photo: Kate Sutherland
The following article was contributed by Australian native, Kate Sutherland .
If someone were to ask me what the most magical place in the world is, my answer would be Cleveland Dam’s walking tracks. It doesn’t sound very magical to say it, but Cleveland Dam is so breathtakingly beautiful, how could it not be magical? Come take a walk with me in a land where fairies would live.
Cleveland Dam and its enchanting trails are situated just 15 minutes from Vancouver’s Downtown in the Capilano Regional Park. The dam is cradled between beautiful Grouse Mountain and the majestic “Lions.” It is some of the most spectacular scenery in the world.
The Capilano Reserve is a hot spot for Vancouver residents. It’s an ideal place for a wedding in the summer, has the educational Salmon Hatchery for the children, offers places to fish and it is a natural source of stress relief just to be there. This small part of our world serves as an entire galaxy as it is a much used location for filming movies and TV shows including Twilight, X-Men, Battlestar Galactica and so much more. It’s also a photographer’s dream offering stunning visuals and place settings for both landscape and portrait photography.
There is one trail in particular that has me awestruck in wonder every time I walk it. It is where you listen to quiet calls of birds or sometimes a beautiful silence that is deafening. The air is so full of life that it feels like you have never taken a breath or filled your lungs before now.
photo: Kate Sutherland
This 40 minute hike takes you across the dam where you can hear the roar of water rushing down the Capilano River. You then head down into the tranquil forest below through lush vegetation and firs, over quaint little timber bridges, past the Capilano Salmon Hatchery, and a last scramble up the rustic stairway to the vibrant lawns where the rolling peaks of blue green mountains watch over you.
No matter what time of year it is, this walk always has something beautiful for you to behold. In the summer, the trails are full of laughing children and you can see the salmon jumping up the stream. The bright sun filters through the trees giving a joyous ambiance to the the forest. Beams of gentle light settle upon moss-covered logs as if touchable forms of peace and contentment. I can imagine fairies dancing on these logs or building their homes within.
photo: Kate Sutherland
In the fall, the maple leaves are ablaze with colour. It’s as if the trees are on fire with hope and happiness and the spirit of the festive season to come. They fall to the ground and cover the deep green mosses with their bright contrasts of reds, yellows and oranges. Again, I feel as if I am breathing magic.
Vancouver is one of the wettest cities in the world, but this only adds to the enchantment of the forest. Crystal-like tears cling to the leaves; prisms catching the colour of magic. The rain drops hit the forest and sing of tranquility and life. The smell is so pure and clean that you feel as if you are on another planet.
photo: Kate Sutherland
As the winter solstice approaches and the weather becomes colder, it brings a new side to this beautiful world. While the trails may became icy and more care is required, you should not be afraid to venture into the forest; for it is here where a new world is born. As the moisture in the dense forest freezes, it creates a crystal wonderland. Great stalactites are formed as water trickles slowly over natural walls or down railings or stairs. Giant glistening cylinders of solid ice hang from outcroppings or tree branches. As the water in the ground freezes and expands, it pushes stalagmite crystals to the heavens as if Atlantis is rising form the ground.
But my wonder at this world will not end there. For on occasion, it will snow. A walk around my trail could start off green and lush. You disappear down into a sea of green only to re-emerge into the white brilliance of the snow-covered lawns. The rolling hills are practically indistinguishable from the horizon.
photo: Kate Sutherland
And then spring will come, awakening the forest. And the cycle will start again, bringing nature and beauty into our busy lives.
Yes, if I was to pick a place of magic on this earth, it would be here on my trail through the forest surrounding Vancouver’s Cleveland Dam. It is my heaven on earth.
