A small garter snake slithers across the path, stopping us in our tracks, before it finds refuge in the salal and underbrush at the side. Just another welcome pause – giving us reason again to gape at the giant Pacific waves crashing on the rugged shoreline beyond.

The ocean is such a deep blue, the sun so warm and the black rocks look so much like lava that we’re reminded of the big island of Hawaii. But we’re walking along the Wild Pacific Trail on the west coast of Vancouver Island, and we’ve come to tromp this and other trails around the up-and-coming village of Ucluelet and neighboring Tofino.

Until recently, Ucluelet, with a population of some 1,700 permanent residents, was the ugly sister to Tofino. Tofino is known for its deluxe lodges; two main Ucluelet resorts have never caught on. Tofino has glorious beaches; Ucluelet has none.

Tofino is a thriving tourist retreat with native art galleries, surfing, whale watching, gourmet restaurants and winter storm watching to delight visitors; Ucluelet still needs to shrug off its reputation as a sleepy commercial fishing town to boost its tourism cachet.

But that’s changing. Colorful blooms of newly planted rhododendrons now brighten the roadside of the five-mile drive into Ucluelet, which is lined with B&Bs tucked away in the forest and perched overlooking Ucluelet Inlet.

And in town, there are new pottery and gift stores, sportfishing centers, coffeehouses and sea kayaking outfitters. Ucluelet is growing up and getting prettier, and people are taking notice.

The creation of the Wild Pacific Trail, in particular, has lured many visitors to Ucluelet. On a previous trip, we had walked the first phase of the trail built by the town. The 30- to 45-minute, gravel-surfaced loop at the tip of Ucluelet – easy for kids – skirts the shoreline around the Amphitrite lighthouse and offers dramatic views of the ocean’s fury.

This time, we wanted to explore the new extension. The new 2.5-mile, one-way route (phases three and four of the planned seven-phase trail) also winds along the ocean’s edge, but is wilder and, if possible, even more stunning.

Second-generation cedars growing out of thick fallen logs form weird tree formations. Eagles soar overhead. And at every turn, there is the immense ocean – and often a stone bench from which to sit and drink in the views.

The trail pops out at the highway. From there, we strolled back another mile or so into town along the bike path, stopping for tea and homemade strawberry-rhubarb pie at the Matterson Tea House.

It wasn’t exactly strenuous, but the day’s outing did provide a good excuse for a different West Coast experience.

“Join me in the hot tub,” I invited my husband upon returning to our cottage. “And bring out a couple of glasses of wine.”

We were staying at Long Beach Lodge, near Tofino. In addition to guest rooms, the lodge has upscale two-bedroom/two-bathroom cottages in the forest, each with its own private hot tub.

The lodge also boasts a popular “great room,” surrounded by glass walls on three sides overlooking the ocean, and furnished with overstuffed couches and cozy games tables. You can enjoy full dinners as well as light meals here, but that evening we noshed on curry cornmeal-crusted oysters and succulent halibut in the adjacent restaurant instead.

Every so often, a diner would jump up to snap photos of the setting sun on the surf, suffused with rays of gold and pink.

The next day, we decided on the Nuu-chah-nulth Trail in nearby Pacific Rim National Park. The focal point of the park, the sands of Long Beach, extend almost seven miles along Wickaninnish Bay (named after the chief of the Clayoquot people at the time of European contact in the 1770s).

The Pacific Rim Highway runs parallel to the beach. From off the highway, the Nuu-chah-nulth Trail is one of eight short easy hikes, many of which end at the beach.

Following the cedar boardwalk trail through the forest, we passed illustrated interpretive signs about the cultural and natural history of the First Nations people who’ve lived here for millennia. One sign, for example, explains that the Western red cedar is the “tree of life” because its inner bark can be woven into cradles, diapers, clothing and food baskets.

But we didn’t get too far before detouring to the scalloped cove of South Beach. The sun was shining and the surf was pounding the black pebble beach. There was only one thing to do – and that was to lay out, eat our sandwiches and, for me, to bone up on the modern-day Hollywood history of Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes in the latest People magazine I’d bought on the ferry to the island.

Back on the trail, I jokingly asked a family who passed us if they’d seen any bears.

“Not today, but we saw a mother and cub right here yesterday!” exclaimed the husband. Not the answer we wanted.

But the parks guide at the Wickaninnish interpretive center, which marks the end (or beginning) of the Nuu-chah-nulth Trail, reassured us that the five or so black bears which inhabit the area were harmless so long as we took the usual precautions. Still, I bought a loud bear bell, which jingled merrily from my backpack on our return walk.

What’s nice about all these trails is that you can enjoy them even when it rains (Long Beach Lodge supplies rainslickers in case you’ve forgotten to bring your own). The two rainforest loops in the national park are actually better when droplets of water hang from the vast boughs of moss and ferns, and mist envelops the centuries-old treetops.

Man cannot live by walking alone, however – at least my husband can’t. And so we also had to visit the Long Beach Golf Course.

With his clubs still in the car, George wanted to hit a bucket of balls on the driving range. I was surprised that a nine-hole course ($16.20 U.S. a round) – with a pro shop, restaurant and minigolf too – should even exist in this wilderness.

I was less surprised to discover the Tofino Botanical Gardens just a mile outside the town. The “hippie garden” fits right in with Tofino’s quirkiness, which hasn’t been squelched by the development of high-end properties.

One of Tofino’s best and most unique eateries is also found here. SoBo (short for Sophisticated Bohemian) used to operate from a purple catering truck. But after EnRoute magazine named it among the Top 10 new restaurants in Canada in 2003, shortly after it opened, business ballooned.

Now SoBo serves dinner in a pumpkin-orange farmhouse surrounded by the gardens, plucking organic greens from outside the kitchen window. Lunch is takeout from the purple truck parked out back.

The food is all tapas, or small plates, “so you get the maximum taste sensations, without getting bored,” explained Artie Ahier, who with his wife Lisa (who graduated with honors from the Culinary Institute of America) owns SoBo.

On our last night, we dined on a selection of broiled Quadra Island oysters with miso mayo and crispy pancetta, roasted beet and goat cheese salad with toasted walnuts and port wine vinaigrette, clams and mussels in a red Thai curry, grilled asparagus and Manchego cheese in a lemon thyme vinaigrette, and a superb crab cannelloni with mushrooms smothered in a white cheese sauce.

The Ahiers have also picked some of British Columbia’s nicest wines for their list by the glass. Prices too are excellent; plates range from $4 to $8 each.

But ultimately, people come to Tofino and Ucluelet for the scenery – to stroll the beaches, to kayak or fish, to surf the waves, and to walk in the temperate rainforest. And that will never change.