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Walks · Upper Fraser & Sugarbowl · Highway 16 East

Ancient Forest — Universal access boardwalk

Follow the universal-access boardwalk from the visitor area into the cedar forest. BC Parks describes this accessible section as approximately 450 m one way; returning on the same boardwalk is a longer total than that single-direction figure. Stay with the signed accessible section rather than assuming the entire waterfall and forest trail system has identical gradients or surfaces.

Sources reviewed . This is a research date, not a trail inspection.

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Distance
0.9 kmRound trip
Elevation gain
Approx. 30 mTerrain-model estimate; not a surveyed measurement.
Walking time
Not published
Difficulty
EasyOut and back

one way; approximately 0.9 km returning along the same boardwalk The round-trip distance is calculated from the published one-way length.

How the elevation gain was established

Outing: out-and-back outing from Universal boardwalk entrance sign to End of the universal boardwalk and back; 0.90 km along the mapped itinerary

Copernicus DEM 2021 GLO-90 via Open-Meteo (90 m resolution). v7-smoothed-ascent-1: interpolate retained terrain samples at 100 m spacing; apply one triangular 1:2:1 smoothing pass over ±100 m; preserve start, finish and documented turnaround heights; sum uphill excursions with a 5 m reversal threshold; round to nearest 10 m.

Approximate terrain-model ascent, not a field or GPS measurement. Coarse cells and smoothing can miss small climbs, switchbacks, structures and sharp terrain. Processing sensitivity is not a statistical confidence interval.

Sources checked 2026-10-19.

Map & elevation

Opening the map…

Elevation profile

Full round trip · approximately 0.9 km mapped

Complete out-and-back elevation profile, starting at Universal boardwalk entrance sign, reaching End of the universal boardwalk, and returning to the start750 m800 m850 mOutwardReturn0 km0.2 km0.4 km0.7 km0.9 km
StartUniversal boardwalk entrance sign0.4 km · turn aroundEnd of the universal boardwalk0.9 km · back at startUniversal boardwalk entrance sign
Explore the elevation with the chart or slider.

Approximate terrain elevation. Mapped distance may differ from the published hike distance.

Map and elevation sources

Approximate ground elevation from a 90 m terrain model. Distance follows the mapped itinerary and may differ from published walking distance. This is a terrain-model profile, not a surveyed measurement. Any ascent total is identified separately with its own source or estimation method.

BC Parks explicitly describes the universal access trail as 450 metres one way. The OSM feature named Universal Boardwalk measures 449.5 metres and runs from within 4 metres of the named entrance sign to its eastern end beside the separate Driscoll trail junction. The entire single named boardwalk is retained and the return retraces it; Driscoll Ridge, the waterfall network and parking connectors are not included. The boardwalk feature carries wheelchair=yes, surface=wood and bridge=boardwalk tags, but these are not a surveyed gradient or current maintenance assessment.

Route source 1Route source 2Route source 3Route source 4

Copernicus GLO-90 terrain elevations via Open-Meteo (CC BY4.0); linework: Open Database License (ODbL) 1.0 · checked 2026-10-18 · CC BY4.0 elevation data; Open Database License (ODbL) 1.0 linework. Copernicus DEM 2021 GLO-90 via Open-Meteo. Linework source: https://www.openstreetmap.org/way/1289221674. Sampled and rounded for display.

Complete mapped outing from Universal boardwalk entrance sign, including the return on the same route. Line source (opens original source).

Getting there & parking

Drive east from Prince George on Highway 16 for about 115 km, or west from McBride for approximately 103 km, to the signed Ancient Forest/Chun T’oh Whudujut park entrance. Turn into the main visitor parking area on the south side of the highway. This is the boardwalk access; the separate Driscoll Ridge approach farther west serves a strenuous mountain route.

park entrance. Source-published approximate distance from Prince George; not a current routed travel time.

115 km from town in the source description. park entrance. Source-published approximate distance from Prince George; not a current routed travel time.

Map position: 53.76284, -121.21706 · historical published trailhead / parking area (2010). Ancient Cedar Forest parking lot: 53 45.7702 N, 121 13.0235 W (degrees and decimal minutes), PDF page 2. 2010 parking location. Park entrance has since been redeveloped; this marks the historical published access area, not a field-verified current parking bay. The tourism-hosted guide identifies itself as a research copy and says access, trails and amenities have not been updated. Coordinate provenance is verified; current access is not.

On the trail

Follow the universal-access boardwalk from the visitor area into the cedar forest. BC Parks describes this accessible section as approximately 450 m one way; returning on the same boardwalk is a longer total than that single-direction figure. Stay with the signed accessible section rather than assuming the entire waterfall and forest trail system has identical gradients or surfaces.

Accessibility

BC Parks describes this dedicated boardwalk as universally accessible and about 450 m one way. This applies to the boardwalk section; snow, damage and current conditions can change usability.

Conditions & seasons

BC Parks describes winter snowshoeing on the forest boardwalk, with limited winter parking. Snow-covered boards and the availability of parking change the outing; the summer accessibility description does not guarantee a cleared winter surface.

Winter route

BC Parks describes snowshoe access on the forest boardwalk, with limited winter parking. A summer accessible-boardwalk designation does not establish a snow-cleared winter route.

These are dated research notes. Open the trip planner for current available weather and advisory feeds; no alert found does not establish that a trail or road is open.

Check weather & available updates →

Camping & overnight plans

Overnight camping is prohibited in both the Ancient Forest and Driscoll Ridge parking lots. BC Parks directs campers to Purden Lake, roughly 50 km west. Campfires are prohibited in the Ancient Forest park.

Photos of Ancient Forest — Universal access boardwalk

A photograph with confirmed reuse permission has not yet been added to this guide.

Surrounding area and context

These photographs provide context; they do not establish the appearance of this selected route or facility.

Boardwalk in Ancient Forest / Chun T’oh Whudujut Provincial Park
Boardwalk in Ancient Forest / Chun T’oh Whudujut Provincial ParkBoardwalk Through Ancient Forest (246124627).jpeg (opens original source) · Gord Schindell · CC BY 3.0 (opens original source) · 2015-07-13. Existing local file displayed without additional edits in this revision; page layout may crop the image to fit.
Wooden boardwalk descending through the Ancient Forest
Wooden boardwalk descending through the Ancient Forest.Ancient forest, Rocky Mountains region east of Prince George, BC (1).jpg (opens original source) · Kevin M Klerks from Kincardine, Canada · CC BY 2.0 (opens original source) · 2013-09-16 19:33. Original image downloaded without editing; display may crop the view.
Entrance sign for the Ancient Forest universal boardwalk
Entrance sign for the Ancient Forest universal boardwalk.Ancient forest, Rocky Mountains region east of Prince George, BC.jpg (opens original source) · Kevin M Klerks from Kincardine, Canada · CC BY 2.0 (opens original source) · 2013-09-16 19:41. Original image downloaded without editing; display may crop the view.
A boardwalk junction among old-growth trees in Ancient Forest / Chun T’oh Whudujut
A boardwalk junction among old-growth trees in Ancient Forest / Chun T’oh Whudujut.Ancient forest, Rocky Mountains region east of Prince George, BC (2).jpg (opens original source) · Kevin M Klerks from Kincardine, Canada · CC BY 2.0 (opens original source) · 2013-09-16 19:34. Original image downloaded without editing; display may crop the view.
Long boardwalk section through Ancient Forest / Chun T’oh Whudujut
Long boardwalk section through Ancient Forest / Chun T’oh Whudujut.Ancient forest, Rocky Mountains region east of Prince George, BC (3).jpg (opens original source) · Kevin M Klerks from Kincardine, Canada · CC BY 2.0 (opens original source) · 2013-09-16 19:33. Original image downloaded without editing; display may crop the view.
Rain-wet boardwalk beneath cedars in Ancient Forest / Chun T’oh Whudujut
Rain-wet boardwalk beneath cedars in Ancient Forest / Chun T’oh Whudujut.Ancient forest, Rocky Mountains region east of Prince George, BC (4).jpg (opens original source) · Kevin M Klerks from Kincardine, Canada · CC BY 2.0 (opens original source) · 2013-09-16 19:34. Original image downloaded without editing; display may crop the view.
Ancient Forest trail entrance and interpretation panels beside the access area
Ancient Forest trail entrance and interpretation panels beside the access area.Ancient forest, Rocky Mountains region east of Prince George, BC (5).jpg (opens original source) · Kevin M Klerks from Kincardine, Canada · CC BY 2.0 (opens original source) · 2013-09-16 19:41. Original image downloaded without editing; display may crop the view.
Entrance to Ancient Forest / Chun T’oh Whudujut Provincial Park
Entrance to Ancient Forest / Chun T’oh Whudujut Provincial Park.Eingang zum Ancient Forest Provincial Park.jpg (opens original source) · Pam.schulz · CC BY-SA 4.0 (opens original source) · 2017-08-22 21:44:25. Wikimedia thumbnail downloaded; Wikimedia resized the original. Display may crop the view. Any adapted CC BY-SA version retains that image license.
Large cedar in the Ancient Forest area
Large cedar in the Ancient Forest area.Gigantic Cedar in Block 486 - panoramio.jpg (opens original source) · Lub0t · CC BY 3.0 (opens original source) · Taken on 13 August 2007. Wikimedia thumbnail downloaded; Wikimedia resized the original. Display may crop the view.

Original photo galleries

These galleries stay on their photographers’ original websites.

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Choose a trip pack or an available individual sheet for your map case.

Full trip packDirections, planning notes & available mapsTopographic mapComplete mapped outing and source locationsElevation sheetProfile of the complete mapped outingSave offline guideDownload a copy to your device
Sources, dates & research notes

Descriptions are written for this guide from the linked evidence. Source review dates, published reports and field observations can differ. Photographs and route lines retain their own attribution and reuse terms.

  1. https://bcparks.ca/ancient-forest-chun-toh-whudujut-park/ (opens original source)
  2. https://mcbridetourism.ca/wp-content/uploads/McBrides-Green-Guide.pdf (opens original source)
  3. https://caledoniaramblers.ca/trails/ancient-forest (opens original source)
  4. https://open-meteo.com/en/licence (opens original source)
  5. https://open-meteo.com/en/docs/elevation-api (opens original source)
OpenStreetMap line references (3)

These contributor-mapped features support the map geometry. They are separate from the written access and route sources.

  1. https://www.openstreetmap.org/way/1289221674 (opens original source)
  2. https://www.openstreetmap.org/node/14190930132 (opens original source)
  3. https://www.openstreetmap.org/node/14190930142 (opens original source)

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