Imagine Cannon Beach before its coast was lined with a concrete jungle and you might be close to picturing Tofino. At least, you’d be close to picturing Tofino’s Chesterman beach. Unlike its grass-lined southern brother, Tofino’s shores are rimmed with old growth forests. Here, trunks grow out of dirt that rests next to sand.
Smack dab at the end of the road – literally, it’s the last stop on Canada’s transcontinental highway, the Pacific-Rim Highway – this quaint town has yet to be overrun by commercialized tourist attractions. Its landscape remains pristine. It’s locals, all 2,500 of them, embody the back-country, wave-as-you-pass friendly attitude you’d expect in a small town.