Hike the Ancient Forest Trail

The Ancient Forest Recreational Park 1 hour east of Prince George BC is a one of a kind forest and soon to be a BC Provincial Park. It is home to a unique inland wet-temperate rain forest. The Ancient Forest is approximately 800km (497miles) away from the Pacific Ocean. Some of the trees in the park are 800-2000 years old.

The best part about the park is how much it feels like being on the west coast, such as Vancouver Island when it is so very far from an ocean. It is the only known inland wet-temperate rain forest in the world. There are huge cedars in the park, all kinds of moss, skunk cabbage, wild flowers, and vibrant green ferns. Interpretive signs are along the trail explaining why the forest is the way it is, wild life in the area, as well as the plant life. Almost all of the trail in the Ancient forest has a wooden boardwalk and a section of it is wheelchair accessible. There are three huge trees that are must sees along the trail, one is called Tree Beard (named after its uncanny resemblance to the character in J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings), the other is Big Cedar, which is 16 feet wide and the last one is Radies Tree. Another great detour is the beautiful 30m (98ft) waterfall named Tree Beard Falls that cascades down a rock face. Lastly, along the trail there is a break in the trees where you can see the Canadian Rockies, and Mount Sir Alexander off in the distance.

To get to the park head east out of Prince George BC on the Yellowhead Highway for about one hour. There will be a sign on the right hand of the road that says Ancient Forest 1km ahead. You will see the road to turn right on, it is hard to miss. The parking lot has lots of space.

GPS Location of the turn off: 53.764182, -121.217855