At Tofino’s Surf Grove Campground, the sky is overcast, the sound of crashing waves a steady roar through the trees. We back the RV into our campsite, already more comfortable with manoeuvring the vehicle. Cox Bay is just 200 m away, one of several big-wave beaches that attract surfers year-round to the wild West Coast.

But surfing isn’t the only draw. Over the past few decades, the area’s popularity as a destination for experiencing pristine wilderness, elevated culinary experiences, Indigenous-led ecotourism and innovative sustainability practices has grown — yet the area still feels remote and largely untouched.

We experience this first-hand with Ahous Adventures, an Ahousaht Nation–run company offering cultural and wilderness tours of their ancestral lands. Speedboating over the water to Hot Springs Cove, our guide Aaron periodically cuts the motor to point out our surroundings and share his deep knowledge of the local wildlife — sea otters drifting on their backs, sea lions sunning themselves on rocks, and even a few grey whales, feeding and diving in Clayoquot Sound on their spring migration north.

At Hot Springs Cove, a boardwalk winds through dense coastal rainforest to the springs, a series of small natural pools with steam rising between the rocks. We change into our bathing suits and our group slips in, one by one, sighing with pleasure. The sky is brilliant blue, and we have the pools to ourselves for a blissful hour.

By late afternoon, we’re exhausted but elated from a day on the water. Back at our site, we’re about to make a campfire and settle in for the evening when we notice the orange sky through the trees. We race down to the beach to watch the clouds turn from brilliant orange to pink and purple, the silhouettes of wetsuited surfers bobbing between the waves. It’s a moment of pure Tofino magic.