With its bay, inlets and close proximity to Broken Group Islands, Ukee offers some of the best and safest sea kayaking on the west coast. Local companies offer a variety of affordable tours for newbies and old hands in wilderness settings.
Surfing
Pacific Rim National Park offers the best surfing in Canada. Water temperatures remain constant at about 10°C/50°F, which allows for surfing all year round. Long Beach is 16km/10mi of incomparable grandeur and Pacific rollers all the way from Japan. Surfers even ride the wild waves in storm-watching season.
Whale Watching
Ukee's great whale show is the year's highlight on sea and land. Every March and April, Ucluelet experiences the world's greatest whale migration, as up to 20,000 grey whales pass by en route to their summer home in the Arctic. One Ucluelet outfit, WestCoast Wild, offers the once-in-a-lifetime chance to view it from above in a floatplane.
But whale watching isn't just a spring event. Whale-watching tours are available most of the year because of lingering pods of grey whales in Barkley Sound, humpback whales and resident pods of Orcas. Ukee outfits offer guaranteed sightings or clients get their money back. With the sometimes bumpy ocean in mind, visitors can choose between speedy little Zodiacs designed for the occasion and larger cruisers outfitted with stabilizers.
Adventure Touring
Comfy is the word for Archipelago Wildlife Cruises' Rainforest Maiden that offers the great Pacific safari: full-day, whale-watching and wildlife cruises on Barkley Sound and through the Broken Group Islands. The 16m/53ft cruiser comes outfitted with state-of-the-art hydraulic stabilizers that guarantee a turbulence-free cruise even on open sea – making life all the sweeter for passengers with cameras. The cruiser accommodates 23 passengers with ultra-comfortable seating both inside the cabin and atop the upper deck. Binoculars are available for every passenger. And yes, there's an easily accessible washroom below decks.
Bear Watching
And with the greatest concentration of black bears on this continent, bear watching now rivals whale watching among encounters with nature's big guys. Visitors can follow the bears in Zodiacs or dories. The best time to see bears is in the fall when salmon return to spawn and provide black bears with the gourmet treat of the year.
Land Activities
Golf
Located between rainforest and ocean, the Long Beach Golf Course & Tofino Campground is one of the most scenic courses in Canada. Only minutes from Long Beach, it boasts a famously challenging nine-hole championship course and 18-hole mini-golf course.
Biking
Bike trails abound in and around Ucluelet, traversing rainforest and following the ocean, offering breathtaking views in every direction. Check with the Ucluelet Visitor Centre.
Bikes can be rented from Ukee Bikes for a modest charge. Although biking and mountain biking are not allowed on hiking and walking trails in the Pacific Rim National Park Reserve, the place to let loose is the 10km/6mi of Long Beach and another 6km/4mi at Florencia Bay on packed sand. The Pacific Ocean provides a thundering backdrop.
Ziplining
WestCoast Wild is another outfit with a big folio: Zipline through an old-growth rainforest in Clayoquot Sound and thread through the wild Kennedy River Canyon on nine different zip lines.
Driving Routes
Take advantage of the many things to do Ucluelet while checking out other BC communities as part of a driving route.
For more information about things to do in and around Ucluelet, contact the Ucluelet Visitor Centre or Tofino Visitor Centre.
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