By NanaimoNewsNOW Staff

Cathedral Grove parking halved during off-season upgrades

Jan 4, 2019 | 3:24 PM

PORT ALBERNI — Thousands of tourists won’t be able to explore nature as much as they would like in coming months.

The north side of MacMillan Provincial Park, which houses Cathedral Grove, will be closed for upgrades starting on Monday, Jan. 7. The parking lot and trail area is expected to re-open in mid-March after fence repairs, trail surfacing and a new boardwalk.

The heavily forested area is crowded with ancient western red cedar trees, some of which are over 800 years old.

The famous Douglas firs trees can be found on the south side.

Statistics from the ministry of transportation and infrastructure showed more than 500,000 people from all over the world visit Cathedral Grove every year.

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Parking is one of the most contentious issues around Cathedral Grove. The two parking lots, one on either side of the road, can hold between 50 and 54 cars and are consistently over-capacity.

The ministry of environment and climate change said the upgrades were planned in the off-season to avoid parking issues.

Off-season attendance and parking numbers couldn’t be provided.

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