The Largest Tree in Canada
There are taller trees. There are trees with larger circumferences. And there are trees whose crowns spread further. But there are no other trees in Canada that combine all three to be the most massive tree than the Cheewhat Giant. It is a Western Redcedar, Thuja plicata, near the shore of Cheewhat Lake on the west side of Vancouver Island between the villages of Bamfield and Port Renfrew.
The trip to the trailhead involves a two-hour drive along some rough logging roads, an adventure in itself! You could take your car. It’s two-wheel drive all the way. But it’s rough ant there are lots of potholes. You might meet a couple of these behemoths on the way in. These off-highway logging trucks, like the old growth logs they carry, are a vanishing breed.
The trail in to the Cheewat Cedar is not marked. Just a pile of rocks beside the road and a couple of ribbons hanging on the brush. I used my GPS and a waymark I found on the net to find it. It takes about 30 minutes to get there.
The first part of the trail in is fairly well marked. After that you have to pay attention. The first time I went in on my own and followed it easily. But there are some blind side trails. I found one of them the second time when I led a bunch of hikers that had been camping in the Carmanah Valley in. We got turned around for a little while, until I figured it out. You’ll go by a whole bunch of large cedar trees. But keep going until you see one of these signs. There are two of them.
It was kind of wet the first day I went in!
This is an enormous tree.
If you want to take a trip in to see it and don’t want to use your car, contact Rainbird Excursions.
Wow. That thing looks massive. Is that two trees in the picture with you standing at the base, or one behemoth?