highway as part of a 1940s campaign by local residents; the highway officially ends in Victoria at the terminus of Highway 1.[8]
Water taxis connect Tofino with coastal communities such as Ahousat and Hot Springs Cove.[9][10] Wildlife-watching tour boats operate in the area.[11] In October 2015, a whale watching vessel capsized off the coast of Tofino, which resulted in the deaths of six passengers.
Every March, the migration of thousands of grey whales is celebrated with the Pacific Rim Whale Festival. The last weekend of April has, up until 2020, been the Tofino Shorebird Festival. The first weekend of June, for 14 years, brought the Tofino Food and Wine Festival, featuring British Columbia wines and showcasing the creations of Tofino chefs. The Tofino Market takes place on the Village Green on every Saturday, from the Victoria Day long weekend through early October. The Tofino Lantern Festival (voted Tofino's most popular event by Tofino Time Magazine), was a Raincoast Education Society fundraiser each August, with its cancellation announced in 2021. Since 2018, early September has the week-long Race for The Blue Tuna Shoot-Out[12] hosted by Tofino Resort + Marina, and Queen of the Peak Women's Surf Championship typically takes place toward the end of the month.[13] In 2010, the O'Neill Coldwater Surf Classic took place on Cox Bay Beach, as the first professional ASP surf event ever held in Canada, with Tofino surfer Pete Devries winning the competition.[14] November has typically hosted the Clayoquot Oyster Festival,[citation needed].[15] Rip Curl Pro Tofino, the official Canadian surfing championship, has been held each year in May, since 2007.[16]
Between 1988 and 2020, Tofino was home to Poole's Land, an ecovillage and "Hippie Commune" run on Anarchist principles. The Commune provided free accommodation to seasonal workers who would come to Tofino in the summer months as well as being a centre of counterculture in the region.
Located within the Tofino vicinity is the man-made floating Island of Freedom Cove. Constructed by Wayne Adams and Catherine King in 1992, the mostly wooden structure is both home to Adams and King as well as a tourist attraction and an art gallery. Freedom Cove attempts to live as sustainably as possible by such means as by using solar power, recycling waste, composting, drinking rainwater, and eating locally grown or caught food.[17][18][19]
The climate is marine west coast (Köppen: Cfb, clearly included in the temperate zone). Precipitation is concentrated in the winter, which is a characteristic of Coastal British Columbia; however, the annual amount of 3,270.7 mm (128.77 in) far exceeds nearby areas. By comparison, Victoria, located only 203 km (126 mi) away, receives only 607.6 mm (23.92 in).
Proximity to the Pacific Ocean keeps temperatures cool in the summer and mild in the winter. Average high temperatures in the summer and winter are relatively stable and cool, coming in at 19.1 °C (66.4 °F) and 8.1 °C (46.6 °F), respectively. Compared to the Canadian city of Winnipeg, Manitoba, which rests on a similar latitude, Tofino's average high temperature is 6.8 degrees cooler in the summer and a whopping 19.4 degrees warmer in the winter.
During the cooler season, there is a lot of precipitation, with 492.1 mm (19.37 in) in November alone. Nearly all of the precipitation that falls throughout the year is rain, with 203 days with rain and only 7.8 days with snowfall. Due to its location on the westernmost part of Vancouver Island, Tofino faces the Pacific Ocean, unimpeded by any mountains to the west (and therefore not subject to a rain shadow effect like much of the eastern island and the BC interior). Winter cyclonic storms frequently pass over the town deluging it with rain, making it one of the wettest locations in Canada. The month of November alone brings more precipitation to Tofino than that received for an entire year in parts of the BC interior such as Kamloops and Penticton.[20] Like the rest of coastal BC, summer brings relative dryness; even so, it still receives much more summertime precipitation than the interior (which can often be susceptible to drought-like conditions until the onset of autumn).[20]
The highest temperature ever recorded in Tofino was 35.4 °C (95.7 °F) on June 28, 2021.[21] The coldest temperature ever recorded was −15.0 °C (5 °F) on January 30, 1969.[22]
Tofino has one newspaper, the Tofino-Ucluelet Westerly News. Tofino Time is a monthly magazine that publishes local news and articles about Tofino and the surrounding areas. CHMZ-FM on 90.1 FM, nicknamed Tuff City radio, is a local radio station. Tofino also receives CBC Radio One via CBXZ-FM on 91.5 FM.
Public education is offered by the School District 70 Alberni, through the Wickaninnish Community School in Tofino and Ucluelet Secondary School in Ucluelet. The town's hospital is the Tofino General Hospital, operated by the Vancouver Island Health Authority (VIHA).[26]
Once you get to Tofino, you will need to take a water taxi to Ahousaht on Flores Island.
Media related to Tofino at Wikimedia Commons
Tofino travel guide from Wikivoyage