Enjoy front row seats to nature's greatest waterpark

40-plus years of sun, fun, surf, and the good life

Only Pacific Sands Beach Resort can take you this close to spectacular Cox Bay on Vancouver Island. Spend some time on the edge of Pacific Rim National Park, just a short scenic drive from Long Beach and the charming, seaside village of Tofino. Our guests have revered and returned to Pacific Sands for decades. Maybe it’s the s’mores and board-games around our gazebo. It could be the best surfing in Canada, or sunset boardwalk strolls to Pettinger Point. Others say it’s just the ocean air as you relax on your private deck enjoying a home-cooked meal from your fully-equipped kitchen or at one of Tofino’s many local restaurants. Our guests come from nearly everywhere for year round activities, summer fishing, whale-watching and golf, winter storm watching, and all season beachcombing. Pacific Sands Beach Resort is nestled in old-growth forests and powered by the beat of relentlessly pounding surf. Offering a range of beachfront and ocean view accommodations steps from the beach, it’s the perfect convergence of land, sea, and simple pleasures.

Family First: The history of Pacific Sands Beach Resort

In 1972, Bill Pettinger—a real estate developing visionary, risk taker, and lover of the land—found his next bet when his brother Barry called about an ad for a motel in Tofino, British Columbia. Which at the time, was a  little-known area on the west coast of Vancouver Island.

Six hair-raising hours later (now far less) they laid eyes on Pacific Paradise Motel and breathtaking Cox Bay for the first time. The rest is—as they say—history. The property would become Pacific Sands Beach Resort. The family rolled up their sleeves, methodically and lovingly growing the resort to 77 beach houses and suites.

In 2015—after almost 42 years of friends, family, and legendary stories—the Pettingers passed ownership to Gordon Nelson Inc., another family-run resort operator with a passion for Tofino, already owners of nearby neighbour Ocean Village. With a vision for ‘staged development’ that embraces Pacific Sands unique setting, the new team looks forward to carrying on the resort’s rich legacy, greeting the many loyal guests who come back year after year, and helping to create new generations of memories and stories.