The main attraction at Avatar Grove, an ancient gnarly western redcedar. Avatar Grove is an awe inspiring grove of old growth western redcedar and huge Douglas-fir trees. It’s hard to describe the feeling in this quiet forest near Port Renfrew. The trees are immense, towering over a forest floor covered with a chaotic jumble of fallen moss-covered wood, deer fern, …
Pacific Rim
Radar Hill Beach
Remote Radar Hill Beach is a challenging destination in Pacific Rim National Park Reserve. It’s definitely off the beaten track in Pacific Rim National Park Reserve and takes a little effort to get to but the Radar Hill Beaches are spectacular. The trail down to the beach is not maintained by Parks Canada and the going is fairly rough—there are …
Serene Schooner Cove Sunset
Looking west at the setting sun at Schooner Cove in Pacific Rim National Park Reserve. Yellow Sand-verbena (Abronia latifolia) in the foreground amongst the drift logs. Schooner Cove in Pacific Rim National Park Reserve is one of my favourite places on the west coast of Vancouver Island to visit. It takes a little longer to get to (about 30 to …
Kennedy River Cascade
Looking downstream from the rocks near the main falls on the Kennedy River. ISO 100, f/16, 1/30 sec – Nikon D600, 16mm It is a popular stopping point about half way between Port Alberni and Ucluelet/Tofino and a place to take a break before Highway 4 begins to wind its way down to Kennedy Lake. On the west side of …
Comber’s Beach on the Foggy West Coast
Out here in Ucluelet and Tofino they call it Fogust—the month when the fog seems to roll in overnight and it sticks around for most of the day. Sometimes it burns off by 11 am, sometimes by 4 pm, sometimes it doesn’t burn off at all. Photographing the beaches in Pacific Rim National Park Reserve can be challenging with this …
Rainforest Trail Ramble
I try to walk the Rainforest Trail in Pacific Rim National Park Reserve before 9:00 am. At that time of day I usually have the place to myself and can soak in the huge red cedars and western hemlocks, some of which are 1,000 years old. Last week I was trying some forest photography when I heard the sound of …
South Beach Slow
I’m not sure why more people don’t visit South Beach in Pacific Rim National Park Reserve—it might be that I’m usually out there off peak hours, but this summer I’ve rarely seen more than a half-dozen people walking the curve of gravel beach each time. It is a relatively easy 800m (about 15-20 minute) walk from the parking area but …
Dunes at Wickaninnish Beach
One of my favourite places in Pacific Rim National Park Reserve are the dunes at Wickaninnish Beach. It is unusual to see many (if any) people in the dunes so it is easy to imagine the wildness of the place, despite the signs and tracks of people who have gone before you. From a botanical perspective it is a very …
West Coast Safari
If you truly want to experience the west coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, you need to get out on a boat and make your way to that thin line between the shore and the vast Pacific Ocean stretching westward towards Japan. It gives you a whole new perspective on the power of the ocean and the wildness of the …
Capture the Coast
I have worked off and on at Pacific Rim National Park Reserve as a Heritage Interpreter and loved being able to combine my passion for photography with my work. In 2010 I developed a program called West Coast Walkabout that was the perfect way to introduce park visitors to the landscape and ecology of the west coast of Vancouver Island. …