The temperate rainforest behind the beach

Coastal temperate rainforest is genuinely rare globally, and this region receives among the highest rainfall totals in Canada — the reason western redcedar and hemlock here reach enormous size and age, some individual trees exceeding 800 years old. Nutrients from salmon that die after spawning in coastal streams feed directly into this forest system, carried by bears, birds, and simple decay into the surrounding soil.

Bogs and dune-edge transitions add further variety within a short walk of any main trail, from waterlogged ground supporting specialized plants to the drier, sandier conditions right behind a beach. None of this recovers quickly from foot traffic off established boardwalks, which is the practical reason trails here stick so closely to built paths rather than open routes.