We took a day to drive out to Long Beach in Pacific Rim National Park. It is about 150 kilometres or a 2 hour drive from Parksville. The road winds through the mountains, but the first half, to Port Alberni, it is fairly straight. In the next stretch the turns become tighter and the twists more frequent. At times steep, at others hair-raising descents, and always surrounded by high, forested mountains.

Pacific Rim National Park is a collection of beautiful hard sand beaches washed by the North Pacific, so the water is COLD. Unlike Rathtrevor Beach, where the waves are gentle swells, the west coast beaches have white cresting waves that entice budding surfers to try them.

While the temperature was pushing 30 on the east side of the Island, at Pacific Rim cool ocean breezes kept the temperature more moderate. The air was warm, but not sultry.

The first beach we visited was Wickaninnish Beach. There a fog was rolling in off the water and we were afraid that a storm was following it. However as we proceeded north toward Tofino, the fog cleared and so did the sky. By the time we reached Long Beach the sun was out, the sky was a deep blue and the waves were foaming. It was perfect weather for the beach.

We were returning to Parksville at the end of the day, so we didn’t go in for a swim. It takes me a while to trust myself to really cold water! We did paddle in the shallows though, as we took pictures of the lovely views.

We had a late lunch / early dinner at a little restaurant in Tofino called Shelters. The food was delicious. I had the soup of the day and a Salmon Burger made with fresh salmon filet, while the DH had wings, French fries and oysters on the shell.

The beaches continue past the borders of the national park, and there are resorts on most of them. One of the most famous is the Wickaninnish Inn on Chesterman Beach. We stopped for a look after our meal, then took some time to visit Chesterman Beach itself. Just as lovely as Long Beach.

Our final stop before heading home was at Radar Hill, where panoramic views of the area can be seen. During the Cold War there was a radar station on the hill, tasked with keeping watch on the Pacific coast. The station was part of the North American defense system and was a unit in the Pinetree Line, which stretched across the continent.