Log Train Trail access (Port Alberni, British Columbia)

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This is the Highway 4 access point.

The Log Train Trail Regional Park stretches for 25 kilometers along the foot of the Beaufort Range. Scenic views and a trip through history highlight this year-round trail.

The Log Train Trail was originally part of the Bainbridge Mill rail-logging operation and by 1925 the railroad extended along the Beaufort Range for about 7.2 kilometers. When the mill closed in 1927, the railroad was abandoned.

In 1937, H.R. MacMillan purchased the Alberni Pacific Lumber Company and John D. Rockefeller's timber rights in the Ash River Valley. To access the timber, a 25-kilometer logging railroad was built from south of Polly's Point on Alberni Inlet to the Ash Valley, part of the old Bainbridge Mill grade was utilized. The trestle that was built to cross Rogers Creek was 286 meters in length. This was the mainline for MacMillan's rail - logging until it was abandoned in 1953, when logging trucks became the preferred method of transport. During its heyday, the railroad saw two shipments of logs per day taken from the Ash Valley to the log dump at Polly's Point. Today, considerable debris and some uprights are all that can be seen of the large trestle. Old timbers are currently being used as steps up Rogers Creek ravine.

The trail is accessible from many points in the valley, but the easiest start is from Mozart Road north of Highway # 4. Travelling north, the trail passes along the eastern side of Cherry Creek, with occasional panoramic views over the valley. The trail passes through a second growth forest of Douglas-fir, western red cedar and western hemlock that was originally harvested in the late 1930s. The trees have grown back naturally. Four kilometers from the highway is where the Horne Lake Trail enters the valley. The Log Train Trail continues alongside small acreages and farms. Watch for the waterwheel on the north side of the trail near the watering trough. The trough, fed by a nearby spring is a convenient place to rest or cool off on a hot day. At kilometer 7.5 is the access road to the R.B.McLean Sawmill National Historic Site. The old Bainbridge Mill site is located near the point where the Esquimalt and Nanaimo rail line crosses the trail. Continuing north, the trail remains in the forest with only a couple of viewpoints near the end of the trail. The younger forest that you pass through was harvested and planted in 1986 and is now a healthy stand of trees. The Log Train Trail ends at Woolsey Road.

If you choose to travel south from the Highway # 4 sign, you will follow Maebelle Road to Redford Street. A self-guiding nature walk extends from Redford Street towards Burde Street. At Rogers Creek, it becomes steep as it switches backs to the bottom. Please use caution crossing the creek. Once across the creek, the Log Train Trail crosses the Rogers Creek Nature Trail, which runs parallel to the creek. The Log Train Trail continues climbing the south side of the ravine. You will soon cross another ravine and it is an easy walk to Burde Street.