Location Map
All locations mentioned in this blog are pinned here so you can visualize your trip!Where to Stay (Before It’s Fully Booked)
1. Englishman River Falls
Englishman River Falls is a powerful waterfall just outside of Coombs. It's about 45 minutes from the ferry terminal, and only about a 10-20 minute detour off the direct route to Tofino. To get there, you turn off Highway 4 onto Errington Street, and from there, it is just about a 15-minute drive through beautiful farmland, and the windy country road terminates at a large paved parking lot. The waterfall itself is a short 5-minute walk from the parking lot. For the best vantage point, follow the signs for 'Upper Falls'.
There is also a loop hike you can do here. It's a short and easy to follow loop with minimal elevation gain, making it perfect if you want to stretch your legs. It's a nice walk, but the waterfall is really the main attraction, so you can also pop in to see the falls and then move on to the next stop.
| Distance | Elevation | Time | Type | Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1.4 km | 52 m | 0.75 h | loop | easy |
Trail Map
2. Goats on the Roof, Coombs
You'll know it when you see it. A roadside market in the small town of Coombs has actual goats living on the grass roof above the entrance. It's been there since the 1970s, and it's as wonderfully strange now as it's always been.
Beyond the novelty, it's a genuinely good stop. The market sells local produce, deli items, wine, gifts, and a wide range of food from vendors clustered around the property. Get something to eat, watch the goats do absolutely nothing, and get back on the road.
This is a stop you should do at least once because, really, where else in the world do you see this? Personally, I think once is enough, but Alia absolutely loves goats, so I'm sure we will be stopping on our next trip as well.
3. Little Qualicum Falls
This is the second waterfall on our list, and in my opinion, it's also the most impressive. Follow Google Maps, or the signs along Highway 4, to know when to turn off the highway into the large gravel parking lot. From the parking lot, follow the signs for Upper Falls. There is an easy-to-follow trail that leads you around the falls, giving you a few viewpoints of the series of falls that cascade into each other. It's cool to see it from every angle, but the final angle is really the best. Follow the chain-link fence along the path the entire way. You will cross a bridge and reach a dead end by the end of the chain link fence. This is the best viewpoint where you can see all three levels of the falls.
There is also a longer loop hike you can do here. It basically extends the minimal loop around the bridge to the viewpoint. Following the AllTrails, you will follow the river further and cross farther upstream before turning back down to the main viewpoint, then from that viewpoint it loops around further, a back way to the parking lot. Similar to Englishman Falls, the walk is nice, but the best views of the waterfalls are visible from the much shorter (10 minutes each way) walk to the viewpoint.
| Distance | Elevation | Time | Type | Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 km | 92 m | 1.5 h | loop | easy |
Trail Map
4. Cathedral Grove, MacMillan Provincial Park
There's a point on Highway 4 where you round a corner and see all of the traffic backed up, and when you slow down, you realize that the forest you've been driving through has just changed, and now every tree along the side of the road is absolutely massive, like weirdly massive. This means you're getting close to Cathedral Grove.
The grove is home to old-growth Douglas fir and Western Red Cedar, some over 800 years old, with trunks wide enough that a group of people holding hands can't wrap around them.
There are two short loop trails on either side of the highway, and both are easy and worth doing. The south side trail leads to the largest tree in the grove. It's really wild to see it in person, and when you see it, don't forget to also look down and see a second massive tree that's nearly as big, that's fallen at its feet.
I've stopped here almost every time I've done this drive, and I've gotten really different weather for each visit. In misty rain, it looks moody and ancient, and when the skies are clear, the light filters through the multi-layered canopy in a whimsical way that makes it feel like a dreamscape. I've never regretted stopping, but in really rainy conditions, the trail can be an absolute muddy mess. So if it's a wet visit, I'd maybe recommend stopping on your way back home so your boots are soaking wet for your whole Tofino visit.
Traffic slows down here so much anyway that you might as well stop, use the washroom, see the biggest tree of your life, stretch your legs a bit, and head back on the road. Don't worry, Dad, you can pass all the slow hippy vans again past the grove.
5. Hole in the Wall, Port Alberni
A short walk from the highway just outside Port Alberni takes you through mossy rainforest to one of the stranger things you'll come across on Vancouver Island: a large hole bored straight through a wall of volcanic shale, with a creek flowing through it into a pool below.
The hole is man-made and was drilled in the early 1900s to route a water pipeline into Port Alberni. When the pipe was removed, it left this behind. The hike is easy, about 1 km return, and the pool is cold, clean, and swimmable in summer if you're feeling ambitious.
The path down takes about 20 minutes each way and is mostly downhill on the way there and uphill coming back. It's wide and even, but if the snow is melting or there has been a lot of rain, the mud can be an issue. We went on a particularly bad day, and the whole trail was passable, but our boots were a wreck afterward. Thankfully, we stopped on the way home and not at the start of the trip.
Heads up: parking is very limited and easy to miss. There is just a wide shoulder by the highway near the trailhead. So be careful when you're pulling in and out, and make sure you park in a way that allows more cars to park behind you.
We've only been here in the winter and although a light dusting of snow is beautiful, I can only imagine how nice it would be to take a little dip in the water here in the summer.
6. Wildflower Bakeshop & Café, Port Alberni
If you haven't eaten by the time you hit Port Alberni, this is my top pick for lunch. Wildflower is an excellent café and bakeshop run by people who clearly care about doing it right. Everything made from scratch, sourced seasonally, served in a space that doesn't feel like a highway pitstop.
The pastry case is worth the detour on its own. Croissants, sourdough, laminated pastries, and the occasional banana fritter if you're lucky.
They also have a solid brunch menu with elevated versions of breakfast classics, good coffee, and if you happen to arrive at dinner time, the pizza is one of their specialties.
It's perfect for everything from a ready-to-go pick-me-up to a hearty sit-down meal, and it's just off the main road enough that you can say you actually saw a little bit of Port Alberni.
7. Taylor River Rest Stop
This is the one stop I've literally never skipped. In the summer, we stop here and break out the camp stove to whip up some burgers or maybe just a bit of coffee, and then we head down to the river for a nice little swim to cool down and recharge before taking on the rest of highway 4. And in the winter, we usually just take advantage of the washrooms and free wifi. Yes, that's not a typo; they have free and reliable wifi here, which is amazing because it's smack dab in the middle of one of the longest no-reception stretches on the highway.
There are about 10 picnic tables to sit at when you eat, and the river has a rocky bank you can wade into the water from if you go down the path to the left. If you take the path on the right-hand side, you will find a little outcropping where you can jump into the icy water. Be careful jumping in because the water can be cold enough to put you into shock, and the water levels vary a lot throughout the year.
You can easily spend a few hours here, especially on a hot summers day, so make sure to give yourself lots of time.
8. Kennedy Lake, The Largest Lake on Vancouver Island
The largest lake on Vancouver Island appears suddenly as you come over a ridge on Highway 4 as a large stretch of dark blue water with mountains behind it. There are pullouts along the road where you can stop and take it in, and a small beach area where people swim in summer.
It doesn't require a long stop, but if the light is right, it's one of the better views on the whole drive.
We stop here sometimes just for the views, but we've never stopped for a swim. Personally, I prefer Taylor River for my on-route dip, but I've seen tons of people out enjoying the water.
9. Long Beach, Pacific Rim National Park Reserve
You've basically made it! Long Beach is a 16-kilometre stretch of wild Pacific coastline and a quintessential Tofino landscape. The waves are constant, the beach is wide, and the rain forest bordering it comes right to the sand.
It fills up fast with surfers, families, and people like us who are just stopping to take a peek. Swim if you're up for cold water, surf if you know what you're doing, or just walk along part of the beach (might take you all day to do the whole thing).
I love stopping here because, to me at least, this is the first stop where the landscape becomes truly that iconic Tofino landscape. Tofino and the Clayoquot Sound have a distinct look compared to the rest of the island, and Long Beach really epitomizes what I always call the 'edge of the earth' feeling.
A Note on Timing
The drive from the ferry at Nanaimo to Tofino is roughly three to four hours without stops, and depending on how many campervans you get stuck behind. If you add in these seven stops, too, you're looking at a full day, which is exactly how I think it should be done. So leave early and don't rush Cathedral Grove or Long Beach, and just accept that it will probably take you all day, and that's okay.
Final Thoughts
If you're taking an early ferry and gunning straight for Tofino, fair enough. But if you're on a mid-morning sailing and won't hit the island until noon anyway, you might as well let the drive take all day. For me, these stops break up the drive and actually make it feel shorter rather than doing the whole thing as a straight shot.
Cathedral Grove, Taylor River, and Long Beach are the three I'd never skip, regardless of how tight the schedule is. Everything else is a bonus.
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