You’ll definitely want to visit some of the incredible Old Growth forests on Vancouver Island. If you are on a road trip from Nanaimo to Tofino, the most famous of these groves of ancient trees is Cathedral Grove. This is a well-loved roadside attraction, and probably the busiest stop we did along this route! Still, the hustle and bustle (and the fact that these old trees can inspire so, so many people) just shows the importance of maintaining special areas like this.

Cathedral Grove Map

Cathedral Grove – the basics

Distance: 2km
Cumulative Elevation gain: Minimal
Highest Point: 225 m
Time: 40 mins – 1 hour (we recorded 35 mins moving time, but only visited the north half)
What to bring: The 10 Essentials
Facilities: There are loos at the trailhead
Dogs: Great for dogs, but you should keep them on a lead
How hard is it? Super easy. North half is wheelchair accessible.

Trees in Cathedral Grove

You’ll see giant Douglas fir, western hemlock, western cedar and a few maple trees. Some are at least 800 years old, with several trees approaching 3 meters in diameter. Some trees grow into each other so you can see the differences in the bark, like my photo below.

Western Red Cedars are British Columbia’s official tree. Their trunks are like jeans from the 70s; They flare out at the base. The bark has long ridges and is reddish-brown. If you peel back the bark a teeny bit, it will be a brighter reddish-brown underneath. The leaves are spread out on the twigs in flat, fan-like swooshes. They also have a lovely smell.

Douglas Firs are also huge (up to 85m!), but their bark is dark brown and looks much thicker with irregular, thick ridges. When they grow massive, they end up with a long branch-free trunk with their canopy up high, a bit like a giant toilet brush.

Western Hemlock is the most common tree on the BC coastline. It doesn’t mind shade, so can grow up beneath the other giants. It has branches that droop down with feathery foliage (flat, glossy and soft) that looks fabulous when the sunshine streams through it.

The trails of Cathedral Grove

There are boardwalks around most of the trails to protect the tree roots. This is fine for most footwear and you won’t get muddy or soggy. Plus it is wheelchair accessible. The trails are also one-way loops to help manage traffic. You can imagine, hundreds of thousands of visitors trampling in the undergrowth each year would take it’s toll. There are a few places where you can go down to the base of the trees, so wait for those spots if you want to hug the trees.

Views of Cameron Lake

The north part of the trail touches Cameron Lake, so watch out for pretty views. That is a good place to visit for a picnic or a swim after you’ve finished forest bathing.

Why is it called McMillan Provincial Park?

Cathedral Grove has been a famous stop on Alberni Road since the 1920s. In 1944, Harvey Reginald MacMillan, a timber baron, donated the area to the public, so it is named after him. Originally MacMillan wanted to log this whole area, but concerned locals and first nations protested fiercely. In the end Cathedral Grove was one of the first successful conservation victories in British Columbia. It’s ironic that the park is named over the man who wanted to cut it all down! Unfortunately, although this grove was protected, you’ll notice that most of the surrounding watershed was chopped down and cleared.

Settler History of Cathedral Grove

Since Europeans first visited in the 1850s, there is a long history both of people celebrating and attempting to protect these trees; And of the timber industry attempting to log them. Fancy learning more about this fabulous grove, and about giant trees? I loved this post by BC Treehunter. For more about the history, go to this site, especially this page about the protest and this chronology of the grove.

As BC tree-hunter says; “The Qualicum, Tseshaht, and Hupačasath First Nations were among those known to have frequented these lands, and they treated them with far more respect.”

You can probably guess from my posts that I am a huge fan of visiting ancient trees and old growth forests. Unfortunately here in BC that is getting harder to do. We normally need to hike high into the mountains to reach small groves with trees as lovely as this. I am really glad that there are protected areas like Cathedral Grove where everyone can get up close and see why the big trees are worth saving. Now, we just need to make sure we protect more of them!