Last updated on August 12th, 2024 at 11:13 pm
If you find yourself driving the Pacific Marine Circle and stopping in Port Renfrew, you’ll definitely want to check out Avatar Grove and Big Lonely Doug! Vancouver Island is home to many areas of old trees which are accessible to explore, including the very popular Cathedral Grove. We found Avatar Grove to be a bit more peaceful, even when we visited in the middle of August we only shared the area with three other groups. This could be due to the more remote nature of Avatar Grove, although it is still in a lot of the tourism information for the Port Renfrew Area.
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What You Need To Know About Visiting Avatar Grove And Big Lonely Doug
Avatar Grove is home to some of the oldest, biggest trees on Vancouver Island, including Canada’s Gnarliest Tree. After parking on the side of the road, you’ll see there are two trailheads, one on each side. The upper trail has a map at the entrance and the trail winds through the ancient forest gaining elevation slowly, with a well defined path to stick to and steps to aid your travel. The end of the upper trail is where you will find the famous, Canada’s Gnarliest Tree. Respect the signage and stay on the trail.
The lower trail starts by descending a staircase before winding through the forest in a loop, giving you lots of views of incredible trees, including a huge, tall, Douglas Fir. Admit the huge trees, take note of the fallen ones, with their huge root system now on show and the moss which blankets the forest floor. Both the trails at Avatar Grove can be explored in around an hour at a gentle pace.
To check out Big Lonely Doug, you’ll want a four by four vehicle or prepare yourself for a much longer walk. Hop in your vehicle from the Avatar Grove trailheads and continue along the same road, before taking a sharp right turn, across the river and up the hill, we parked shortly after this on the right hand side. We walked up the steep and potholed road, eventually it levelled out and the going was easy.
There is a parking area on the right hand side for those brave enough to drive up the steep hill. A washroom up a trail on the right. Continue to walk down the road a short way before there is a small sign indicating the way to Big Lonely Doug, a steep downhill, aided by steps built into a downed tree will take you to the base of Big Lonely Doug, you can walk around his base, marvel at his shere size, before heading home.
What makes Big Lonely Doug so incredible is that he is one of only two trees left standing in what is now a cleared area. You’ll get an incredible view, showing this perspective from the upper parking area.
Avatar Grove and Big Lonely Doug are now protected thanks to the Ancient Forest Alliance. With Big Lonely Doug, believed to be the second largest Douglas Fir in Canada.
A visit to Avatar Grove and Big Lonely Doug is a must do if you are in the Port Renfrew area, to be thrown back in time to enjoy the wonders of these ancient trees.
How To Find Avatar Grove And Big Lonely Doug
The drive to Avatar Grove and Big Lonely Doug is fairly straight forward, however with limited cell reception and few road signs, it is worth downloading the directions before you head out. Avatar Grove is only 12km from Port Renfrew.
Drive through Port Renfrew and take the left onto Deering Road, across the estuary and when you get to the crossroads after Deering Bridge, take a left onto the Pacific Marine Road. Along this stretch you notice the quality of the road starts to degrade with many unpaved patches before the road becomes a gravel road. Take the left onto Gordon River Road, follow this for around two kilometres before you’ll spot Avatar Grove. It’s likely there will be other cars there f=but parking is along the side of the road.
If you also wish to see Big Lonely Doug, you’ll continue along Gordon River Road, past Avatar Grove for around another 4.5 kilometres and it is a rough road so it takes some time. There is a sharp right hand turn onto Edinburgh main road. The turn isn’t sign posted, but look for the spray painted rocks, in particular the spray painted green tree symbol, this indicates the correct right hand turn. The road heads downwards and then you’ll cross a bridge before the road heads upwards at a steeper angle. There was a sharp turn in the road and shortly after we saw another vehicle parked in a pull-in and we decided to stop there.
For those more adventurous, the road continues but it is very steep and potholed and eventually there is a parking lot on the right hand side and you can see Big Lonely Doug from there, you’ll want a four by four vehicle and higher than average clearance to drive this section. We chose to walk this stretch of the road and it really wasn’t too bad.
Things You Might Need For A Trip Exploring Avatar Grove And Big Lonely Doug.
As we mentioned earlier, the trails aren’t too difficult and I managed to complete them in my favourite adventure sandal, the Chaco Cloud 2. These go anywhere, super comfortable flip flops are perfect for small adventures like this. That being said, the trail down to Big Lonely Doug was quite steep and very dusty when we did it, so on our next trip, I’d likely choose to wear my On Running CloudVenture trail runners for lightweight comfort but a little more grip on the downhill.
We saw some signs of bear activity while walking the road to see Big Lonely Doug, we took bear spray and had it out ready to use if we needed it. It’s a quiet and isolated spot, so it is important to be prepared.
Accommodation Nearby
We spent a few nights staying at the West Coast Trail Lodge in Port Renfrew, it was an incredibly reasonable price, the rooms were light, bright and clean and the beds were super comfortable. It is located right at the end of Port Renfrew, a short walk from the trail bus stop, for anyone using that service. The best part for us was the short walk to the only pub in town which was right across the road! This proved to be the perfect no frills spot for us to base ourselves out of to explore the area.
There are other options including the Wild Renfrew Seaside Cottages, located on the ocean, right beside the pub, these looked absolutely beautiful. Just up the hill is the Wild Coast Wilderness Resort, this has a range of cabins and rooms to suit different group sizes. There are also rustic ‘hiker huts’ which make a great reasonably priced spot to stay, since accommodation in Port Renfrew can be quite expensive.
