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Vancouver Island Day 5: To Tofino

31 December 2023 • 516 km / 321 mi (map)

  • Added to Eric Scouten :: Travel on 1 January 2024
  • Canada 14

Long, long day on the road today, but the rewards were so worth it!

I started from Port Hardy right around sunrise as the fog was just burning off of Port Hardy’s marina:

A misty harbour at Port Hardy filled with fishing boats and yachts, their masts and reflections mirrored in calm water beneath a hazy orange and grey sky. A wooden pier extends into the water on the right, a lone bird flies overhead, and a rocky shoreline appears in the foreground.
Port Hardy, British Columbia, Canada
A misty harbor at Port Hardy filled with fishing boats and their tall masts, mirrored in calm still water tinted soft pink and amber by early morning light, with several cormorants perched on a low piling in the foreground.
Port Hardy, British Columbia, Canada
A misty golden sunrise glowing through a low bank of fog above a silhouetted forested hill, with the sun’s light reflecting off channels of water winding through exposed tidal mudflats in the foreground.
Port Hardy, British Columbia, Canada

A half-hour or so down the road, I stopped at Nimpkish Lake to take in more views of the fog and mountains:

A morning view over Nimpkish Lake with forested mountains rising beyond a low band of fog hanging over the water, a lone tall conifer in the left foreground, and a soaring bird silhouetted against a pale blue sky where a faint moon is visible.
Nimpkish Lake, south of Port McNeill, British Columbia, Canada
A harbor pier silhouetted against a thick orange fog at sunrise, with sailboat masts, cranes, and a lamp post rising above the dock, and the sun a pale disc glowing behind a wooded ridge.
Sunrise peeking through a very thick orange fog. · Port Hardy, British Columbia, Canada
A two-lane highway with yellow center lines stretches toward forested, evergreen-covered mountains under a mostly clear blue sky. A thin band of fog hangs low over the trees at the base of the mountains, lit by morning sun on the right side.
Nimpkish Lake, south of Port McNeill, British Columbia, Canada, 2023 · south of Port McNeill, British Columbia, Canada

Knowing that daylight was short and time was tight, I stayed focused on the road until I hit the turnoff from Parksville to Tofino. And then I couldn’t resist. Highway 4 is easily among the most scenic drives I’ve taken in recent memory. Here are a few highlights from when it was safe to stop:

west of Alberni, British Columbia, Canada
Low clouds and mist drift across a heavily forested mountainside above Sproat Lake, with a thin waterfall or stream visible through the fog and dense evergreens reflected in the dark water below.
Looking across Sproat Lake at fog and a waterfall. · Sproat Lake, west of Alberni, British Columbia, Canada
A misty, calm lake reflects a rocky point crowned with silhouetted evergreen trees, with fog softening distant tree-lined hills under a muted lavender-gray sky.
Larry Lake, north of Ucluelet, British Columbia, Canada
A rocky point topped with slender evergreen trees juts into a still, fog-shrouded lake, its silhouette mirrored in the calm water while distant forested hills fade into thick mist.
Larry Lake, north of Ucluelet, British Columbia, Canada
A calm lake at dusk with a line of large rocks leading from a gravel shoreline into the still, mirror-like water that reflects the overcast blue-grey sky. Forested hills and low mountains ring the far shore, and bare branches poke up from the water on the right.
Kennedy Lake, north of Ucluelet, British Columbia, Canada
A calm, glassy lake at dusk under a blue-grey overcast sky, with dark rocks emerging from the shallow shoreline in the foreground and bare leafless shrubs to the right. Mist-shrouded, cloud-capped mountains line the far shore and reflect in the still water.
Kennedy Lake, north of Ucluelet, British Columbia, Canada

Happy New Year’s to you all!

Port Hardy to Tofino, British Columbia, Canada · 516 km / 321 mi
(Mouse over or tap on the markers to see the photos there. Use the button to adjust the map’s position and zoom.)

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