Lake Louise or Tofino?

Tofino has real beaches, and Lake Louise has none. Long Beach, Chesterman Beach with its sandbar and the surf at Cox Bay make walking, surfing and beach fires part of every day, even though the Pacific means a thick wetsuit.

At Lake Louise the glacier-fed lakes stay icy all summer and are for canoeing and photographs, not swimming. The nearest warm dip is a lake near Banff or the hotel pool.

Tofino eats noticeably better. The seafood of Clayoquot Sound fills everything from food-truck fish tacos to West Coast tasting menus, with serious coffee and a local brewery and distillery alongside.

Lake Louise is mostly hotel dining rooms serving Alberta beef and game, a village bakery and deli, and the trail teahouses at Lake Agnes and the Plain of Six Glaciers. Anyone who cares about dinner ends up driving to Banff.

Neither place is a sightseeing destination, and both are visited for the setting. Lake Louise's heritage is railway tourism: the Chateau that grew from an 1890s log chalet and the old log station in the village. Tofino's is living Nuu-chah-nulth culture, seen in carving galleries, totems and canoes in progress, and the Kwisitis Visitor Centre at Wickaninnish Beach.

Both go quiet after dark. Lake Louise offers a hotel lounge, a lodge pub with a fireplace and après-ski drinks, with most people asleep early for sunrise or the first lift. Tofino has a little more company, with a brewery taproom and restaurant bars where surfers and seasonal workers gather in summer, but nothing goes on late.

Both are outstanding, and the difference is mountain against ocean. Lake Louise gives the slightly grander scenery: the Victoria Glacier, Moraine Lake under the Valley of the Ten Peaks, high trails to the Beehives and Larch Valley, the Icefields Parkway and Yoho over the divide, then skiing in winter.

Tofino swaps altitude for the sea and old-growth rainforest. There are boardwalks among giant cedars, the Big Tree Trail on Meares Island, kayaking in Clayoquot Sound, grey whales, sea otters and year-round surf, and its walking is gentler and less steep.

Lake Louise has more places to go. Banff is under an hour away for museums, the Banff Springs hotel and Cave and Basin, Canmore and Field are easy stops, and Calgary is within reach for a city day.

From Tofino, the only real excursion by land is Ucluelet's lighthouse loop and small aquarium. Beyond that, outings mean boats into Clayoquot Sound, because the rest of Vancouver Island lies over a long mountain road.

Tofino is the easier family base. Tide pools, driftwood forts, child-sized surf wetsuits and short boardwalks keep younger children busy at sea level, and beach cabins and campgrounds make it a classic Canadian summer stay.

Lake Louise works best with older children who walk willingly: canoeing, the gondola and the hike to Lake Agnes, with ski lessons in winter. In both places rainy days are hard to fill, but the cold high trails and long drives here ask more of small legs.

Lake Louise is the harder of the two to get around. Its famous lakes sit well above and beyond the village, too far and too steep for a casual walk or ride. In summer most people rely on the park shuttles or the bus from Banff. The Icefields Parkway, Yoho and Banff itself call for a car, with proper tyres in winter.

Tofino keeps things on the level. Its beaches and park trailheads line a single highway south of the village, with a paved path alongside, so on a dry day a hired bike reaches much of what you came for. The best outings, to Meares Island or Hot Springs Cove, leave by water taxi, boat or floatplane.

Tofino gives shoppers more reason to browse, mainly for its galleries of Nuu-chah-nulth carving, silver jewellery and West Coast prints, plus surf shops and beach-town boutiques. Lake Louise has a small village mall for gear, groceries and souvenirs, and a few boutiques in the Chateau, and that is about it.

Both are costly remote resorts, and Tofino is only slightly less so. Its cheapest stretch is the wet season from November to March, and beaches and park trails cost little once you are there.

Lake Louise has few beds and some of the steepest summer room rates in the country, with park passes and gondola or lift tickets on top. The usual workaround is to sleep in Banff or Canmore, or at the hostel or campground.

Neither has a stage worth planning around. Lake Louise might offer a pianist in a hotel lounge, and real concerts mean the arts centre in Banff. Tofino's equivalent is a local band at the pub or brewery and a few small community festivals in summer.

Tofino is the more restful choice. Its pace is set by tides and weather, the resort spas use seaweed and cedar, and yoga and small retreats are easy to find. Hot Springs Cove, where geothermal pools spill into the sea, makes a memorable day out by boat or floatplane.

Lake Louise offers hotel spas and a deep winter hush, but its lakeshores fill with coaches in high summer. The nearest hot springs are on Sulphur Mountain in Banff.