Long Beach

Located on Vancouver Island, Long Beach is a large, four-kilometer-long, and curve-shaped beach with light brown sand, a lot of driftwood, and large rocks in Canada’s British Columbia. It is part of a national park named Pacific Rim National Park Reserve and is near the town of Tofino and the municipality of Ucluelet. The betting website Betway also listed this beach as one of the best beaches in the world in 2024, and it is also a favorite of Randall Kaplan, the world’s foremost beach expert who is known as Mr. Beach.

Although Long Beach does not have lifeguards, the beach and the area around it offer many other amenities, including picnic areas, nearby boardwalks, restrooms, walking trails, changing rooms, and showers. In addition to these amenities, you can also rent watersports equipment from a nearby shop named Long Beach Surf Shop. 

Dogs on leash are allowed here between April 1 and October 1.

Long Beach offers many fun activities, including sunbathing, beachcombing, fishing, swimming, surfing, kitesurfing, windsurfing, snorkeling, wakeboarding, bocce ball, bodysurfing, skimboarding, tide-pooling, biking, parasailing, boogie boarding, kayaking, canoeing, surf-skiing, and wildlife watching. 

This beach is popular with expert surfers because the water offers good surfing waves. Beginner surfers visit this beach in summer because the water has mellow waves during this time, while expert surfers visit during winter. In addition to surfing, kayakers also visit this beach in summer.

If you plan to swim, kayak, surf, or snorkel here, we recommend being careful because the water here has considerably dangerous waves and rip currents. If you are a beginner swimmer, we recommend being careful because the water here is known to have unpredictable rip currents and dangerous waves, especially in winters. Some portions of the beach may be restricted for visitors because dangerous sneaker waves are known to be prevalent here and they can pull unsuspecting visitors into the sea.  

This beach is ideal for visitors looking for a quieter beach experience because – despite its overall popularity – portions of this beach have fewer visitors as compared to other Vancouver Island beaches.

If you like camping, there are multiple campsites near the beach that accommodate both RVs and tents – if you are planning to camp here, please visit the Canadian Government’s website for more information about the campsites. There is a rock formation here named the Incinerator Rocks – you can explore this rock formation and also climb and sit on it at low tide. If you like tidepooling, you can explore the interesting tidepools here that are home to many sea creatures including sea stars, crabs, and anemones.  

If you like taking pictures with excellent views, Long Beach offers amazing Instagram-worthy views of the Pacific Ocean, the Vancouver Island shoreline, and nearby forests, especially at sunset. If you like bird watching, you can visit a nearby beach named Comber’s Beach which is home to many seabirds. In addition, visitors can explore a natural tunnel of Krummholz trees near Comber’s Beach named the Krummholz Tunnel. You can also see many kinds of animals in the forest near this beach including marten, deer, bears, raccoons, and weasels. 

Long Beach offers a wheelchair-friendly access path to visitors with disabilities. In addition, it also offers accessible trash cans for disabled visitors.

Getting to Long Beach is easy – this beach is located along a major local highway named Highway 4 – which is also called the Pacific Rim Highway – and it is easily accessible from Tofino-Long Beach Airport. There are two large paid parking lots near the beach – you can visit the Canadian government’s website for more information about the parking fees. After you park here, you can easily walk to the beach through access trails.  

If you are planning to visit this beach in winter, we recommend checking local weather reports because the weather here can sometimes get stormy.

The area around Long Beach was earlier inhabited by the Native American Nuu-chah-nulth people.

There are many attractions near Long Beach within a 25-minute drive.  Rainforest Trail is actually a set of two hiking trails that offers a fun way to explore an ancient forest – this trail has boardwalks, and it offers an insight into the vibrant flora and fauna of Vancouver Island. Tonquin Beach is a rock-and-sand beach that has many fun activities including sunbathing, beachcombing, picnicking, hiking, and wildlife watching. This beach offers amazing views of the Pacific Ocean at sunset and the trails around it offer a fun hiking experience. If you like golf, Long Beach Golf Course is a nine-hole golf course that offers a fun and challenging golf experience. In addition, it also offers a driving range, sports simulators, and a mini-golf course. Canso Plane Crash Site is a historic site that has remains of a World War Two-era Canadian plane that crashed here in 1945. While the trail to this site is moderately strenuous and muddy, the wreckage of the plane here is remarkably well-preserved. Kennedy Lake Provincial Park is a lakefront park that has a beach named Kennedy Lake Provincial Park Beach. In addition, it also offers many amenities including picnic areas, restrooms, and a boat launch area – it offers many activities including windsurfing, kayaking, canoeing, and fishing. If you are looking for another attraction near this beach, Amphitrite Point Lighthouse is a lighthouse that was built in 1915 and was named after the Greek goddess Amphitrite. There are hiking trails near this lighthouse that offer a fun experience, along with amazing views of the Pacific Ocean.

If you get hungry, there are many great nearby options within a 20-minute-drive.  Surfside Grill offers delicious burgers, tacos, sandwiches, breakfast dishes, soups, and salads. Wolf in the Fog offers a variety of excellent gourmet dishes including seafood, pasta, steaks, and Peruvian-style fried chicken – it also offers refreshing alcoholic beverages. Howler’s Restaurant is a family-friendly restaurant that offers a variety of excellent dishes including steaks, salads, chicken dishes, seafood and burgers – it also offers fun games including pinball, billiards, and bowling. Shed – also called Shed Restaurant – offers many outstanding dishes including burgers, poke bowls, salads, and desserts.  Lil' Ronnie's Beachside BBQ offers many amazing barbecued meats including turkey, pulled pork, ribs, and brisket, along with a variety of side dishes – it also hosts live music performances. If you are looking for another good and affordable nearby restaurant, Tacofino is a food truck offering a variety of excellent Mexican dishes including burritos, tacos, and grilled chicken.

If you are looking for a hotel near Long Beach, there are many great nearby options. The 4-Star Long Beach Lodge Resort is a Long Beach Resort Tofino that offers many amenities including a hot tub, a sauna, an exercise room, surfboard rental facilities, fire pits, a gazebo, barbecue areas, a gift shop, and multiple restaurants. The 4-Star Canadian Princess Lodge & Marina is another upscale hotel that offers many amenities including a communal kitchen, a marina, outdoor sitting areas, and gardens. Another great hotel is the 3.5-Star Hotel Zed that offers many amenities including a lounge, watersports equipment rentals, showers, a terrace, a hot tub, a sauna, a restaurant, a coffee shop, a playground, a gaming arcade, an entertainment room, a spa, and a disco room. A more affordable hotel is the 3.5-Star Best Western Plus Tin Wis Resort that offers many amenities including a hot tub, a fire pit, barbecue areas, and complimentary breakfast. If you are looking for another good and affordable nearby hotel, the 3-Star Pacific Sands Beach Resort offers many amenities including a seasonal kids’ club, bike and surfboard loaner facilities, a DVD library, barbecue area, firepits, massage services, multiple restaurants, and a grocery store.