Port Alberni Hole in the Wall

Useful Information

Location:	On Vancouver Island. From Port Alberni Hwy 4 to Coombs, at the outskirts 600 m after turnoff Old Nanaimo Rd parking lot on the right. 20 minute walk.
Open:	No restrictions. [2020]
Fee:	free. [2020]
Classification:	Natural Bridge.
Light:	n/a
Dimension:
Guided tours:
Photography:	allowed
Accessibility:	no
Bibliography:
Address:	Port Alberni Hole in the Wall, 100 Museum Way, Nanaimo, BC V9R 5J8, Tel: +1-250-753-1821.
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

Description

The Hole in the Wall is a secluded spot with an impressive sight. A river flows through a solid wall of rock, through an almost circular hole. Right behind the hole it forms a small waterfall or rapid. It is the end of the 1.3 kilometer Port Alberni Hole in the Wall trail.

Roger Creek is a small river which flows through Roger Creek Park into Somass river, which immediately afterwards flows into the fjord. Before Roger Creek reaches Port Alberni it meanders through forested hills. One quite spectacular incised meander has reached the stage of the development where the two arms of the meander have almost met and are about to cutoff the meander. But the incised meander created two cut banks on the opposite sides of the spur, and when they met they formed a hole in the spur. So the river has started to flow through this natural bridge.

The current situation is quite interesting and also rare. The development of a meander may take quite long, and this stage is quite short. The erosion will continue and the collapse of the natural bridge will create a meander cutoff.