Before you go, be sure you have everything you need for your trip into the Sound. The Company Store sells a full range of dry bags, Patagonia clothing, Teva sandals, knives, lighters, flashlights, compasses, Bushnell waterproof binoculars, film, Bolle & Ryder sunglasses and more.
Wildside Booksellers & the End of the Road Espresso Bar
Wildside Booksellers offers travellers and local residents quality guide books and the very best of regional, national and international fiction and non-fiction, as well as opportunities to meet visiting authors! This tiny bookstore generates considerable excitement from readers who can be heard to exclaim, "I want to read every book in this store!" or "This is my favourite bookstore anywhere!"
Our Feature Books
Kayak Routes of the Pacific Northwest Coast
by Peter McGee forward by John Dowd
Explore the Pacific Northwest Coast by Kayak with this insiders' guide to more than 40 trips in 18 regions from Oregon to British Columbia. Written by experienced paddlers who know the ins and outs of their local waterways, this completely revised and updated edition features 6 entirely new trips on the historic Lower Columbia River, in rugged Queen Charlotte Strait and on the remote Central Coast. Whether you are a beginner or an expert paddler, this essential volume will lead you to the best of the hidden coves and wild shores, the abundant shorebirds and the spectacular marine life that make the Pacific Northwest a world-class paddling destination.
Sea Kayak Strokes: A Guide to Efficient Paddling Skills
by Doug Alderson
Sea Kayak Strokes is a concise manual for learning and improving paddling skills. Alderson's tips will help you paddle faster and with less effort, turn your kayak with greater ease, and keep your head above water using quick and effective bracing techniques. Learn to save your energy and keep your kayak moving when waves and current are trying to push you around.
Sea Kayak Strokes is a teaching and learning guide with sensible text and clear illustrations-an invaluable resource for paddlers and instructors.
Journeys: Stories From Clayoquot Sound
by Frank Harper
Frank's powerful and evocative writing carries us from existential quest to tragedy to rollicking adventure in his book of stories. Frank is no stranger to unspeakable tragedy, but is brave enough to speak of it. Thankfully, he is no stranger to comedy either and is generous enough to share that with us too. The spirit of each story is remarkably and consistently reflected in the rich illustrations by Joanna Streetly. If you love this place, you'll like this book. Frank may have left the academy, but he has never stopped teaching us who we are and how we can create our own culture and sense of identity. He has delighted us in the past with stories of others (including Fred Tibbs and Cougar Annie) and now gives us, in one beautiful little package, part of his own story.
The Golden Spruce: A True Story of Myth, Madness and Greed
by John Vaillant
A tree with luminous glowing needles, the golden spruce was unique, a mystery that biologically speaking should never have reached maturity; Grant Hadwin, the man who cut it down, was passionate, extraordinarily well-suited to wilderness survival, and to some degree unbalanced. But as John Vaillant shows in this gripping and perceptive book, the extraordinary tree stood at the intersection of contradictory ways of looking at the world; the conflict between them is one reason it was destroyed. Taking in history, geography, science and spirituality, this book raises some of the most pressing questions facing society today.
Paddler's Inn -- www.tofinopaddlersinn.com
Located on the waterfront overlooking Meares Island and Tofino Harbour, the Paddler's Inn offers attractive and comfortable rooms at the most reasonable prices in town.
The five rooms are bright and very clean. They have double or single futon beds with 100% cotton sheeting and comforter covers. Our deluxe continental breakfast is self-serve in our common kitchen/dining room. There are two shared bathrooms with shower. Rates: Water-side: $89/dbl occupancy, $79/sgl. Street-side: $79/dbl occupancy, $69/sgl. Entire B & B Rental is $375.00 per night. There is an additional 10% HRT and 5% GST.
About the store
The Company Store, Wildside Booksellers and the End of the Road Espresso Bar are located on a waterfront property that was, in the early 1920s, the home of the original Tofino Hotel. The building was saved from continuing neglect and renovated to become the Paddler's Inn, a modest B&B located above the Company Store.
