17. January 2012
| by
John
In case there aren’t enough exciting things to be able to do in one province, BC’s beautiful beaches and majestic mountain backdrops make for a uniquely Canadian surfing experience. Every year endless surfers catch a wave over to one of BC’s beautiful, and, to borrow a surfer term from the 80s and 90s, “bodacious” beaches.
Tofino / Long Beach
The most popular surfing destination in Canada, Tofino offers year-round surfing and boasts the highest mean temperature in Canada (if you need to convince any Canadian non-surfers you are traveling with that this is the place to vacation to, you might want to mention this fact!). Long Beach is a breathtaking 20-km stretch of beach between Ucluelet and Tofino on the west coast of Vancouver Island. Vancouver Island has a lively community of surf enthusiasts, a plethora of outdoor activities, and accommodations that range from vacation homes with indoor jacuzzis and private decks to some of the best BC cabins you can coast by, furnished with the most modern and sleek furnishings, located directly on the ocean, and surrounded by forest. The ocean temperature here hovers around 50 degrees F all year-round, and can reach up to 58 degrees F in the summer. It does, however, rain a fair bit throughout the year, so let this encourage you to wear a full body wetsuit when you’re going surfing – as Parks Canada states that the majority of people they rescue are not wearing wetsuits. On the whole, Vancouver Island has both sandy and rocky beaches, so be wary of rocky outcroppings and riptides.
Jordan River
For a more low-profile surfing experience, Jordan River is located in Juan de Fuca Provincial Park, along the West Coast Road, approximately 60 km northwest of Victoria. A well kept surfing secret, it is home to some seriously surf-avid locals, forming the Jordan River Surf Club. Though waters here are too calm for surfing in summer, and the waves here aren’t nearly as consistent or big as ones you will catch in Tofino, Jordan River and the Sooke region is a favored spot for winter surfing. On occasional feisty winter days, Pacific storms kick up the surf and draw many seasoned surfers. There are three different surfing spots at Jordan River: Sewers, Rock Piles, and The Point. A slightly longer and wider than normal board with three fins is an ideal choice for these waters, making catching and controlling waves much easier in more challenging conditions. Visitors, however, should be wary that they may not encounter surfing conditions if only visiting for a couple of days.
So reserve yourself a BC cabin, strap on your wetsuit and get ready to go surfing CUSA!
