RAINFOREST TRAIL
PACIFIC RIM NATIONAL PARK (Long Beach
section)
The trail system is a two part adventure
and experience into the history of a living rainforest. The
walking trail is mostly boardwalk with many interpretive signs
along the route.
The Rainforest Hiking Trail
weaves in and out of fallen trees surrounded by gigantic red
cedar and western hemlock trees which tower high above, reaching
towards the sky, creating an umbrella-like forest canopy. The
trail is an audio theatre experience filled with wilderness
sounds like singing birds, trickling water, crackling twigs,
scurring wildlife and drifting ocean breezes mixed with a moist
scent of forest.
The Pacific Rim Hwy divides the
Rainforest Trail into "Loop A" and "Loop B"
trail sections forming the number 8. Each loop trail is approximately
1 kilometre in length, mostly an easy going boardwalk trail
with, what some would call, speed bumps like wooden stair climbing.
There are areas to rest while reading the interpretive signs
along the route.
The trail is an up and down affair,
dropping in and out of sunken forest valleys passing alongside
fallen trees buried in moss sprouting new trees growing from
the decayed wood and vegetation.
"Loop A" starts on the
otherside of the parking lot, across the Pac Rim Hwy. The route
is lined with interpretive signs discussing the history and
life cycles of a rainforest. From the parking lot, you can walk
to the beginning of the "Loop B" portion of the Rainforest
Trail. The interpretive signs discuss the forest environment
and the wildlife which inhabit the forest.
All visitors to the park must have
a Park Use Permit.
How to get to Rainforest
Trail: Along the Pacific Rim Hwy look for the road
signs indicating the Rainforest Trail parking lot. Turn into
the parking lot. From the parking lot you can walk to the "Loop
B" section. Across the highway is the "Loop A"
section.