Carmanah Walbran Provincial Park, originally Carmanah Pacific Provincial Park, is a remote wilderness park located inside traditional Ditidaht First Nation ancestral territory. The park covers a land area of 16,450 ha immediately adjacent to Pacific Rim National Park Reserve’s West Coast Trail on the southwestern, coastal terrain of Vancouver Island. The provincial park comprises the entire drainage of Carmanah Creek, and a good portion of the lower Walbran River drainage, both of which independently empty into the Pacific Ocean. The park is named after Carmanah, meaning “thus far upstream” and John Thomas Walbran, a colonial explorer and ship’s captain. Access to the park is by gravel logging road from Port Alberni, Lake Cowichan, or Port Renfrew. The Carmanah Walbran protects extensive tracts of luxuriant Pacific temperate rainforest, and is famous for its ancient old growth, which includes giant western red cedar, coast Douglas-fir, western hemlock, and towering groves of Sitka spruce that grow along the productive riverside flats.
Several hiking trails in the Carmanah Valley provide access to many of the park’s notable natural features, including some of the area’s largest trees. Many sections of the trail are extremely muddy and difficult. Be equipped with appropriate clothing (including adequate rain gear) and good hiking boots.
Date Established: March 13, 1991
Park Size: 16,365 hectares
http://bcparks.ca/explore/parkpgs/carmanah
