10-day British Columbia road trip: Sea-to-Sky, Vancouver Island, Ucluelet & Tofino.

Seattle to Squamish: Sea to Sky Gondola and the estuary

We picked up our rental vehicle in Seattle, crossed into Canada, and continued north toward Squamish. Squamish immediately felt like the right first stop because it gives you dramatic mountain scenery without forcing you into a long first day all the way to Whistler or Pemberton. Our main activity was the Sea to Sky Gondola, where the summit views over Howe Sound, the surrounding mountains, and coastal forest gave us a quick introduction to the scale of the region.

The Squamish Estuary was the quieter counterpoint. It is flat, easy to walk, and gives broad views toward the Stawamus Chief and the mountains without requiring another major hike. For travelers who arrive with only an hour or two of daylight left, I would absolutely keep the estuary on the list—it feels peaceful, close to town, and much more scenic than simply going back to the hotel.

Staying downtown also made the first evening easy. We could settle in, walk for food or coffee, and still be positioned for an early start the next morning.

Squamish to Pemberton: Nairn Falls, Pemberton Meadows and bears

We continued north through Whistler country to Pemberton. Nairn Falls is easy to build into this drive because the park is only a few minutes from Pemberton and the main viewpoint is reached by a roughly 1.5-kilometre trail. The falls are powerful and the trail follows the Green River through forest rather than feeling like a roadside photo stop.

Pemberton Meadows was one of the most beautiful surprises of the mainland portion. The valley opens into farmland with huge mountains rising behind it, and the slower rural roads make it a place to wander rather than race through. We stayed out into the evening because the light kept improving and the whole area felt calmer than Whistler.

We also had one of the most memorable wildlife days of the entire trip here, seeing multiple bears in the broader Pemberton area. That was extraordinary luck, not something I would promise anyone planning the route. If you do encounter bears, stay in the vehicle or keep a very large distance, avoid blocking traffic, and never approach them for a photo.

Duffey Lake Road, Seton Lake, then back to North Vancouver

This was one of our longest mainland sightseeing days. From Pemberton we followed Highway 99 onto the Duffey Lake Road, stopping around Wally Creek, Duffey Lake, the Cayoosh Summit area, and Seton Lake. The road changes quickly from forested mountain valleys to drier interior scenery, which makes the drive feel much bigger than the mileage suggests.

After reaching Seton Lake we backtracked toward the Vancouver area and stayed in North Vancouver. That is not the most fuel-efficient way to structure the route, but it let us see the Duffey Lake corridor while still positioning ourselves close enough for an early Horseshoe Bay ferry the next morning. If you dislike backtracking, you could redesign this portion as a separate mainland loop or add another night.

Horseshoe Bay ferry to Nanaimo, then north to Campbell River

We took an early BC Ferries sailing from Horseshoe Bay to Nanaimo's Departure Bay. An early ferry is worth the effort because it gives you most of the day on Vancouver Island instead of sacrificing a travel day. From Nanaimo we worked our way north, including a waterfall stop at Little Qualicum Falls before continuing to Campbell River.

Campbell River is a useful base because it gives you access to both the coast and Strathcona Provincial Park. We also visited Elk Falls, where a short walk leads to the waterfall and suspension bridge. But one of the biggest surprises happened right along the Campbell River waterfront: while spending time near the pier we saw an orca moving through Discovery Passage. It was completely unplanned and became one of those travel moments that matters more because you were not chasing it. Even without an orca sighting, I would still build in time to walk the shoreline, watch for seals and seabirds, and simply look out across the passage.

Strathcona Provincial Park: Buttle Lake and waterfalls

We dedicated a full day to Strathcona Provincial Park from Campbell River. This was one of the easiest days to underestimate on a map. Highway 28 gets you into the park, but once you are around Buttle Lake the stops spread out and the drive becomes part of the experience.

We visited Buttle Lake, Lower Myra Falls, Lupin Falls, and Lady Falls. Lower Myra Falls is especially rewarding because the trail is short but the cascades are visually dramatic. Bring food, water, and enough fuel before heading deep into the park; services are limited once you leave Campbell River.

Paradise Meadows, Lake Helen Mackenzie and Comox

We shifted south into the Comox Valley and explored the Paradise Meadows side of Strathcona Provincial Park. This ended up being one of my favorite hiking areas of the trip. The landscape feels completely different from Buttle Lake: higher elevation, long boardwalk sections, ponds, subalpine meadows, mountain views and pockets of early fall color. In late September the reds and golds beginning to move through the meadow vegetation made the walk especially beautiful.

The easiest option is to spend time around Paradise Meadows itself, but we continued farther toward Lake Helen Mackenzie. BC Parks lists the Paradise Meadows loop at 4.2 km and the Helen Mackenzie/Battleship Lake loop at 8 km, so this area works whether you want a gentle walk or a more substantial half-day hike.

Comox made a nice change of pace afterward. We spent time around the marina and coastline, including Goose Spit, and enjoyed how quickly the day shifted from subalpine mountain scenery to salt water. The Holiday Inn Express & Suites Courtenay–Comox gave us a comfortable reset before the drive across the island the next morning.

Cathedral Grove, Port Alberni and Highway 4 to Ucluelet

This was one of my favorite driving days because the scenery changes repeatedly. We stopped at Cathedral Grove in MacMillan Provincial Park, where enormous old-growth Douglas fir trees make an easy roadside stop feel much more substantial than its location suggests. From there we continued through Port Alberni and onto Highway 4 toward the west coast.

Highway 4 is beautiful but deserves time. Parks Canada describes the section west of Port Alberni as steep and twisting; the drive toward Pacific Rim is not something I would schedule tightly. We stopped around Taylor River, Wally Creek, Kennedy River, and Kennedy Lake before finally reaching Ucluelet.

This is where I would intentionally stop changing hotels. Three nights at The Cabins at Terrace Beach gave us a real base instead of another overnight stop.

Ucluelet: Lighthouse Loop, harbor wildlife and the Wild Pacific Trail

Ucluelet deserves its own day instead of being treated only as a cheaper place to sleep near Tofino. We explored Big Beach, the Wild Pacific Trail, Amphitrite Lighthouse, the harbor, and the area around the Ucluelet Aquarium. The Wild Pacific Trail was one of our favorite easy walks of the entire trip because it combines rainforest, rocky shoreline, viewpoints, and open-ocean scenery without requiring a difficult hike.

I especially liked hiking the Lighthouse Loop in the morning. The official trail information emphasizes its dramatic coastal viewpoints, and from our experience the softer morning light made the lighthouse and shoreline feel quieter and more atmospheric before the day got moving. The loop is roughly 2.5 kilometres, but we spent much longer because almost every bend offered another place to stop.

Later, around Ucluelet Harbour near the aquarium, we watched sea lions along the waterfront. That was another reminder not to schedule every minute. The aquarium itself is focused on local Barkley and Clayoquot Sound marine life, and the surrounding harbor is worth walking even if you do not go inside.

This is also where staying at Terrace Beach paid off: the trail and shoreline were part of the immediate surroundings rather than another long drive.

Pacific Rim National Park Reserve, Long Beach and Tofino

We used Ucluelet as our base for a full day north toward Tofino. Stops included Pacific Rim National Park Reserve, Long Beach, the rainforest trails, Radar Hill, Chesterman Beach, and Tofino itself. This is one of those areas where a packed checklist works against you; weather, tides, surf, and changing light make it better to choose a few places and spend real time there.

Long Beach was our favorite beach of the trip. It feels enormous, with enough space that the coast still feels wild even though it is one of the best-known stops in Pacific Rim. We walked rather than treating it as a ten-minute viewpoint, and that made a big difference. Parks Canada notes that the Long Beach Unit contains about 22 km of beaches, so this is a place where giving yourself extra time is easy to justify.

The rainforest hikes were just as memorable. The Rainforest Trails move through old-growth temperate rainforest on boardwalks and stairs, with huge trees, moss, ferns and a sense of enclosure that is the complete opposite of the beach. Parks Canada lists Rainforest Trail A as a 1 km loop with boardwalk and many stairs, making it short enough to combine with Long Beach on the same day.

We also made time for Tofino without turning the day into shopping and restaurants. A quick meal at Tacofino worked well because it kept the focus on the coast rather than building the entire day around reservations.

Ucluelet to Swartz Bay, ferry to Tsawwassen, then SeaTac

This was the hardest transit day of the trip. We left the west coast of Vancouver Island, drove toward Swartz Bay, took the ferry to Tsawwassen, crossed back into the United States, and continued to a hotel near SeaTac for our flight the next morning.

It worked, but I would only recommend this version if you are comfortable with a long travel day and have a late-enough ferry reservation. A more relaxed itinerary would add a night near Victoria or somewhere farther south on Vancouver Island. The benefit of our approach was waking up near the airport instead of worrying about a border crossing, ferry, and flight all on the same morning.