Tofino Webcam – Check the Surf at Chesterman and tinwis

The Tofino Webcam looks out from Ocean Village Resort onto tinwis, the beach south of Tofino that many maps still label MacKenzie Beach, on the west coast of Vancouver Island in British Columbia. The camera sits behind a band of low shrubs at the top of the sand, and the frame runs from those bushes across the beach to the surf line and a row of small rocky islets offshore. Surfers in wetsuits carry boards down to the water, walkers follow the tide line, and on wet days the islets fade into fog. Two more cameras sit in the tabs. Crystal Cove Beach Resort looks down its lawn, past a pair of blue Adirondack chairs, to a rocky cove on the same beach, and the Wickaninnish Inn watches swell break over the rocks at North Chesterman Beach.

About Tofino

Tofino sits at the tip of the Esowista Peninsula, on the southern edge of Clayoquot Sound, where Highway 4 from Port Alberni runs out at the Pacific. The 2021 census counted 2,516 residents. The name comes from Tofino Inlet, which the Spanish explorers Galiano and Valdes named in 1792 after Admiral Vicente Tofino de San Miguel. The town was incorporated in 1932.

The main camera’s beach changed its official name recently. On May 15, 2025, the BC Geographical Names Office adopted tinwis, pronounced ti-nu-wis, at the request of the Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation, replacing MacKenzie Beach, the name on the maps since 1975. The word means “calm beach” in the Tla-o-qui-aht language. Ocean Village calls itself Tofino’s original beachfront resort, and its cedar cabins went up in 1976, built from timber cut on the property. Crystal Cove Beach Resort, which runs the cove camera, is on the same beach about five minutes from town, with log cabins and sixty wooded RV sites.

Chesterman Beach, home of the Wickaninnish Inn, runs 2.7 kilometers (1.7 miles). A tombolo, a sandbar that surfaces at low tide, splits it into North and South Chesterman and joins it to Frank Island. The inn mounted its camera on top of The Pointe Restaurant, so the lens looks straight down onto dark rocks and white water before the view opens out toward the forested shore of North Chesterman.

Weather and Climate in Tofino

Tofino stays mild all year. Normals for Tofino-Long Beach Airport from 1981 to 2010 put August highest, at 19.1°C (66°F) by day and 10.8°C (51°F) at night, and September still reaches 17.8°C (64°F). Spring warms slowly, from 11.9°C (53°F) in April to 14.5°C (58°F) in May, and autumn cools from 13.6°C (56°F) in October to 10.0°C (50°F) in November. January averages 8.3°C (47°F) by day and 2.3°C (36°F) at night, and the year as a whole averages 9.5°C (49°F).

Rain decides what the cameras show. The airport records 3,270.7 millimeters (128.8 inches) a year, with November the wettest month at 492.1 millimeters (19.4 inches) and July the driest at 71.0 millimeters (2.8 inches). Through the wet months the frames are often grey, the islets off tinwis can vanish into fog, and rain beads on the Chesterman lens while heavy swell piles onto the rocks, the season local resorts sell as storm watching. July and August, the warmest and driest stretch, give the best chance of blue water and sharp outlines on the islets.

Things to Do Near Tofino

The beaches come first. At low tide you can walk the Chesterman tombolo toward Frank Island and look into tide pools with sea stars and anemones, but the island is private, so the walk ends at the sand. Cox Bay is a 1.5 kilometer (0.9 mile) surf beach, and Long Beach runs 16 kilometers (9.9 miles) inside Pacific Rim National Park Reserve. For storm watching, Tourism Tofino points to the volcanic rock formations at Incinerator Rock and Lovekin Rock.

Several short trails start close by. The Tonquin Trail begins less than a kilometer (0.6 miles) from the center of Tofino and leads to Tonquin Beach, where tide pools appear along the rocky edges at low tide. The Rainforest Trail has two loops of about 1 kilometer (0.6 miles) each, and the Shorepine Bog Trail is an 800 meter (0.5 mile) loop. Farther out, the Big Tree Trail on Meares Island follows a 2.4 kilometer (1.5 mile) boardwalk or a 4.2 kilometer (2.6 mile) loop, and a 2 kilometer (1.2 mile) cedar boardwalk leads to Hot Springs Cove in Maquinna Provincial Marine Park.

Similar Webcams You Might Like

Three more cameras around Tofino, from the surf at Cox Bay to the boats in the harbor.

• Cox Bay Webcam
• MacKenzie Beach Webcam
• Tofino Harbour Webcam

Frequently Asked Questions

What can you see on the Tofino Webcam?

The main camera looks from Ocean Village Resort across tinwis, formerly MacKenzie Beach, to the surf and the small rocky islets offshore, with surfers and walkers on the sand. The Crystal Cove tab looks down a resort lawn to a rocky cove on the same beach, and the Chesterman Beach tab shows waves breaking over the rocks below the Wickaninnish Inn.

Where is Tofino located?

Tofino is on the west coast of Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada, at the tip of the Esowista Peninsula and the western end of Highway 4. The main camera’s beach lies on the west side of the peninsula, south of town.

Does the Tofino Webcam show downtown Tofino or Cox Bay?

No. All three cameras look at tinwis and Chesterman Beach, not the town center, the harbor or Cox Bay. The harbor and Cox Bay each have a camera of their own, listed above.

Is there a Chesterman Beach webcam?

Yes. The Chesterman Beach tab is the Wickaninnish Inn’s own camera, mounted on top of The Pointe Restaurant and aimed at North Chesterman Beach. It shows the rocks and surf below the restaurant and the shore beyond.

Can you check the surf in Tofino on this webcam?

Yes, as a visual check. The main camera shows the break at tinwis and whether surfers are out, and the Chesterman tab shows how hard the swell is hitting the rocks. Neither gives wave heights, so pair the picture with a surf forecast before paddling out.

What is the weather like in Tofino?

Mild and very wet. August averages 19.1°C (66°F) by day and January 8.3°C (47°F), and about 3,270.7 millimeters (128.8 inches) of rain falls in a year, most heavily in November.

Why is MacKenzie Beach now called tinwis?

The Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation asked for the change, and the BC Geographical Names Office made tinwis official on May 15, 2025. The word means “calm beach”, and it was the Nation’s name for the place for many generations before MacKenzie Beach was adopted in 1975.

Can you walk to Frank Island from Chesterman Beach?

Only partway. A tombolo connects Chesterman Beach to Frank Island at low tide, but the island is privately owned and open to residents only, so the walk ends at the sand. Head back before the tide covers the bar again.

Source: Ocean Village Resort, Crystal Cove Beach Resort and Wickaninnish Inn