Vacouver Island Walks & Waterfalls

Oct. 10 - 12, 2021: Hole in the Wall / Cathedral Grove / Englishman River Falls

All 3 of these were short walks, not taking more than an hour.

At Horseshoe Bay waiting for the ferry to Nanaimo.

Sunset on the ferry.

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Morning mist just west of Port Alberni.

1) Hole in the Wall is on the eastern outskirts of Port Alberni. There's no signage but there is a pull out for parking.

Its a short 15 minute walk on a broad gravel path.

Follow the trail just beyond the hole and you'll find these rock piles.

A family of rock people.

This hole is about 10' high.

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2) Cathedral Grove

Cathedral Grove is along the highway between Combs and Port Alberni. There are 3 small loop trails to choose from, on both sides of the highway. The peach colored dress represents the lives lost of First Nations children in the residential schools. There were intermittent peach colored T-shirts hanging in trees along the highway.

I've been here many times but it was Wendy's first. We were fortunate to come in the rain and shoulder season when there were hardly any other tourists around.

Many of these Douglas Fir trees are over 800 years old. They're one of Canada's largest growing trees as they live long, are tough and fast growing. They can live to be over 1000 years old.

Botanist David Douglas (1799-1834) identified over 200 new plant species in North America, including the Douglas Fir. He made 3 expeditions to Canada and sent more plants to Europe than any other botanist of his time. About 50 plant species bear the name of this collector.

This is the tallest tree in the park at 76m and 9m round.

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Combs.

There's a string of little shops to browse through. Even a dutch deli!

Comb is know for its store with the goats on the roof.

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3) Englishman River Falls Provincial Park

The river flowing into the falls.