Canada's New Largest Sitka Spruce - The San Jo's Smiley Tree

After the San Juan Sitka Spruce near Port Renfrew lost its top in 2016 due to a lightning strike, it lost enough volume to be demoted from its previous status as Canada's largest sitka spruce.

So what is the largest Sitka spruce in the country now? 

According to BC's Big Tree Registry, the San Jo's Smiley tree found on northern Vancouver Island is now the largest sitka spruce in Canada.

The Smiley Sitka is measured at 4.36 meters in diameter, and 77.8 m tall. The girth of the tree, measured at a height of 1.30 m, is a whopping 13.69 m.

This is what bctreehunter21 on Instagram had to say about this special tree:

"San Jo's Smiley, an exceptional Sitka spruce near Vancouver Island's Cape Scott, exceeds all expectations. While the tree's diameter of 4.36 metres is very impressive, it's the entirety of its mass that is most significant. The lack of taper is unique, and even 20 metres up its 77 metre trunk, the width looks to be close to 2.50 metres!" 

It is, however, much harder to access than the San Juan Spruce. 

The Ancient Forest Alliance, in announcing and celebrating the new champ on September 27, 2023, says it is "located near the San Josef River outside of Holberg in Quatsino territory." 

While isolated in an area that few venture into, it is still well worth the trip, I am convinced. 

If you are on northern Vancouver Island in the Cape Scott region, and are feeling adventurous, definitely search out this amazing tree survivor.

These massive remnant trees are worth infinitely more standing than laying on the ground to be chopped and hacked and insulted by petty, temporary human desires. 

Cutting down trees that can live over a thousand years? When they are some of the last big trees of their type in the world?

How rude.

So it is incredible that trees, including the San Jo's Smiley Tree, still exist.

We are keeping it that way. BC and interested parties are ensuring that we are moving forward on big tree and forest protection.

That is great, because there are many more BC trees/forests worthy of protection that are currently at risk of being laid down.

The San Jo's Smiley tree, Canada's new largest Sitka Spruce, is one of the at risk trees.

It has no legal protection.

San Juan Sitka Spruce Update

San Jan Sitka Spruce, photo by Tim Gage 

The San Juan Sitka Spruce was the largest Sitka spruce on record in Canada, but is no more.

Reports are that this massive record-breaker lost part of its top to a lightning strike sometime in 2016, and it was enough to strike it from the top spot as the most massive sitka in the country.

However, this Sitka spruce that grows on Vancouver Island alongside the San Juan River 35 minutes from Port Renfrew, remains a visit-worthy big tree.

It was previously listed at 38.3' in circumference, 205' tall, with a crown spread of 75', containing 333 cubic meters of wood by volume.

The height is now measured at 198' instead of 205', and the difference means it has lost enough mass to remove its distinction as Canada's largest.

So what is the largest Sitka Spruce in Canada after the San Juan tree's fall from top spot?

We will cover the new record breaking tree in a future post.

Read more about Canada's former largest sitka spruce here, including directions to see the tree.

And remember, when visiting big trees, take nothing but pictures, and leave nothing but foot prints. I always try to leave any site I visit in better shape than when I arrived.

There Goes The Last Dodo

 

A big tree is not just a big tree. It is an entire neighbourhood. The human equivalent would be a residential skyscraper. 

Imagine if someone cut one of them down just because harvesting big buildings was profitable.

Where would the people that live there go? Or the people that work there?

When we see a big tree, or any tree, going down the highway on the back of a truck we should say,

"There goes the neighbourhood".

Each old growth tree is a community of millions of different organisms large and small.

Some can't live anywhere else.

Where are they to go?

A recent photo taken on Vancouver Island of a single, large sitka spruce trunk on a logging truck went viral. 

The large tree looks like it could be about 800 years old, give or take 200 years. 

Many people that saw the photo were shocked that we still do this kind of thing when so much of the ancient forest is gone. 

Over 90% of the oldest and best stands have already been logged in BC. It makes one think they will not be satisfied until they get as close to 100% of the big trees as possible. 

As soon as possible.

One day we will view decimating entire ancient forest communities that have thrived harmoniously for 10,000 years as barbaric and tragically old fashioned. 

We will look into how they got away with replacing the great mass of 10,000 year old forest with tree farms on 80 year rotations, with the big trees never to be seen again outside of small parks and areas they haven't ruthlessly exploited yet.

That day of reckoning may be coming sooner than they think if the reaction to the viral photo of that formerly beautiful spruce tree on the back of a logging truck is any indication.

It can't come soon enough for a great many, and growing, number of us.

MicroArk Project Invitation

An interesting comment was left here a few days ago. I am posting it to reach a wider audience because it sounds like an amazing opportunity to imagine and implement projects to make a difference. 

MicroArks! I love the sound of that.

Hi there! 

I'm lucky enough to have access to quite a number of native tree seedlings on an East Sooke property. The ones easiest to transplant are between 1-4 yrs old.

There are Red Cedar, Douglas Fir, Hemlock, Spruce, Alder,and Broad Leaf Maple in various quantities.

Also, Salal, Oregon Grape, Huckleberries, Ocean Spray, Salmon and Thimble Berries,and more.

At a Victoria location there are Garry Oaks, Arbutus, and Snowberries. 

There's also some duff infused with Mycorrhizal fungus and epiphytic moss, lichen and liverworts to innoculate the replanting sites. 

I'd really like to find carefully considered locations for replanting and long term care.

I transplanted about 50-60 with a small group of mostly kids a year ago but a repeat didn't happen due to Covid 19.

I'm hoping to connect with any people interested in some small scale, responsible, replanting collaborations in the next few months. Or even to simply discuss the concepts and processes involved.

I feel we need to establish some "MicroArks" consisting of groups of trees and their associated flora and fauna that are carefully considered and cared for.

They will provide examples to be replicated thus beginning the regrowth of truly natural forests for perpetuity.

Thanks for your interest!

Paul Winstanley

Spectrafocus

20/1/21

paul@spectrafocus.ca 250-899-9285 

BC Wood Makes Beautiful Music

This Yamaha guitar has an old growth sitka spruce solid wood soundboard.
B.C. wood is in 80% of the world’s solid wood guitar soundboards. 

British Columbia's old growth forests are the number one go-to wood lot of choice for local and international guitar makers alike.

"Abbotsford-based David Lapeyrouse of Timbre Tonewood, who supplies wood to guitar makers, estimates there are 10,000 guitar builders in North America, 1,000 in Canada and a disproportionate 500 or more in B.C. At one point, back in 1999, Lapeyrouse had a quarter of the global market in solid wood soundboards, the vital resonating top face of a guitar. 

Why is B.C. such a hot spot for luthiers and instrument-grade wood? Three reasons -

1. Jean Larrivée of Larrivée guitars,
2. artisan Michael Dunn, and
3. B.C.’s old growth forests.

 The growing number of aging boomers doesn’t hurt either. 

Classical guitar with birdseye maple side and back, and cedar soundboard.

B.C. wood is in 80 per cent of the world’s solid wood soundboards, Lapeyrouse said. The remaining guitars are plywood topped — and most of those are surfaced with B.C. wood. 

B.C. is world-renowned for its old growth Engelmann and Sitka spruce and red cedar “tone wood.” Luthiers (artisans who make stringed instruments) covet the straight, fine grain found in old forests where trees compete for light and grow slowly. The wood must be carefully lined up along two dimensions for cutting. 

“The tonal quality is based on whether it’s cut right so it captures the wood’s natural strength,” Lapeyrouse said. Cut it wrong and you get a thud instead of a musical ting when you tap the wood. 

Of nine million guitars built globally each year, 2.5 million have solid wood tops, with two million come from B.C. at about $15 million wholesale, Lapeyrouse said. Most of the wood is shipped to Taiwan, Korea and China."

This department store special is made of plywood. While it has its
merits, superb tonal quality is not one of them.

It is important to harvest valuable old growth sustainably so we can continue to have access to high grade instrument-quality wood.

Decisions we make now will affect musicians and instrument makers for centuries to come.

Read more about BC guitars and guitar makers here. 

Phillips Road Big Trees, Sooke

The tiny vehicle gives scale to this tall line of trees marching down Phillips Rd in Sooke.
The column consists of older Douglas fir and Sitka spruce.

Only eight years ago when I first moved to Sooke, upper Phillips Road (which runs along the west side of the Sooke River) was still like an entrance to the old forest. Here were some of the largest trees remaining within the municipal boundary.

At that time two massive Douglas fir elders stood on either side of the road creating a narrow bottle neck that I knew would need to go some day when development came farther up the road.

The centuries old trees were so close on either side of the pavement that they had large scars on their bark from multiple contacts with vehicles trying to squeeze through.

There has been development in this area since the earliest days of European settlement, but it was mostly limited to small farms along the Sooke River.

I was happy when these trees were spared during roadway upgrading in this developing area.
The empty field in the foreground is now a thriving community garden.

Now the Sunriver neighbourhood has added hundreds of new homes and the treescape has been dramatically and permanently altered. Eventually the two large trees guarding the entrance to the old forest on upper Phillips Rd. became impediments to development, and were taken down. The stumps were pulled and an upgraded roadway was put in.

Other spectacular trees survived the on-going transformation of this part of Sooke, including the tall row of trees across Phillips Rd. from the community garden. There are others to be found here and there along the Sooke River that runs along the eastern edge of this new neighbourhood.

Sombrio Beach Old Growth Fringe

Old growth Sitka spruce hang on in a narrow fringe behind Sombrio Beach.

The easy 10 minute hike to Sombrio Beach is a lot like many of the trails that lead from Highway 14 to the cobble beaches below. After passing through second or third growth forests of mostly small, closely spaced Western hemlock, the trails lead into a narrow old growth fringe of fat Sitka spruce bordering the beach.

Old growth stump surrounded by smaller regenerating trees on the trail to Sombrio Beach.

While most of the west coast of Vancouver Island has been clear cut logged long ago, the Juan de Fuca trail, which runs for 47 km along the ocean between China Beach to Botany Bay (Port Renfrew), retained narrow strips of old trees in some places.

Toward the bottom of the Sombrio trail you enter the magnificent
old growth fringe.

Stunning Sombrio Beach is one of those places that escaped the saw, and its narrow old growth fringe harbours some big and unusual trees. The forest combined with the beach and ocean make this a magical place to be, as many have discovered.

Nice campsite on the sand under old spruce trees at East Sombrio.

While at Sombrio you may feel it beautiful enough to live permanently among the salt sprayed spruce, and indeed in simpler times a group of freedom-loving people did just that. The establishment of the Juan de Fuca Trail in 1994 meant the end of an era, and by 1997 the last Sombrians were served eviction notices.

Looking down Sombrio River from the suspension bridge toward the surf.
Photo: introvert3

You may not be able to stay for decades as some did in the past, but today you can camp under the canopy of the big spruce trees for up to 14 days. Most people take 3 to 5 days to complete the trail, although there are ambitious types that run its muddy, glorious 47 km in a single day.

Not me.

Western hemlock often start on logs and stumps. Eventually, the log or stump
 rots away leaving trees on root stilts like this one behind Sombrio Beach.

When I do the trail, I will max out and plan on 10 to 14 days to really let the magic sink deep into my bones.

Just enjoying the old growth in the Sombrio area could keep me busy for days.

Sooke Sitka Spruce

A Sitka spruce framed by Western red-cedars

Sitka spruce is the largest spruce variety in the world, growing up to 100 meters tall in places like Vancouver Island's Carmanah Valley where Canada's tallest spruce trees live.

However, it is not a dominant tree in the Sooke region and over most of Vancouver Island away from the wild west coast.

In fact, the easterly-most concentration of Sitka spruce trees in this area can be found in the Royal Roads old growth forest in Colwood, about 25 minutes from Sooke. Although the spruce trees get by in the Royal Roads forest, they are dominated by the more plentiful (and larger) Douglas firs.

Dark green = prime habitat, light green = marginal habitat.

Sooke lies in a transition zone between the dryer Douglas-fir ecozone to the east, and the wetter Western hemlock zone to the west (where the salt-tolerant Sitka are common along the coast). While Sitka spruce are not plentiful here, but some nice specimens can be found, often up river valleys or fringing beaches on the ocean.

Sitka spruce bark is reddish-brown and forms large, loose scales

Sitka spruce are the fastest growing trees in the coastal forest, and can live up to 800 years. Some nice specimens can be found up the Sooke River, as well as in the Muir Creek old growth forest.

Sitka spruce have a beautiful shape

Big Trees In The City

These huge Sitka spruce rounds are from the removal of an urban old growth tree 

I don't know why people choose to cut significant urban trees down - I am not an arborist or a professional forester, nor do I think that trees 'get in the way'. However, there are justifiable reasons for the removal of an oversized giant or sick tree as they can be a safety hazard.

A letter to the city of Langford from a resident living under the large Douglas-fir heritage trees that line Humpback Road, highlights the potential danger.

"Last Friday, April 2nd, we had a terrific windstorm; with wind-gusts approaching 110 kmh. The result of that was a rather frightening experience for ALL the residents that live in the part of Humpback with the old, gigantic trees lining this portion of the road. Once again, for the umpteenth time, a powerful hail of tree debris came battering at the homes next to the trees."

It is a bummer when significant trees do need to be removed, but it is even worse when no sane reason exists. Like when the infamous developer Len Barry had workers cut some large trees on the other side of his property line, on The Royal Colwood Golf Course. The course is covered in an urban forest that contains many significant older trees. Barry had the trees removed to improve the view from his mansion.

Sam, a Vancouver Island Big Trees reader, recently commented on my post about Gulf View Picnic Area in North Saanich. He described how a landowner started the new year by falling a big Grand fir hundred of years old right on the border of this public space. Large, old Grand fir are not a long lived species.

Sam's comment about the unfortunate demise of another one of our large urban trees reminded me of an urban giant brought down in the ex-logging town of Sooke a few years back.

I spotted the huge Sitka spruce rounds in the photos at a residence in 2005. This old growth tree predated European settlement in the area, by a hundred years or more.

The tree's removal must have been an operation as big as the old Sitka itself. It is a challenge to bring these giants down without squishing anyone or anything.

When I happened by on a bike ride, the deed was done. I was puzzled - the wood looked sound. I wondered why this apparently healthy survivor had to be destroyed.

But then again, I didn't have to live next to it during a winter gale. As it was, it might have made a lot of beautiful guitars.

Today's luthiers are vexed by a dwindling supply of the old spruce (300 years+) that produce the best quality instrument wood. Guitar builder Bob Taylor said, "We are only a few short years away, using current logging practices, from seeing the end of any guitar-sized trees."

The massive spruce that was cut in Sooke is, years later, still providing the homeowner with fire wood.

East Sooke Park: Aylard Farm

Old growth Douglas-fir at Aylard Farm, East Sooke Park

At one time a mysterious consortium of European investors owned much of the land in East Sooke. They had big visions of a private luxury resort and hunting preserve that would cater to the international jet set. Fortunately for nature lovers everywhere, the exclusive domain of the rich fell into a financial and legal morass, and the landowners were forced to sell some of their extensive East Sooke land holdings.

In 1970 the Victoria Capital Regional District purchased a significant piece from the stressed landowners. The purchase price was $520,000, and East Sooke Park was born. Now everyone is welcome to enjoy this rugged 3417 acre park and its native petroglyphs, rugged coastline, sandy beaches and magnificent forest.

Aylard Farm's meadows of clover, wild rose, and blue-eyed grass

East Sooke Park can be enjoyed via 50 km of trails, including the knee-punishing 10 km Coast Trail. The park's semi-wilderness has several entrances, including the Aylard Farm access point off of East Sooke Road via Becher Bay Road.

East Sooke lies in the Western Very Dry Maritime Coastal Western Hemlock Zone. Although the forests were selectively logged decades ago, and the sea harvested for its bounty, this remains a wild land. The park visitor is advised to watch small dogs and children as cougars and black bears still populate these coastal lands.

Ocean glimpses through the trees invite the hiker to the sandy beach below

Much of Aylard Farm and the rest of East Sooke Park is covered in second growth trees 60 - 100 years old. Because it was selectively logged, rather than clear cut, old growth trees of +250 years can still be seen.

Old growth forest near the Alyard park access can primarily be found at Creyke Point. The main forest consists of large Douglas-fir, Western hemlock, and closer to the ocean, Sitka spruce.

The coastal bluffs support upland ecosystems of Garry oak, Arbutus, and the twisted, tortured Shore pine. These trees are often small as they inhabit thin-soiled areas over bedrock and are exposed to harsh winter winds and storms.

Getting There

East Sooke Park is 35 km west of Victoria. Allow about an hour to drive and be able to enjoy the ample scenery. A couple of different routes are possible.

Old Island Highway From Victoria

Take the Old Island Highway (#1A) to Sooke Road. Follow Sooke Road (#14) to Happy Valley Road, turn left and continue down Happy Valley. Turn right on Rocky Point Road, which veers right to become East Sooke Road, and leads to the park. The entrance at Aylard Farm is at the end of Becher Bay Road, and left hand turn off East Sooke Road.

Trans-Canada/Highway 1 From Victoria

Follow the Trans-Canada Highway (#1) from Victoria, and take the Colwood exit. Follow the Old Island Highway (#1A), which turns into Sooke Road (#14). From Sooke Road, turn left on Gillespie Road. Turn left on East Sooke Road, then right on Becher Bay Road to reach the park entrance.

French Beach Park: Future Old Growth Forest

Old cedar stump along French Beach trail

Early History

Adventurer James French knew the country of Canada better than most. In the late 1800s he took two years to walk across the vast land mass between the Atlantic Ocean at New Brunswick, and the Pacific Ocean surrounding Vancouver Island.

After all the beauty he had seen of the country, and Vancouver Island, in 1885 he decided to settle among the big trees of the primeval forest on a 59 hectare waterfront property 25 kilometers west of Sooke.

French's pre-empted property was enjoyed by his family after his death in 1952. The family was active in local logging up to 1974 when the land was donated to make a park.

Protected Second Growth Forest 
Ensures Old Growth For The Future

Today the property is a protected  and healthy second growth forest of Western hemlock, Western red cedar, Douglas-fir, and Sitka spruce.

The forest at French Beach is no longer populated by the giant first growth trees (although a few survive) that grew here when James French first arrived, although the odd stump attests to the fact that they were once here.

However, this is a great place to see how the forest regenerates over time. Although French's land has been logged, there are some nice medium-sized second growth trees that will one day attain the lofty status of their predecessors.

In another 200 years the forest will have regained its old growth status.

Sitka Spruce Dominate The Park

Stunted, weather-beaten spruce fringe trees are genetically identical
 to the taller Sitka spruce in the park

Fronting the beach are pure stands of the salt-tolerant Sitka spruce, one of the only conifers that can survive the harsh conditions along the beach. The Sitka spruce in the park vary from lofty, soaring tall trees to the krummholz (literally 'crooked wood') of the wind and sand scoured spruce fringe.

Big stumps are not the only evidence of the big trees of old. Because the property was logged before heavy-duty industrial logging, much of the original forest profile was preserved, including nurse logs.

In many areas along the park trails through the forest one can make out the remnants of downed giants that are now becoming the forest floor. In many cases the ancient downed trees, that may have been decomposing on the forest floor for hundreds of years, have new trees growing from them. The old nursing and nurturing the new.

Big Beach Trees

Large Sitka spruce along the beach in picnic area

The beach and forest trails are available for both day trips and camping. The picnic areas just behind the beach are good spots to see the twisted trees of the spruce fringe, and the taller spruce behind them.

The campground, and some of the other trails, are good places to see some of the larger trees. Away from the effects of the wind and waves, the tree enthusiast will find nice hemlock, cedar and Douglas-fir.

Today you don't have to walk across the continent to get to French Beach, although it would be worth it if you did. This beautiful day use and campground site is conveniently located on Highway 14, and is a leisurely and enjoyable one hour drive west of Victoria.

Park Map

The Carmanah Giant

The Carmanah Giant: Diameter - 3 m (10ft), Height - 95 m (315ft), Age - 500 to 700 years

The Carmanah Giant is a monumentally tall Sitka spruce growing in the Carmanah Creek canyon in Carmanah/Walbran Provincial Park. It is the tallest tree in Canada, and the tallest Sitka spruce in the world. The Giant lives in one of the tallest forests on the planet, and is an excellent example of the vanishing primeval forest that once blanketed Vancouver Island.

The trees of the Carmanah and Walbran watersheds escaped the saw for a long time due to their remote location on the West Coast of Vancouver Island. But the arrival of the timber cruisers, bulldozers, road builders, and fallers was inevitable, and in the 1980s they finally came. 

If it were not for conservation efforts, starting with Randy Stoltmann, this magnificent tree and all its neighbours would have surely been razed in a clear cut that would have represented a huge global loss. It would have been a loss, as well, to the pairs of endangered Marbeled murrelets that nest only on the huge branches of old growth trees.

I am glad this incredible tree and the forest in which it grows were saved from impending destruction. However, the Carmanah Giant is not in the "See Them" category of big trees. Visitation to some parts of this park, including the Carmanah Giant, is discouraged in order to avoid the devastating potential results of unregulated access.

Even though I feel the lure of the big trees, many individual trees get loved to death by tourists. For me it is good enough to know that the Carmanah Giant is out there, growing, thriving, and perpetuating 12,000 years of continuous forest processes and cycles.

Photo credit: Iriemaan

The Trees And Surf Of French Beach Provincial Park

Big Sitka spruce on the edge of French Beach

Earlier this week the south island had winds gusting up to 90 km/hr. The morning after I headed out to French Beach Provincial Park to feel the spray coming off the thundering surf. As usual, along the way I would keep my eyes peeled for interesting trees.

It didn't take long to find evidence of the storm as just outside of Sooke a couple of  trees had come down on the highway overnight. They had just been cleaned up off the road, and power restored, before we drove through the sawdust.

French Beach is 20 km west of Sooke along West Coast Road, and encompasses 59 acres. It consists of a campground and day use area, both of which have a nice, coastal forest feel. From most areas of the park you can hear the pounding of the waves on the beach. Although it doesn't rain as much as farther up the coast, it is wetter here than in Victoria.

Sitka spruce bark chips and cones litter the ground

This park is located in a second growth forest of Douglas-fir, Sitka spruce, Western hemlock, and Western red-cedar. Close to the beach on the front line of the forest are the salt-tolerant Sitka spruce.

In some areas with this exposure the trees are blasted by wind-driven salt spray and sand into a wedge shape. This bizarre formation is known as a Spruce fringe. These leading edge trees protect the taller forest behind from the powerful gales off the ocean.

In December of 2006 the most powerful storm since the 1960s hit the coast of Vancouver Island. Many thousands of trees were blown down all along the coast. You can still see evidence of this storm in the forest behind the grassy picnic area just off the beach. Many nice, medium size Sitka spruce are laying down. Over the decades they will nourish the forest floor and eventually disappear among the moss and ferns.

A couple of Sitka spruce trees blown down during severe winds in the winter of 2006

The waves were huge on this visit, and the ocean spray was blowing through the forest in a fine, salty mist. Although it was not as windy as the night before, a steady breeze was continuing to pile up waves and knock spruce cones out of trees. An eagle called repeatedly, then hovered on the wind right overhead.

At lower tides you can get past the cobbles and on to the sand to beachcomb
for new driftwood brought in by winter storms.

Although not ancient forest, French Beach Provincial Park is an nice example of an older second growth forest. There are some nice medium size trees here, and the overall setting is classic coastal. I would love to see it in 200 years when it will achieve old growth status once again.

Ella Beach: Big Trees On The Edge

Big trees on the edge along the coast near Sooke

Vancouver Island has 3,500 kilometers of coastline, and along much of that you will find trees. These trees are at the edge living a very precarious existence. This is where the sea meets the land, and the water meets the wood. It is a wild and ever changing battlefield, and ultimately the land and trees give way to the persistence of the wind and waves. Sooke's west-facing Ella beach is a great place to see the interaction of land and sea, and witness how big trees cope in this dangerous zone.

Looking up at a downed Sitka spruce waiting to slide into the ocean

Wind, rain, and waves all slam into land here, constantly shaping the trees while eroding the land around them. On the night of December 15, 2006 a mega-storm hit the south coast. Hurricane force winds of 158 km/hour were recorded at Race Rocks, not far from here. The storm knocked down thousands of trees along the coast that night, and many ended up in the ocean becoming drift logs.

Eventually the tree in the distance will join others on the beach

Many of the biggest trees along Ella beach are Sitka spruce. These trees are not found further than about 80 km from the ocean, and have adapted to the salt spray near the surf. It is believed that not only do these trees tolerate salty or brackish conditions, but actually benefit from the various minerals found in ocean spray and salty soil.

Sitka spruce often have shallow root systems as many begin life on top of downed trees or 'nurse logs'. This makes them susceptible to blow down later in life. Sitka spruce can live for up to 800 years, but it is unlikely that those growing in exposed, easily eroded areas will make it that far. The oldest trees I saw along Ella beach are probably half that age.

Big Sitka spruce along Ella beach in a low bank, sheltered setting

There are also big Douglas-fir along the coast here. Many of them are also being swept into the ocean. Some will end up on the beach somewhere in the area. Others may make a major crossing on ocean currents and wash up on beaches on the Hawaiian Islands. Historically such logs making the crossing from North America were sought after by the Hawaiians for building canoes.

This Douglas-fir holds on against all odds

The terrain along this stretch of coastline varies from walk-on beach at the Ella Road access, to towering sheer cliffs closer to town. Hiking here you can see the graphic results of the ocean/land interface as everything is eventually eroded away.

This Douglas-fir, anchored by roots growing into the cliff, hangs suspended in the air

This ever changing, dynamic zone where the ocean meets the land constantly provides interesting surprises. Ella beach in Sooke is an excellent place to view big trees on the edge - a perilous spot where the ocean always wins.

Getting There


View Ella Beach in a larger map

The Harris Creek Sitka Spruce

The heavily buttressed trunk of the Harris Creek Spruce

 If you are driving the 255 km Pacific Marine Circle Tour on south Vancouver Island, a stop at the Harris Creek Sitka spruce is highly recommended. Rarely are monumental trees this accessible, unless you are in an urban area or park. This tree is in neither, and grows without official protection in the middle of the semi-wilderness between Port Renfrew and Duncan.

On the trail approaching the giant spruce

That the Harris Creek Spruce is still with us is somewhat amazing. The first harvesting of the forest (by Europeans) in the Port Renfrew area was in the Harris Creek watershed back in 1893.


Occasionally, however, it is the loggers themselves that lay down the saws and are unable to commit the dendrocide their jobs require. So mighty are the specimens, and so great the loggers respect, such trees acquire a special status and are spared.

Sign at roadside

Now such trees, or small groves, exist as islands in a sea of smaller second or third growth - often as the sole survivors of the ancient forest. The Harris Creek Spruce next to Harris Creek Main northeast of Port Renfrew is one such tree. It is an 82 meter tall giant that dwarfs everything around it. This tree is all fat flared trunk and twisted moss draped branches.

Sitka spruce show very little taper which adds to the huge volume of wood found in old specimens

Sitka spruce are uniquely adapted to the coastline. They will not be found further than about 80 km from the ocean, their preferred habitat. These trees can tolerate salt spray from the pounding waves, one of few trees that can. When away from the surf, Sitka spruce grow in the low lying river valleys that dissect the coastal hills and penetrate inland.

A fence has been built to protect the roots at the base of the tree

This amazing Sitka spruce is beautifully situated right next to Harris Creek. It is a short distance from the road along a flat, well-kept, wheelchair accessible trail. Sitka spruce are fast-growing trees - it is difficult to date this one is. Certainly its age can be measured in the hundreds of years. Sitka spruce can live to 800 years making them one of the oldest trees in the Pacific coastal forest.

It is possible the Harris Creek Spruce could still be around for your great-great-grandchildren to visit.

Harris Creek runs next to the giant spruce

Getting There

The Harris Creek Spruce is about 20 km north-east of Port Renfrew on the paved Harris Creek Main. It will be found on the right side of the road 8 km past Lizard Lake while heading toward Lake Cowichan, and is marked by a small sign. Set your tripometer and watch for the sign when you get close.

Note: there are no gas stations between Sooke and Cowichan, and no services at all between Port Renfrew and Cowichan/Duncan. Drive safely - be prepared for emergencies.


View The Harris Creek Sitka Spruce in a larger map

The San Juan Spruce: Canada's Largest Sitka Spruce

Looking down into San Juan Bridge campground and Canada's largest Sitka spruce

There is nothing like a big tree road trip. VIBT hit the road recently on a perfect fall day, and headed for the big trees of Port Renfrew, B.C. Destination? The San Juan Spruce, Canada's largest Sitka Spruce (Picea sitchensis).


There are many giant trees lurking around the Port Renfrew area, some well known, and others yet to be discovered. One of the more well known trees resides next to a bridge about 20 km up the San Juan River east from Renfrew. There are few known trees of its proportions anywhere, and if it were in some other country, it would undoubtedly be more celebrated than it is here.

This massive building-sized tree is Canada's largest spruce tree when measured by wood volume (333 cubic meters). You can see the 62.5 meter top of it from the bridge as you cross the river. It is in an area where other large Sitka spruce can be seen poking up like islands in the sea of second growth around them.


As you turn left at the end of the bridge and descend down to the San Juan River Bridge Forestry Recreation Site, the full 3.71 meter diameter of the champion spruce comes into view. 

The San Juan Spruce is all out of proportion compared to what one normally thinks of as a typical tree. It would take several adults holding hands to circle the 11.6 metre circumference base. This is the second largest Sitka spruce in the world after the Queets Spruce in Olympic National Park, Washington. 
 
At first the visitor will be struck by the sheer size of the giant, but after a while may also come to appreciate its interesting architecture. It has a complicated canopy, including a side trunk that is a large tree in its own right.

Hanging gardens of moss and fern living on a Bigleaf maple in the campground        

The San Juan Spruce is much more than just a tree - it is an entire vertical community of rain forest life. A large bracket fungus graces its lower trunk, and ferns grow in splashes of fluorescent green everywhere on the trunk and in the canopy. A Red-backed vole could live its entire life in this one tree. Forest debris builds up thickly on branches supporting a variety of spongy mosses, and even other trees.


A pilgrimage to this living monument is a tribute to the logging survivors that remind us of our connection to the ancient forest. A visit to the San Juan Spruce can also be seen as a tribute to Randy Stoltmann. He discovered, then worked to protect, this amazing tree. Stoltmann was compiling the beginnings of British Columbia's Big Tree Registry when he died in a back country accident in 1994.

Bonus: See the Red Creek Fir (biggest Douglas-fir in the world) while you are back here, if you are driving a 4X4 or other high clearance vehicle. Watch for signs along the way once you leave Harris Creek Main. It should be possible to loop back to Port Renfrew via Red Creek Main (edit: Red Creek Main is no longer passable).

Getting There 

Take Highway 14 from Sooke to Port Renfrew, a distance of about 88 km. From Port Renfrew take Deering Road to Harris Creek Main. Turn right toward Cowichan Lake until the Y intersection shown on the map. Watch for signs that will lead you to San Juan Bridge Recreation Site, a small, rustic 6 unit campground next to the San Juan River. Drive carefully and always be prepared with supplies and an emergency kit while driving logging roads in the back country.


View San Juan Spruce Near Port Renfrew in a larger map