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Pronunciation : you-clue-let

Ucluelet is a  First Nations word meaning safe harbour. British Columbia’s recorded history began with European explorers searching for the legendary Northwest Passage to the Orient.

100Km North of Ucluelet, Captain James Cook first landed at Nootka in 1778 while searching for the Northwest Passage to the Orient. In the years to come Captain James Barkley landed near Ucluelet in the Barkley Sound. He was looking to get Sea Otter Pelts. The fur sealers settled in the area around 1870 and a trading post was established in Ucluelet. Soon many more settlers  were arriving, (1890's) with the hopes of finding gold and great fishing.

Gold was found on Florencia Bay but turned out to be not profitable. This didn't stop the town from growing. A mission house, Doctor and more filled the town.

During World War II the government established a seaplane base in Ucluelet and a land base at Long Beach to protect Vancouver Island from potential invasions.

A road to Tofino was completed (it took over 30 years ), and then in 1959 the road to Port Alberni was finished.  Ucluelet became incorporated in 1952 , and then in 1997 changed
status to a District