Pacific Sands Beach Resort

Set on Cox Bay, one of the best surf spots in Canada, the Pacific Sands resort offers one- bedroom suites and two-story beach houses with fireplaces and bay-view patios. If you forgot your raincoat or rubber boots (two must-haves in Tofino, which receives 100 inches of rain per year), don’t worry. The resort stocks them in every room. From $144. (250) 725-3322. This appeared in the August/September 2013 issue.

In winter, most beaches are ghostly shells of their summer selves, but not the ones in Tofino, British Columbia, on the extreme west coast of Vancouver Island. “Storm watching” has become an inclement weather pursuit, one we had hoped to experience on a January visit. Instead of rogue waves dumping bull kelp, seashells and driftwood ashore, this sunset stunner drew onlookers out of their beachside retreats. At last light on Cox Bay beach, a lone surfer splashed through the waves, board under arm, to catch “just one more.”