Cathedral Grove 

The Challenge?

Design and engineer a raised walkway that will support close to a million visitors each year. Develop an engaging interpretive plan to accompany the route.

The Crux?

It's at one of the most popular patches of old growth forest in Canada. It is an extremely sensitive and high value ecosystem that has been under pressure from increasing visitor numbers.

On the way to one of Vancouver Island's most popular tourist destinations, Tofino, lies the most accessible patch of old growth forest in Canada. Cathedral Grove sees nearly 1 million visitors per year from all over the world. It is home to trails that wind through magnificent temperate rainforest with enormous 800 year old trees! The tree canopy stretches up to 80 metres in places and it is a spectacular spot for cars to stop as they head out to the west coast.

BC Parks engaged us to design a new raised, engineered walkway that would be large enough to facilitate crowds and tour groups. It needed to have a fifty year plus serviceable lifespan, with minimal impact to trees and roots to allow the surrounding vegetation to grow. At the same time, the walkway needed to maintain high enough elevation to remain above seasonal flood levels. The other deliverables of the construction portion of the project included an upgraded gravel trail and a cedar split rail fence.

Additionally, BC Parks asked us to develop an interpretation plan to enhance visitor experience. We would need to write and design display details, create maps, branding for the area and a series of sign templates to use at the site.

The area itself is home to an extremely sensitive and high value ecosystem. Increasing visitor numbers put pressure on the current infrastructure and the trees and vegetation were being harmed by those who went off the trail. We had to be creative in finding a design that was robust enough to house visitor numbers while still protecting the ecosystem. Of course, this meant a design that minimized excavations. It also meant that in the design we raised turnpike trails to allow water to move freely under the trail surface. Our final design included engineered walkways that featured helical pile piers that had to be "drilled" into the ground. This reduced excavation and impact, although some had to be drilled to 12 metre depths in order to find solid ground!

Mid way through construction, a massive winter storm hit. This buried the work site in snow and several trees blew over because of it. We had to pause construction and clean up site before continuing. This put a lot of stress on the budget and schedule, however we were still able to complete the project in time to open for the busy summer tourist season!

Location:
Cathedral Grove, MacMillan Provincial Park, Vancouver Island

Date:
2015 – present

Client:
BC Parks

Scope:
• Design
• Project Management
• Construction Management
• Interpretive Plan Development