Playground for kids with a slide, swings and a wooden fort — Village Green Playground
Kyler Vos

Activities & Adventures Parks & Gardens

While we consider the entire peninsula here along the West Coast a playground for adventure, there are also parks and playgrounds for young and young-at-heart to enjoy.

Pack a picnic or order some food to go. Let the kids run and play while you enjoy the views of the harbour. Tofino has playgrounds, Pacific Rim National Park Reserve, and 3 parks nearby.

Folks picnicking, chatting and admiring the view looking out to Meares Island at Anchor Park at sunset. — Kyler Vos

Green spaces in town

Come take a break, have a bite, play, or enjoy the view at a green space in the centre of Tofino.

Person looking at the large anchor on the lawn of the park

Anchor Park

Also known as the Third Street lookout, the first thing you will notice here is the totem pole at the center, gifted to the community by Tla-o-qui-aht artist and carver, Joe David. Overlooking Meares Island Tribal Park, and the community of Opitsaht, the totem honours the ƛaʔuukʷiatḥ Ha’wiih (Tla-o-qui-aht Hereditary Chiefs) and their spiritual and physical stewardship of the Hahuulthi. The namesake for the park comes from the historic anchor on-site, calling attention to Tofino’s nautical history.

Child playing ping pong at an outdoor ping pong table.

Centennial Park

A small park at the corner of First St and Arnet Rd, this space features a basketball court, ping pong table, a play structure and a covered picnic area. There is also a historic anchor here. Part of the park is currently under construction and the bocce court is currently unavailable. This is a great spot to break up the walk from the town centre on the way to Tonquin Beach.

Wooden playground with a fort like a pirate ship, swings and a slide

Village Green & Playground

The Village Green is the main community gathering hub in summer and is host to the Tofino Market, summer concert series, and Tofino Jazz Festival. There is a picnic area, a gazebo, the adjacent Tuff City Skate Park, and the new pirate ship play structure. The Weeping Cedar Woman statue looks over the playground. Her imposing presence was created in 1984 by Godfrey Stephens to support the first protests against the logging of old growth rainforests on Meares Island.

Rhododendrons in bloom alongside the road

Gibson’s Garden

While there aren’t traditional public gardens, beautifully curated grounds and flowers exist throughout Tofino. In the 1970s, longtime resident Ken Gibson began planting rhododendrons prolifically over the hillside of his property. You can still see this hillside, covered with colourful varieties of towering rhododendron trees in May, along Fourth St. between Neil St. and Gibson St. Please view from the street respectfully as this is a private residential property.

Mother and child walking on a wooden boardwalk

Engraving in wood that reads "Boat Basin Farm, Est. 1915."

Cougar Annie’s garden

Approximately 2 hours by boat from Tofino Harbour, in Hesquiaht territory, homesteader Ada Annie Rae-Arthur, her first of 4 husbands and children began the Boat Basin Farm in 1915. She cleared the land and established a garden, post office, and fur trade, and is said to have shot over 50 cougars for bounty payments - making her Cougar Annie. Since her passing in 1985, the garden has been restored and maintained by the Boat Basin Foundation. Visit as a group day trip or stay at the off-grid Temperate Rainforest Field Study Centre cabins.

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