Road Trip 2025 - Forests of Vancouver Island

We arrived at Port Renfrew after a cloudy, yet exciting morning exploring Botanical Beach on the Pacific Marine Circle Route on the western side of Vancouver Island. As we sat outside at a picnic table eating a scrumptious lunch of fish and chips, rays of sunshine fell upon us. I heard a familiar hum and flutter. 

Ruby-throated Hummingbird on Crocosmias, 2025, Port Renfrew, BC

Sure enough, a ruby-throated hummingbird searched and slurped sugary goodness from the bright red crocosmias just a few feet from where I was sitting. I had hoped to see one of the hummingbirds that we don't see east of the Rockies, but any hummer is food for my soul.

We weren't back on the road very long before I started seeing tsunami signs.

Tsunami Evacuation Route Sign, 2025, Pacific Marine Circle Route, BC

I'm not talking about signs that a tsunami was about to hit. These were actual signs of how to evacuate the coast if there was a tsunami warning. We thought it was cute...until 2 days later when we were on the eastern coast of Vancouver Island and there was an actual tsunami warning after a major earthquake off the Russian coast. The warning was cancelled the next day and we were more appreciative of the little tsunami signs we'd passed along the way.

Further up the road we were on the lookout for the Harris Creek Sitka spruce. It doesn't have significant signage, nor a parking lot. You park on the side of the road, walk in to admire the famous giant, take your photos, and head back out. A quick and fun side trip to get you out of your vehicle for some fresh air and exercise. 

Harris Creek Sitka Spruce, 2025, Pacific Marine Circle Route, Vancouver Island, BC

The Harris Creek Sitka spruce is 4 m/13 ft in diameter, approximately 80 m/260 ft tall, and hundreds of years old. No one knows its true age, except that the old-growth forest was first logged, or harvested, in 1893 and this tree was saved. Sitka spruce are known to live 800 years and only grow within 80 km/50 mi from the Pacific Ocean. Although the Harris Creek area is part of the second-grown forest, this Sitka spruce stands much taller than the surrounding trees. 

A few days later we were on another inland road on our way to Cathedral Grove, an ancient forest in MacMillan Provincial Park. Back in 1981 we had passed through here on the way to Tofino and now we wanted to see how the old growth forest was doing and to revisit some spots for updated family photos.

Anita and Crystal, 1981, Cathedral Grove, MacMillan Park, Vancouver Island, BC

The trees in Cathedral Grove are some of the oldest and tallest in Canada, and we almost didn't recognize the place. We were looking for the tree in the above 1981 photo of me and Crystal, but now there are boardwalks directing you where to walk. Which path had we taken over 40 years ago? 

Cathedral Grove, MacMillan Park, 2025, Vancouver Island, BC

And then I recognized this tree...except we couldn't recreate our photo because we had no access to the tree unless we jumped the fence and left the path.

Of course, we could have asked for permission like George Lucas did to shoot scenes in his Star Wars VI: Return of the Jedi. Or like they did for Jurassic World: Dominion, which was released in 2022. Both movies show great examples of prehistoric and futuristic worlds and the fact that they were partly filmed in Cathedral Grove means they'll always be available to view on the big screen. 

Cathedral Grove, MacMillan Park, 2025, Vancouver Island, BC

Actually, there are Canadian TV series and movies currently available where I recognize parts that were filmed on Vancouver Island due to the look of the trees, ferns, and moss. It's a fantastic feeling of being there. 

Cathedral Grove, MacMillan Park, 2025, Vancouver Island, BC

The 1981 photo below is one we tried to recreate where Nelson pretended he was pushing over this huge tree. 

Nelson, Cathedral Grove, MacMillan Park, 1981, Vancouver Island, BC

You'd think it would be easy to recreate, but in 44 years things do change. Although we had to stay on marked paths, we feel the 2025 photo below seems a reasonable recreation.  

Nelson, Cathedral Grove, MacMillan Park, 2025, Vancouver Island, BC

Once we had the shot of Nelson pushing down a tree, we went looking to recreate the one below where he stands beside a toppled tree as if he had actually pushed it over. 

Nelson, Cathedral Grove, MacMillan Park, 1981, Vancouver Island, BC

The tree in the recreated photo below may or may not be the actual toppled tree in the above photo, but it appears to be about the same height so we took the best angle we could considering where we could walk. 

Nelson, Cathedral Grove, MacMillan Park, 2025, Vancouver Island, BC

Now, if you're wondering why Nelson's jacket is a few sizes too large for him, it's because we really were trying to recreate the 1981 photos and thus, tried to find similar clothing that matched the old photos. 

Cathedral Grove, MacMillan Park, 2025, Vancouver Island, BC

If you're wondering why Nick and JJ aren't in these photos, it's because they took one token photo and then headed off to a place that made their eyes shine. 

Cathedral Grove, MacMillan Park, 2025, Vancouver Island, BC

After a brief tour of Cathedral Grove, Nick and JJ skedaddled to Horne Lake Caves which will be the topic of our next post. 

A sad side note to our morning visit to Cathedral Grove in MacMillan Park was that later that day, we heard there was a wildfire on the north side of Cameron Lake which adjoins MacMillan Park. In fact, we had travelled alongside Cameron Lake on Hwy 4 to and from Cathedral Grove which encompasses both sides of the highway. As the day wore on, news about the out-of-control fire dampened our spirits with worry for the ancient forest as well as the hundreds of people who needed to be evacuated from their properties. 

This post on Cathedral Grove in MacMillan Park and the Harris Creek Sitka Spruce corresponds to the April calendar page.