On the west coast of Vancouver Island lies an enclave known to produce some of the biggest trees in the world. They are as wide as a semi-truck, as tall as a skyscraper, and up to a millennium old.
Nature overwhelms in Port Renfrew, but it expresses itself subtly, too: in a rock pool that teems with anemones and sculpins and urchins; in a “bonsai” hemlock tree that through wind and rain remains gripped to a log in the middle of a lake; and in a bald eagle that glides along updrafts while searching for prey.
What grows in Port Renfrew takes time. It is fed by the aquamarine rivers, by the Pacific Ocean, by the mountain mist—and by the ancient forest itself. And what emerges is something mysterious and curious and exceptional.
Self-Directed Writing Retreats
The space and time to write, edit, or shape a project in one of the most spectacular corners of Canada.
writing residencies
Wilderness writing residency
February 24–March 7, 2025
Details and Application
Travel
writing Residency
Coming Later
Port Renfrew
Located in the traditional territory of the Pacheedaht First Nation, the coastal village of Port Renfrew was built out of British Columbia’s timber industry. The houses, the dock, the bridges were constructed from Douglas Fir, Western Red Cedar, and Sitka Spruce felled in the nearby forests. But in the past decade, the community has rebranded itself as the “Tall Tree Capital of Canada”—shifting from an industry that cut down some of the biggest trees in the country to one seeing value in keeping them standing.
Elk and bears stalk old-growth forests. Salmon spawn in the twin rivers that flow into the port. Whales migrate up and down the coast. Storms lash the edges, bending great trees and shaping cliffs and, for centuries, sinking hundreds of ships—giving the offshore region the nickname the “Graveyard of the Pacific.”
Follow the Port Renfrew Writers Retreat for residency and retreat updates
