Logging Roads Near Tofino and Ucluelet in Winter - A Small Adventure and Some History
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- Опубліковано 9 лют 2025
- We usually only see snow around Ucluelet and Tofino for a few days every winter. When it comes many people stoke the fireplace and settle. Lots of us don't even have snow shovels and are pretty content to stay warm, indoors and wait for warmer weather and rain to wash the snow away.
We decided to get 3 cars, 8 adults, 1 4 year old and 2 dogs and hit some of the logging roads in the area to try to visit a particular waterfall. A personal emergency drew one of the vehicles home early on but the rest of us continued further up the road, challenging our friend Jen in her stock Subaru to keep up with the custom Isuzu overlander... which she did quite impressively. Eventually though, with snowfall returning and temperatures dropping we opted to turn around 10k short of our destination. Without suitable tools the concern that a tree weighed down by ice and snow might block the road behind us was enough to convince us to take it easy.
On the way back, closer to home we stopped at one of the region's many logging road bridges and had a little picnic. Bonding over our mini adventure and discussing the next one. While there I began thinking about the history of the logging roads and what role they play in the making of the region... So, when I got home I did a little reading;
Before colonization for centuries the water flowing under these bridges was part of the transportation network for the region's First Nations' People who would use the mixture of inlets, lakes and rivers to navigate by canoe more safely than they could on the open coast.
The road we now know now as highway 4, at least the bit from Port Alberni to the coast was built in the late 50s as a gravel logging road. Around that time Port Alberni became a boom town of sorts and, in addition to logging it created the access that lead to other industries flourishing out here, boosting the fishing fleet and increasing tourism. Before that most visitors to the region would arrive by boat with only a few rough tracks and few ground vehicles to connect various locations.
The gravel road was paved in the early 70's, coinciding with the opening of the Pacific Rim National Park further opening up the region to tourist and potential new residents.
In the 80's and 90's large scale logging protests, many of which took place on these roads and bridges, brought significant international attention to the region's ecological uniqueness, economic potential and the status of it's First Nations People. This led to the founding of the Tla-o-qui-aht Tribal Park program, re-assessing government-First Nations relationships, new protected status from some parts of the region and even greater tourism.
Today logging still continues on Vancouver Island, occasionally on these very roads. They still do what they were built to do... bring trucks in and trees out but they also provide alternative routes when the highway is closed. They give some remote communities a lifeline when the seas aren't navigable. They give us access to lakes, rivers and inlets that might otherwise be unreachable, allowing us to have adventures like this.
Locally you'll find people have passionate positions on all the historical moments these roads represent. Some who were on the front line in the protests, some who still cut down the trees... others who just want the power to manage, maintain and benefit from the land their people have lived on and cared for for millennia. Some that would say we'd be better off if none of these roads were ever built.
I'm sort-of stuck in the middle I guess... I like the roads because they let me see why it's so import to be thoughtful when deciding the fate of the places and people just off the highway or on the far side of a distant mountain.
We lived in Ucluelet in 1962 that year the first mile of pavement was put in through town. The only way to get to Ucluelet from Port Alberni was logging road, an all day affair. Love your videos thanks!
Killer job!
Great vid...love the drone shots. The totem shot was very cool too!
Such interesting information. Thanks for the research.
I didn't even make AI do it :P
Visited Uclulet/Tofino 4/5 times with kids! The waves are spectacular and Uclulet lava rocky beacches are amazing! Hiked on the lava rocky beaches with family in the summer sunshine each time we visited (typically summer).
Long miles of amazing sand beach with huge waves in the back, yet almost nobody there - truely Canadian's Hawaii!
Even ever saw a thin black bear run acrossed the street...it looked like a big dog. Also saw bear pubs eating berried along the mountain road - we even tried to stop greeting the little ones until we was honk-warned by a passing car - probably mother bear lurked behind the thorny blackberry bush.
Stunning footage Geoff!
Thanks buddy! When are you gonna come for a visit so we can go on some adventures?
@1:50 i was just gaming with the guy who goes by jjx1000