The Rainforest Trail system consists of two separate educational loop trails, one on either side of the highway, each one kilometer in length and made primarily of raised boardwalks elevated above the forest floor. This part of the forest features a thick canopy thanks to some very tall western redcedar and Douglas fir trees, so it is a great spot to check out on a cloudy or rainy day when the nearby beaches are less appealing. There is something to be said for experiencing the rainforest in the rain; it provides a certain sense of things being as they should be as the moisture drips through the canopy to the thirsty ferns and mosses that carpet the forest floor.
The trails pass through some areas where the forest was cleared in the 1950s for a radio antenna, and there are educational signs throughout with some very interesting information about forest ecology. The message conveyed is that the forest is resilient and interconnected, as everything from soils, fungi, mosses, and ferns to the insects, birds, fish and mammals has evolved to fulfill a function in an incredibly complex and improbable web of life. And this includes the massive trees themselves.
The two trails combined total just 2 kilometers, but one could easily spend a few hours in here admiring the forest, particularly if stopping to read and understand each sign along the way.
Note that there will be free entry to all Canadian National Parks for the entirety of 2017 to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Canadian Confederation.
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