Text and photos by Mary L. Peachin
October, 2011
Vol. 16, No. 1
Old growth Western hemlock, Sitka spruce, and Western redcedar, a tree used by First Nations carvers for totem poles, virtually cover Juan de Fuca Park’s Botanical Beach’s fern-lined trail. A dozen inches of annual rainfall make the temperate forest lush.
Wooden planks span streams and bogs, while steep downgrades have steps. Constructed by the youth of First Nations Pacheenaht and T’Souke, the slightly less than two mile Botanical Beach trail, is a top rated Vancouver Island hiking trail.
The downward route, which is almost a mile long, leads to the Pacific Ocean’s Strait of Juan de Fuca Botanical Beach. Accessible only at low tide, the black basalt beach offers a series of tidal pools. When the tide is out, critters including crabs, sculpin, limpets, chitons, sea urchins, and a variety of other shellfish are trapped.