The lighting of the afternoon setting sun creates a magical forest scenery 
One of the plank “bridges” on the muddy parts of the trail 
The Gore Brook on the trail 
20 minutes into the Gore Brook Trail, you can find this waterfall 
The dense trees in the trail plays good light to relax on the trail 
Winter scene in the trail 
At some point in the trail, carefully placed sea shell markers can be observed 
Gore Brook spilling into the Daajing Giids ocean waters 
Illuminated parts of the forest 
In summer, most of the trail looks “greener”
GORE BROOK TRAIL FEATURES:
Forest therapy
School project
ABOUT
The Gore Brook Trail is one of 5 “community trails” in the Village of Daajing Giids. Unlike most trails on Haida Gwaii, Gore Brook actually has formal trailhead signage and is, therefore, easy to find. It has two main entry points: The first is at the top of 8th Street (north of the high school).
Once you reach the top of 8th, turn right and you should see the trailhead marker adjacent to a small side road. The second point of entry is on the 2nd avenue (above the municipal office), along the Village’s western end.
In terms of the community trails, Gore Brook is one of the better ones. First, it brings you marvellous examples of old-growth and second-growth forests. Second, the lush flora of the trail – and especially the vibrant mosses, ferns and other plant life – really highlights the fact that you’re hiking through a dynamic rainforest ecosystem unlike any other in the world. Third, if you enter Gore Brook at the 2nd Avenue entrance, you can gain quick access to a nice little waterfall – dubbed the Gore Brook Falls – approximately 20 minutes in. Fourth, the trail also provides hints of one of Haida Gwaii’s major historic industries: Logging. At a few points along the trail, those with a keen eye will notice some evidence of springboard logging.
While the trail is only about 1.6 kilometres long, it takes roughly an hour and a half to complete the full point-to-point route. The trail is quite rough and muddy in a lot of places. Additionally, there’s a significant amount of deadfall along the trail + root systems and a couple of creek crossings. As such, we’d strongly recommend the use of good boots so as to avoid getting your feet wet or muddy.
The trail is denoted in quite a unique way: With scallop shells! Follow them and you shouldn’t get lost. It’s kind of like following the breadcrumbs through the forest. But if following scallop shells isn’t your thing, don’t worry – white “diamond” markers also denote the main route.
Finally, it should be noted that Gore Brook connects with, and intersects, the village’s informal “backyard” trail system. These are a series of rough trails that are usually sans markers and can lead you astray if you’re not paying attention.
With Gore Brook, we don’t think getting lost is much of a problem since it’s pretty easy to follow the scallop shells and white markers. If entering Gore Brook from 2nd Avenue, however, you will come upon a fork in the trail system approximately 15 minutes into your hike.
If you continue to the RIGHT, you’ll stay on Gore Brook (and eventually come upon Gore Brook Falls). If you go LEFT, you’ll follow a backyard trail – which does have markers in this case – and will eventually exit onto the cul de sac at the end of Second Avenue, connecting with both Crabapple Creek Trail and the Crab Trap Trail.
While somewhat difficult, the Gore Brook Trail is a rewarding hike. The old growth, burls, abundant ferns, dynamic creek, and vibrant green mosses provide inspiration and energy. The local high school students, who played a key role in developing this trail in the late 1990s, did an excellent job.
In the current day, students – from high school and post-secondary – will occasionally use this trail for ecosystem interpretive work. As such, Gore Brook is as much a recreational hiking trail as it is a valuable learning opportunity.
DIFFICULTY: Moderate
TOTAL DISTANCE: 1.6km
TIME: 1.5 hours
TYPE: Point-to-Point
ELEVATION GAIN: 176 meters