Outdoors
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Road Trip: Tofino, Vancouver Island, B.C.
Got a gray whale costume? Pack it up and head to Tofino.
This article originally appeared in the March 2011 issue of Seattle magazine.
WHERE: Tofino, Vancouver Island, B.C., for the 25th Annual Pacific Rim Whale Festival (3/19–3/27; pacificrimwhalefestival.com). WHY: Live music, guided hikes, film screenings, cookoffs, children’s fairs—in all, more than 75 events celebrate the migration of the world’s largest population of California gray whales to the Arctic. BRING: Binocs for a shoreline glimpse of the more than 20,000-strong Pacific population. INDULGE: Chocolate Tofino (1180 Pacific Rim Highway; 250.725.2526; chocolatetofino.com) is a sustainable and organic shop serving sweets conjured from seasonal and local ingredients, such as the region-exclusive Clayoquot blackberry buttercream—just don’t feed it to the whales. GET THERE: Catch the Victoria, B.C., ferry from Port Angeles, then drive north on Island Highway and west on Pacific Rim Highway toward Tofino. Cayla Lambier
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