Float in a forest at Vancouver Island's Free Spirit Spheres

Unique Accommodation Option: Sphere Suspended in a Forest

Unique Accommodation Option: Sphere Suspended in a Forest

Atlas Obscura
Your Guide to the World's Hidden Wonders
Nov. 20 2013 8:45 AM

Spend a Night Floating in a Forest at the Free Spirit Spheres

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Spending a night in one of Canada's Free Spirit Spheres is a moving experience. The three rentable spheres, named Eve, Eryn, and Melody, are suspended from trees in the woods just north of Qualicum Beach on Vancouver Island. When a breeze sweeps through the forest, the spheres sway gently.

Each 1100-pound, 10-foot-wide orb is equipped with a bed, dining table, storage space, built-in speakers, and big circular windows for gazing at the forest. Spiral staircases and drawbridges provide access to the spheres, which hang between 10 and 15 feet above the ground. Toilets and showers are located in separate buildings nearby -- Eryn's outhouse is shaped like a mushroom.

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The spheres are the work of Tom Chudleigh, who operates the property with his wife Rosey. Chudleigh used shipbuilding techniques to handcraft them, aiming to create natural-looking, nut-like globes that blend in with the surrounding environment.

Spherical sights:


View Free Spirit Spheres in a larger map

Ella Morton is a writer working on The Atlas Obscura, a book about global wonders, curiosities, and esoterica adapted from Atlas Obscura. Follow her on Twitter.