May 2022 – Weekend at French Beach
French Beach Provincial Park is relatively small with only 69 campsites available. Since the campground is usually full, we were lucky to be able to reserve a site for the holiday weekend in May. The location of our site is shown by the blue dot on the map below. We were fairly close to the highway, but traffic was minimal at night and didn’t disturb us. The park has a day use area right on the waterfront with picnic tables and a playground area that is very popular with locals and tourists alike.
On our second day at the park we decided to explore the campground before heading down to the beach. The campsites are nestled in among a beautiful collection of tall trees – cedar, spruce, hemlock and fir. On one site we noticed a huge tree that had fallen and was lying on the ground with its massive root system more than twice as tall as David. It always amazes us how shallow the root system is for these magnificent trees.
We made our way down to the beach and checked out the shoreline. It was a cool, gray day and just as we arrived at the beach, a brief shower appeared sending some of the picnickers scrambling. However, we braved the elements and continued making our way along the waterfront. It was sandy right by the water, but quite rocky further inland which made walking rather tricky. So we didn’t linger long.
We decided to take a drive and explore the coastline heading northwest towards Juan de Fuca Provincial Park. We got as far as Jordan River Campground which is a rather interesting site. I say “interesting” because the campsites are very small, located all along the waterfront and are quite rustic. No reservations are available; so it’s first come, first served. It seems to be a very popular place because every site was filled even on this cold day in May. The $15/night cost might be one of the attractions, but the view out to the Pacific Ocean is likely the biggest reason – and the surfing. It can be a very windy spot which makes for huge waves and big surf.
If you live on Vancouver Island, you know that the height of the trees growing here can be awe-inspiring. This is the view of our campsite to give you an idea of what was surrounding us. In the next photo my intention was just to show a view looking straight up through the magnificent trees. To my surprise, I captured a portion of a rainbow as well – or you might call it a “rain glow” in the gray sky.
During our stay we noticed a species of tree in the area that we don’t see at home on Salt Spring Island. David identified it as Sitka spruce. We wondered why that species was more prevalent here than further inland.
We discovered that Sitka spruce grows in a narrow band along the BC coast, and are often found in pure stands where ocean spray is prevalent. This is because Sitka spruce trees tolerate sodium more than other species.
Sitka spruce is the largest of the spruces and can grow to over 70 metres tall and two metres in diameter. The tallest specimen known is 95 metres tall and is located in Carmanah Walbran Provincial Park on western Vancouver Island.
The trees can be identified by their thin, scaly bark (shown in this image) and four-sided, slightly flattened needles with two white stripes on the top and the bottom.
I have added a video below to give you the experience of looking up into the branches of one specimen of Sitka spruce that was on our site. Be careful not to strain your neck! 🙂
The next day was David’s birthday and we celebrated by going to a nearby cafe called Shirley Delicious. There was a lineup to get in since the place is well-known and very popular. The cafe lived up to its reputation for healthy, freshly-made, delicious food and our tastebuds were delighted.
Back at our campsite we spent our last evening of the trip relaxing so the delicious treats could settle. We investigated some of the nearby flora and discovered the names of two common species – Western Spring Beauty (Claytonia lanceloata) and Starflower (Lysimachia borealis), and ended the evening by the campfire.
It had been a lovely weekend of exploration in a new area of BC for us, but it was time to head home and unpack. After all it wasn’t going to be too long before our next camping trip. We had booked a spot at Rathtrevor Beach Provincial Park in Parksville for a week in June. Stay tuned!
