On my first trip to Long Beach, BC—before the road was paved and it became Pacific Rim National Park Reserve—I stayed in a cabin with a leaky roof, which cost 75¢ a night for a bed and a bowl of hearty porridge for breakfast. I’ve been going back ever since.

But now the road is paved (in 2004, Michelin Road Atlas rated the drive from Victoria to Tofino, BC, as one of the top three drives in Canada) and I treat myself to a four-star hotel. (The Wickaninnish Inn, one of British Columbia’s first eco-lodges, will even make a donation in your name to the Surfrider Foundation, dedicated to the protection of the world’s beaches and oceans.)

In recent years, Tofino has become the most popular surfing destination in Canada, too, with more and more women getting into the act. Long Beach—with big rollers pounding in from Japan—is dramatic enough in the summer. But what I love most is the rain and mist and wind in the fall and winter months. (August in Pacific Rim National Park Reserve is jokingly referred to as "Fogust" by the locals.)

Life doesn’t get much better than days when I can kick back under a thick duvet, sipping a smoky tea, participating all the while in my favourite sport: storm-watching. Much as I like the idea of being out there feeling the weather in my face, it’s pretty sweet watching the winter gales slam onto the shore—without getting out of bed.
www.hellobc.com

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The Surf Lifestyle in Tofino