Big Lonely Doug, Canada’s second largest Douglas-fir tree standing at 230 ft tall.
I just published the gallery from my October 2023 trip to Vancouver Island. Click here to see my images.
The trip to the Island was spent primarily in the Port Renfrew area, a bit over 100km west of Victoria. Referred to as the “tall tree capital of Canada”, the area around Port Renfrew contains some of the tallest trees in the country. In addition to seeing several old growth forest groves and trails, including the second largest Douglas-fir tree known as Big Lonely Doug, I also spent time at a Botanical Beach and Sombrio Beach along the southern coast of the island.
The story behind Big Lonely Doug is fascinating and sombre at the same time. A logger discovered it while surveying the surrounding forest that was to be logged for timber. He wrapped a ribbon around it with the words “Leave Tree” written on it, saving the tree from being cut down. Big Lonely Doug is estimated to be 1,000 years old.