Substantial biogenic secondary organic aerosol (BSOA) formation was investigated in a coniferous forest mountain region at Whistler, British Columbia. A largely biogenic aerosol growth episode was observed, providing a unique opportunity to investigate BSOA formation chemistry in a forested environment with limited influence from anthropogenic emissions. Positive matrix factorization of aerosol mass spectrometry (AMS) measurement identified two types of BSOA (BSOA-1 and BSOA-2), which were primarily generated by gas-phase oxidation of monoterpenes and perhaps sesquiterpenes. The temporal variations of BSOA-1 and BSOA-2 can be explained by gas-particle partitioning in response to ambient temperature and the relative importance of different oxidation mechanisms between day and night. While BSOA-1 will arise from gas-phase ozonolysis and nitrate radical chemistry at night, BSOA-2 is less volatile than BSOA-1 and consists of products formed via gas-phase oxidation by the OH radical and ozone during the day. Organic nitrates produced through nitrate radical chemistry can account for 22–33 % of BSOA-1 mass at night. The mass spectra of BSOA-1 and BSOA-2 have higher values of the mass fraction of m/z 91 (f91) compared to the background organic aerosol, and so f91 is used as an indicator of BSOA formation pathways. A comparison between laboratory studies in the literature and our field observations highlights the potential importance of gas-phase formation chemistry of BSOA-2 type materials that may not be captured in smog chamber experiments, perhaps due to the wall loss of gas-phase intermediate products.