About Clayoquot Wild
Clayoquot Wild is a First Nations-owned and family-operated wildlife tour company based on Main Street in Tofino, offering intimate whale watching, bear watching, and Hot Springs Cove excursions led by guides with deep cultural ties to Clayoquot Sound. Since 1999, skipper Michael White — a lifetime Tofino resident — has piloted visitors through the inlets and passages he grew up navigating.
Their bear and wildlife tour is timed to low tides when black bears forage along the shoreline, and guides share First Nations ecological knowledge alongside the wildlife viewing. The Hot Springs Cove excursion combines a scenic ocean cruise through Clayoquot Sound with wildlife spotting en route, a rainforest boardwalk hike, and time soaking in the natural geothermal pools. Whale watching trips target grey whales, humpbacks, and transient orca depending on the season.
What distinguishes Clayoquot Wild from the larger tour operators is the personal, cultural interpretation woven into every trip. Guides explain the Nuu-chah-nulth relationship with the land and sea, the history of Meares Island as a protected Tribal Park, and the ecological significance of the old-growth forests surrounding the Sound. It is a more intimate, story-driven experience than the big-fleet operators can typically provide.
