Magical Canadian forest where fairy-tale creatures live (26 photos)

Artist Doris Needham and her husband Ernest from the Canadian settlement of Malakwa once wanted to find a place for her handmade cement sculptures.





And they bought an entire forest to populate it with magical creatures from fairy tales and nursery rhymes.



In the 1950s, they hand-made paths and laid stone walls on 3 hectares of land. Ernest built a cozy gingerbread house and installed a gravity-fed water system from a waterfall across the road. It still works great today.

When Rogers Pass opened, cars drove past their unusual hideaway. In 1960, the couple decided to officially open the "Enchanted Forest" to the public. What began as a personal project for the soul turned into a major tourist attraction. No one could drive by without stopping. It is understandable, because dragons and pirates hid among the boulders, gnomes and fairies frolicked by the waterfalls, and among the trees stood a cozy lollipop house of the creators themselves.



By 1970, the forest had attracted a million visitors. The fairytale park had become a real job, and Doris and Ernest, dreaming of a quiet retirement, sold it to Rocky and Juliet Ehlers and their children.



The new owners have preserved the magic of the forest. Today, there are 350 figurines, a pirate ship, and the tallest tree house in British Columbia. In the forest, you can go boating near beaver dams, see moose and caribou during migration, or just voluntarily get lost among the ancient cedars, with quiet joy discovering either a house under a fern roof or a familiar character from childhood.





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