​Hot Springs Tours departing from Tofino go regularly to Hot Springs Cove, located in Maquinna Marine Provincial Park. This idyllic setting is located 27 nautical miles northwest of Tofino, or roughly one and a half hours. Home of the Hesquiaht people, this area is also home to a natural hot springs that bubbles up from a crack in the earth. The springs are located at the end of a boardwalk forest walk. The simmering sulfur water flows as a gentle brook and then cascades as a waterfall into five natural interconnected pools. It’s the most incredible meeting of the cold ocean with a naturally heated hot spring.
Getting there from Tofino is half the fun. A number of different tour operators offer transportation via water or air. Most of these tours usually include whale watching, bird watching and other eco-interpretive activities along the way. Once at the dock it’s a 30-minute hike to the hot springs. You can also take a floatplane from Tofino harbour to Hot Springs harbour and do some sightseeing along the way.

Hesquiaht Peninsula Provincial Park occupies most of the eastern shore of Nootka Sound and is where Cougar Annie’s Garden is located. A significant area for hiking, boating and sea kayaking, this remote area is without facilities and recommended only for experienced outdoors campers and kayakers. You can take a boat or plane from Tofino to visit Cougar Annie’s Garden on a day trip. Early 20th century homesteader Ada Annie pre-empted this land, bore 8 of her 11 children here and carved a magical garden out of the wilderness. This is the only wilderness homestead that endured in Clayoquot Sound. The five-acre garden and heritage site is now managed by the Boat Basin Foundation. The foundation conducts tours of the garden, visit www.boatbasin.org. Marvel at the amount of work it would have taken to clear this plot from rainforest using no modern machinery at all. A visit to Cougar Annie’s garden is unforgettable! ​