Love taking the road last travelled? You’ll be rewarded with quite the experience if you choose to visit Maquinna Marine Park on the southern tip of Vancouver Island, which is home to an ancient cove with natural mineral hot springs.

The hot springs

Accessible via a two-kilometre nature trail on a cedar boardwalk, the geothermal hot springs cascade down a waterfall into six rocky pools, according to BC Parks. From there, the mineral waters flow from one pool to the next, gradually cooling as the ocean water mixes with the fresh spring waters.

Interpretive signs along the boardwalk trail guide your journey to Hot Springs Cove (Mux̣šiƛa hot springs), which has taken thousands of years to form.

hot springs cove Maquinna Marine Park british columbia
Photo via Tourism Tofino

To get to the park, visitors can fly 30 minutes from Tofino or take a 1.5-hour boat across the scenic Clayoquot Sound, spotting foraging black bears, sea otters, and flukes of humpback whales along the way.

Tourism Tofino recommends wearing sandals with straps or water shoes on the 30-minute boardwalk trail, especially as weather conditions make the path more slippery.

Day-use fees

Note that BC Parks charges a $3 per person for day-use access to Maquinna Park. In addition, MHSS (park operator) has established the Ahousaht Stewardship Fund as a way for visitors to financially support the work of the Ha’wiłh, Stewardship Guardians, Biologists and MHSS in carrying out the Ha’wiłh’s ancestral responsibilities.

While this fund is voluntary, visitors are encouraged to donate $15 per person per day for access to the park and hot springs (including the $3 BC parks fee)

So there you have it, BC! This remote adventure is certainly worth the journey.

Happy relaxing!

Hot Springs Cove at Maquinna Marine Park

How to get there: Take the ferry from Twassawan to Swartz Bay and drive four hours to Tofino (or three hours from Nanaimo). Take a 30-minute flight or 1.5-hour boat ride to Maquinna Marine Park and walk 2 kilometres on the boardwalk trail from the head of the dock to the hot springs.

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Isabelle Vauclair

Staff Writer, Vancouver – Isabelle is a West Coast native with an appreciation for Vancouver’s natural landscape, patio scene, and community spaces. She loves to discover new hidden gems in her neighbourhood and share them with readers across the city.

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