The Hemlock Grove Boardwalk is the perfect place to stretch your legs on a drive through the mountains. You will find it when driving between Golden and Revelstoke BC. It's between Calgary and Vancouver right off the Trans-Canada Highway. Since it's in a National Park, you would want a park pass if you do decide to get out of your car.
This loop is a must stop for people of any ability, you can do it in a wheelchair as it is a boardwalk through the forest. The loop is a few hundred meters so it takes about five minutes for anyone who is able bodied. Hiking boots are not required!
The micro climate in the area causes a lot of rain here. Glacier Park is home to many glaciers and mountains, so the clouds have to go up and something happens with warm air which causes it to rain and snow all the time. The forest floor is covered with little streams from run off and the trees grow quite big. Unfortunately logging took many of them out but they will grow back big for an area which would be covered in snow more than half the year.
Lush trees give me energy. One thing Southern Alberta lacks is trees, I live on the edge of the great plains, or prairies and to see the forest we half to go to the mountains, the trees get larger as one gets closer to the ocean. Dry summers cause brown grass and a fern covered, mossy forest floor with towering giants is a happy place in the middle of the summer.
Glacier park has some amazing trails, but this little one focuses on the valley. Rogers Pass is located in the park and they have snow sheds covering the road to stop avalanches from blocking the highway. The hemlock grove isn't in an avalanche path, so it has retained its beauty.
It's a peaceful oasis on a long drive through the mountains. We just camped in the park for one night and didn't have enough time to fully appreciate the incredible gift nature gave us. This was on a weekend trip to Revelstoke BC which is home to Canada's highest vertical ski hill and famous for getting dozens of feet of powder snow each year.
These red chairs are found in National Parks and other scenic places across Canada. It's the perfect place to sit and be at one with the forest. The babbling brooks drown out the sounds from the highway and the trees block out the rest of the noise. You can lose yourself in nature.
These trees are big, well over a meter in diameter and almost 50 meters high. Some of them are up to 500 years old. The Hemlock Grove is a special place and is very accessible for future generations to enjoy.
All photos taken with an S22