RAINBOW-JORDAN WILDERNESS

The first thing you notice is the silence—not the absence of sound, but the depth of it. Beneath a towering canopy of ancient cedar and hemlock the air moves thick like water, carrying the scent of humus and time. Here, every massive tree trunk is an archive, every fallen limb a library of fungi in slow return. This is the Rainbow-Jordan: an ancient inland rainforest still unbroken by road or machine.
Rainbow-Jordan Wilderness is one of the few remaining stands of old-growth inland temperate rainforest in British Columbia. Located just north of Revelstoke, it was identified as a potential protected area by the Valhalla Wilderness Society in 2017. Spanning 11,915 hectares, this area is home to monumental cedar trees over 3.5 meters in diameter and includes a diverse range of important ecosystems, including a previously undocumented type of wetland. The Rainbow-Jordan is extremely high in biodiversity, particularly of lichens and fungi and is considered a biological safehold by scientists.
The wilderness area is largely undisturbed by roads, trails, or anthropogenic development of any kind, and receives only occasional visitation by biologists and conservation groups via boat access.
Hidden in two unroaded valleys (Frisby Valley, Jordan Valley, and an unnamed valley) just north of Revelstoke on the west side of Lake Revelstoke, these ancient stands have persisted in an untrammelled state for millennia, since the retreat of the glaciers, with only rare visits from humans in modern times.

In 2018, initial biological surveys of the Rainbow-Jordan Wilderness revealed biodiversity of global significance: an intact expanse of one of the Earth’s last inland rainforests, teeming with lichens, including rare species that have not been previously recorded in the Interior. Hundreds of species of fungi lie hidden under the thick humus of the forest floor until the fall rains beckon their mushroom fruiting bodies.
Towering western red cedar up to 1,800 years old are part of a complex mosaic of habitats that support black bears, owls, endangered mountain caribou, bats and other animals. After recognizing this unique biodiversity value, the Valhalla Wilderness Society immediately began a campaign to protect the Rainbow-Jordan Wilderness as a provincial park. Currently, these valleys have no permanent protection, and three logging companies hold tenures that would allow them to clear-cut in the Rainbow-Jordan.

Drive. From Revelstoke, drive 39.3 km north on Highway 23 to Carnes Creek North Recreation Site. Camp if needed and/or launch your boat from here.
Boat. Cross Revelstoke Reservoir and head north to the mouth of Frisby Creek.
Route. There are no established trails but some hiker-made paths. It is a short climb up into the valley from the lake and then untouched wilderness. This is possibly the easiest access to a large stand of old-growth forest left.
Keep going upstream and cross the pass to Copeland Creek that descends to the Jordan River. This would be a significant backpack.
Rainbow Creek. Get back into the boat and paddle north to this creek mouth and another magical old-growth forest.