The Long Beach area provides eight hiking trails that range in length from one to five kilometers in length. People hiking along these trails find themselves in a dark world. Few animals are visible. The air is dank and musty. Garter snakes slither their way over moss-covered ground while salamanders breathe through their skin. Pacific tree frogs, red squirrels, raccoon, mink and marten all inhabit this dense forest.
Flora and Fauna
The only mammal that lives here is the black-tailed deer that feed on the Sitka spruce. This is due to the density of the rainforest’s canopy as well as the fact that the swift, cool currents of Georgia Strait have deterred chipmunks and moose from gaining access from the mainland.
Black bears did manage to swim the Strait. These are larger than their cousins on the mainland and are dark ebony in color. No hint of brown or red tints their fur as it does the coats of the mainland bears.
Though cougar live in the lush, green forest, they are seldom seen. Cougars are solitary animals and avoid contact with humans if possible.
Along the shoreline, algae and plankton cling to the rocks. At low tide, huge boulders can be seen. Barnacles, mussels and limpets cling fast to the rocks that have been pounded smooth by the ocean’s powerful waves. In the large tide pools, hermit crabs claim discarded shells for their sanctuary rather than grow their own. In these waters, twenty different species of starfish can be found. This is unique to Vancouver Island. No where else in the world can claim so many different species.
The giant pacific octopus also calls these waters home. It is the largest in the world and can measure as much as twenty feet across, though the average octopus is about half that size.
The many different species of marine life that are found here, provides food for many marine mammals that can often be seen from shore or boat. Off the shore of Long Beach, northern sea lions bask in the warm sun. It is a wondrous sight to see these creatures waddling along the shore, their numbers so plentiful that the rocks along the shoreline cannot be seen.