The only significant old growth Douglas Fir stand north of Cathedral Grove
Cortes Currents
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Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - According to BC Parks, Campbell River is home to “the only significant stand of old-growth Douglas Fir north of Macmillan Provincial Park [Cathedral Grove].” Yet the city seems to be virtually oblivious to the “towering old growth Douglas Fir and Cedar trees” in the 3.5 kilometre Riverside and Old Growth Loop trails.
While only minutes from downtown, the Riverside and Old Growth Loop Trails are not listed in the ‘Top 10 things to do within one hour of Campbell River.’
A single sentence is devoted to the forest giants in the Best Trails in Elk Falls Provincial Park:
“The old-growth forests in the area are comprised of giant Western Red Cedar and Douglas Fir trees, with many in excess of 60 meters [197 feet] tall and hundreds of years old.”
They scattered throughout this section of the forest.
Elk Falls Provincial Park was created in 1940, ‘to protect rare old growth forests and related ecosystems, as well as the Elk Falls waterfall and the related canyon.’
A large number of the trees along the Riverside and Old Growth Loop Trails are more than 330 years old. Many appear to be much older.
There are five trails in Elk Falls Provincial Park:
A 0.4 km path takes visitors from the park entrance to the Millennium trail.
The Millennium Trail, connecting the Canyon View Trail (and John Hart Generating Station) to the network of trails around Elk Falls.
A 0.2 km path to Elk Falls.
The Riverside Loop Trail runs along the bank of the Campbell River. Visitors pass through large stands of old growth, as they pass Elk Falls, Deer Falls, the Dolphin Pool and Moose Falls.
The Old Growth Loop Trail takes you through even thicker concentrations of old growth
All of these paths are easy walking, but the Canyon View and Elk Falls Trails have extensive stairways.
There are some old growth trees in both the Canyon View and Millennial Trails, but they are not as numerous or as large as those above the falls.
Walking amidst these giants, one can imagine what the West Coast forests looked like before the age of industrialized logging.