British Columbia Destinations

Road trip to Ucluelet is half the fun

By Jamie Gripich

Light breaks through the craggy branches of giant cedars on your right, rocky outcroppings drip with rainwater on your left. As you slow to take the corner at the top of the rise, a commanding view of Kennedy Lake unfolds in front of you.

The lake’s 6,475 hectares of water surface makes you think you’ve reached the ocean – it’s a common mistake. But you’re getting close and the journey to Ucluelet has been one magical, natural wonder after another.

You could fly from either Victoria or Vancouver to Ucluelet, but if you really want to experience what makes this island special, you need to drive. From the breathtaking scenery of mountains, lakes and ocean to roadside curiosities to a golden west coast resort at the end of the rainbow, this drive has it all.

Heading west

The road with a view begins once you leave the Trans Canada Highway #1 and head west on Highway #4 where you’ll quickly come upon Coombs.

The whimsical goats on the roof of Coombs Country Market have been a snapshot must for tourists for years. Go inside and pick up some fresh baking or a gourmet treat for the road. Browse around the gift shops and crafts stores for a selection of handmade toys and unique crafts. Coombs Country is no cookie cutter strip mall with fast food franchises and carbon copy stores.

Monsters and giants

Further along Highway #4 you’ll pass by Cameron Lake, as mysterious as it is picturesque. In the summer of 2009 researchers from Vancouver came to Cameron Lake to follow up on repeated sightings of a lake creature.

A little further down the road, and centuries-old trees at Cathedral Grove beckon you to stop once more. The 301-hectare park has one of the most accessible stands of giant Douglas fir on Vancouver Island – some as old as 800 years and nine metres in circumference.

Lake country

Continuing on your way to Port Alberni, the scenery along Highway 4 will take your breath away. You’ll marvel that there are such massive mountains on Vancouver Island, and after the first snow, you’d think you’re travelling through the Rockies.

Just past Port Alberni you’ll pass majestic Sproat Lake with 322 kilometres of forested lakeshore, and enter a winding road that will take you past rivers, craggy bluffs, wild rivers, waterfalls and forests.

Next stop Ucluelet

Soon you discover magnificent Kennedy Lake bordered by jutting cliffs and rugged mountains that will trick you into thinking you’ve reached the ocean. But it will be the tell-tale craggy treetops against the sky that will give away that you’re nearing the open ocean and the end of your odyssey.

Finally you make a left turn at a fork in the road and you’re just a few minutes from Ucluelet, with its ancient tradition of welcoming others. Ucluelet takes its name from the Nuu-chah-nulth First Nation phrase, Yu-clutl-ahts, “the people with a good landing place for canoes.”

A community which once relied upon fishing and logging for its livelihood is morphing into an eco-tourism resort town. Ucluelet continues to develop and build its reputation as a first class yet unpretentious resort town. Its small town charm and respect for its heritage are apparent throughout.

The west coast of Vancouver Island is as rugged and rough as it is breathtaking, and new developments in Ucluelet are finding a way of fitting into the landscape. One new kid on the block, Black Rock Oceanfront Resort, is an architectural marvel that has been constructed to fit in with the natural landscape, with expansive spaces, natural light and breathtaking seaward vistas.

Your road trip offered incredible scenery and wondrous surprises, but comfortably perched on the wild Pacific Ocean and surrounded by millennia-old rain forest, you’re ready to stay here a while. In fact, it will be hard to leave.