|
Post by Scott on May 3, 2011 17:49:56 GMT -8
It's BC Parks 100 birthday. In 1911, Strathcona Park was the first park created by the province of British Columbia. Now we have almost 1000. I enjoy visiting a few every year. I'd like to hear what your favorite BC Parks are. If you want to give the top 3 or just your favorite. Tell us where it is and why you love it!
My top 3 are:
Mt. Robson Provincial Park (along the Yellowhead Highway on the BC-Alberta border)- My family and I have been here twice in the last 4 years, and I went as a kid a couple times as well. I enjoy being up in the mountains and am always in awe of how huge they are up there. There are waterfalls that are easily hiked to, and lakes along the highway. Then there's the Fraser River which is amazing to see so far from the ocean. There are also some nice facilities in the park. The last couple times we've stayed in a rustic cabin just outside the park, but there's camping, a visitors centre, and a restaurant near the western entrance.
Bellhouse Provincial Park (Galiano Island) - The opposite of Mt. Robson. Small, undeveloped, no flush toilets. But I've enjoyed visiting this park since I was a teenager, just for a day trip in the summer usually. It's easy to walk to from the ferry dock and there's so many things to watch for from the point (ferries, other marine traffic, marine life...). Just a great place to rest for an afternoon.
Blanket Creek Provincial Park (15 minute drive south of Revelstoke) - Just been here once, last year. We camped here for most of a week in late-June. It wasn't busy and was close enough to Revelstoke to be convenient for shopping and far enough away to be wilderness. It's on the shore of Upper Arrow Lake which is fine for canoeing. There is also a huge swimming pond there which was cold in late June but I'm sure is warmer in mid-summer. There are trails, a nice waterfall, and wildlife. It's also within an hour drive from hotsprings, national parks, and other attractions along Highway 1 near Revelstoke (Enchanted Forest, Three Valley Gap, etc.)
Other honourable mentions:
Rebecca Spit Provincial Park (two types of beaches and easy hike) Tribune Bay Provincial Park (awesome beach) Strathcona Provincial Park (beautiful scenery and waterfalls) Golden Ears Provincial Park (nice camping close to the city)
|
|
|
Post by lmtengs on May 3, 2011 18:55:45 GMT -8
It's BC Parks 100 birthday. In 1911, Strathcona Park was the first park created by the province of British Columbia. Now we have almost 1000. I enjoy visiting a few every year. I'd like to hear what your favorite BC Parks are. If you want to give the top 3 or just your favorite. Tell us where it is and why you love it! Great time to start this thread, the same day that Clark releases news that she's going to eliminate the parking fees that Campbell introduced awhile back. Free parks again! (unless you're camping, then there's still the tenting fees) But yea, I'll pitch in, My favorite park of all time is Golden Ears Park, part of that reason being that I've grown up with it, since it's right in my backyard, only a 15 minute drive from my door or a half-hour bikeride uphill to the park gate. I love the vast array of activities that you can undertake at Golden Ears, from mountaineering to drive-in or wilderness camping, to hiking, to biking, to horse riding, to swimming, to boating, canoeing, sailing, etc, etc etc... It's endless, and all right at my fingertips. My second-favorite to date is Cape Scott Provincial Park. Beautiful beaches, and pristine wilderness. I'm definitely going back. My third favorite is Naikoon Provincial Park, on Graham Island. Agate Beach is a wonder, so is Rose Spit, and the other sites around the park. My fourth favorite is EC Manning Provincial Park, another awesome escape. The alpine meadows there are beautiful in July and August, and I've always wanted to hike the 3-day hike that starts at the meadows and works it's way around the park. Lightning Lake is great fun for canoeing in, and hiking around. Fifth is Myra-Bellevue Provincial Park, especially before the 2003 fire. The KVR railbed trail along there was a great piece of history before the majority of the trestles were lost. Honorable mentions include Brandywine Falls Park, Barkerville Provincial Park, Cypress Provincial Park, MacMillan Provincial Park, Rathtrevor Beach Provincial Park, Sasquatch Prov Park, and Coquihalla Canyon Prov Park. EDIT: I believe I forgot one important addition: Somewhere in that top five, we can't forget Teakerne Arm Provincial Marine Park. Positively BEAUTIFUL place to stop off at. Shower under the warm waterfall in the summer, hike the 5 minute jaunt to Cassel Lake and swim in it's deep-yet-warm waters. There are some old logging relics up there too, I saw an old steam-donkey when I was up there in 2009. I'd say it's in the top three for sure for me.
|
|
|
Post by Kahloke on May 3, 2011 19:18:55 GMT -8
I haven't been to that many provincial parks, but of the few I have been to, Newcastle Island Marine Provincial Park ranks pretty high on my list. And, many years ago, I went to Bowron Lake Provincial Park as a Boy Scout. We canoed the entire circuit. That was pretty spectacular.
|
|
|
Post by Low Light Mike on May 3, 2011 19:49:19 GMT -8
I'm very thankful to former Premier Mike Harcourt for the large increase in parkland during his term. I enjoy watching Peter Newman's series on Knowledge-network about "Great Canadian Parks", as many BC Provincial Parks are featured, including the ones in the north that I've never visited. My favourites are: Mt. Robson Park - the view of the namesake mountain never ceases to take my breath away. .....except for that time in 2004 when there was a controlled-burn at Moose Lake, and the smoke totally obscured the peak. - Like John H., I've stayed at a nearby cabin, just west of the park boundary. - I've had a memorable day-hike on part of the Berg Lake Trail (to Whitehorn bridge, and back). That's my #1 hiking experience in my life. Khutzeymateen Grizzly Bear Sanctuary - created by the Harcourt government, I love the concept of this place. Created for the bears...period. - located north-east of Prince Rupert, with strict-control of guided access (by outfitter boat from 'Rupert Cow Bay). park website: www.env.gov.bc.ca/bcparks/explore/parkpgs/khutzeymateen/Rathtrevor park (Parksville BC): - I sort of grew up there, as my parents took us there almost every summer for camping, during my first 16 years of life. - Mom and Dad liked to tell the story about how they were camper #1 in the line-up on day-1 of the opening of the campground. - There's a good chance that my wife and I were camping there at same time a few years, when we were both kids. We'll never know, but both our families turned out to have liked that park. Who knows, maybe we were next door to them once? - I walked through the campground last Christmas (we were at a close-by resort for the holiday), and I still had the lane-names memorized in the correct order. yeah !
|
|
mrdot
Voyager
Mr. DOT
Posts: 1,252
|
Post by mrdot on May 3, 2011 20:17:01 GMT -8
:)its got to be Stanley Park for me, I don't how many of the great ships I have vued coming thru the first narrows and under the Lions Gate bridge over many years, I've shot and watched ships from P&O Orient lines and so many others since, rite down to the present, sometimes not nearly as shipshape, but huge vessels. Canucks have just won a squeeker on my side vue, so now I can relax! :)mrdot.
|
|
|
Post by WettCoast on May 3, 2011 21:09:55 GMT -8
I would have a very tough time picking out just 3 parks from such a multitude of beautiful places in British Columbia. I agree that Mt Robson is a jewel; so to is Wells Gray. Here is a photo taken in August 2008 on Murtle Lake, a canoe only (no power boats permitted) destination in Wells Gray. WCK-JST - VueScan on Flickr[/url][/size]
|
|
Nick
Voyager
Chief Engineer - Queen of Richmond
Posts: 2,078
|
Post by Nick on May 3, 2011 21:23:49 GMT -8
Favourite BC Park. As WCK said, there's so many to choose from.
Strathcona BC's first park is probably my favourite. I grew up going to a family friend's cabin on Forbidden Plateau numerous times each year, so I got to know that area very well. I've hiked Boston Ridge and Mt. Becher several times, and the Paradise Meadows region has some beautiful snowshoeing.
Cape Scott I hiked out to the cape in 2006 with my dad, and it was one of the best 4 days in my life. The beaches up there are incredible, and I loved all the different landscape types that the trail traverses. The old settlements left by the Danes were interesting too.
E. C. Manning When I was young, we did a lot of road trips through southern BC and Alberta. I have family in Edmonton, and my dad grew up in the Okanagan, so we drove out to both places several times over various not-so-direct routes. One thing we could always count on was that the last night would be spent in Manning Park. Apparently I used to love chasing the ground squirrels around at the main lodge.
|
|
FNS
Voyager
The Empire Builder train of yesteryear in HO scale
Posts: 4,947
|
Post by FNS on May 3, 2011 21:50:54 GMT -8
You have a lot of beautiful parks up there in BC.
I've noticed that some of you are using our US way of spelling and your Canadian way of spelling. Should this be really "Favourite" or "Favorite"? I'd use "Favourite" when writing stories about things in Canada and Great Britain.
|
|
mrdot
Voyager
Mr. DOT
Posts: 1,252
|
Post by mrdot on May 4, 2011 10:47:27 GMT -8
:)you know I was musing on mr mike's aka horn's comments on our great park system, and mike Harcourt's great contribution, and thinking how little recognition he gets because of the monumental screwups in his party since his departure, the historical record is so unfair, as it was not his misdeads! anyways the major realignment of the federal political scene is good, and I too think it will be good to have a good opposition to what should be a strong gov't. we will see! now back to the nautical world, :)mrdot.
|
|
|
Post by Dane on May 4, 2011 14:09:34 GMT -8
I worked at eight Provincial Parks. Without a doubt my favourite contract was Plumper Cove on Keats. Could see the ferries from work, felt a bit deattached from reality but also close enough to regain my sanity when needed. People on the island, both park visitors and residents were great. Really miss it sometimes. If the money was better and employment more stable I certainly would have stayed around!
Unrelated, but to FerryNut's point: I bought a BlackBerry PlayBook, made by a Canadian company and they spell it favorite on my navigation tabs. So annoying!
|
|
|
Post by WettCoast on May 4, 2011 19:27:02 GMT -8
Maybe the challenge for me would be to name 3 BC parks that I really dislike. That might be easier than picking out my 3 fav ourites. PS: Dane, are you able to compare the Playbook with Apple's iPad? Sunburst Lake in BC's Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park, Canadian Rockies WCK-JST - VueScan on Flickr[/url][/size]
|
|
Mill Bay
Voyager
Long Suffering Bosun
Posts: 2,886
|
Post by Mill Bay on May 4, 2011 19:30:30 GMT -8
I've been to many of the marine parks by boat over the years, but I can't remember all their names... Newcastle Island will always be a memorable place for me, although it has been many years since I was last there. I one time saw the Saltspring Queen in the Nanaimo harbor while walking the island, and my internal chronology would make me believe that was just before she disappeared from the coast.
Portland Island was also an extremely nice spot to watch the V's and Spirits coming into Swarts Bay, but that was a long time ago so, sorry, no pictures from that particular spot. The same thing was true of Plumper Cove, although you always knew when the Dogwood Princess II went through, because her massive wake made everything bob and bounce.
I have been on an extremely whirlwind trip through Tweedsmuir, and would like to get back there someday to spend more time. To my knowledge, I have not been to Strathcona, which disappoints me, since Nick makes it sound very alluring. The ones I would really like to see the most right now, are Cape Scott (someday), and the Pacific Rim.
I also have to say that, Coquihalla Canyon Provincial Park has to be one of the most unique and favorite spots for a railway history fanatic.
|
|
|
Post by lmtengs on May 4, 2011 19:58:22 GMT -8
Pacific Rim is a National Park. So if we include those, Jasper National Park and the Pacific Rim National Park Reserve are both shoe-ins for me. (Yes I know Jasper isn't in BC)
|
|
|
Post by Northern Exploration on May 5, 2011 19:02:25 GMT -8
No surprize here, Pacific Rim is far out in front in number 1. Then a whole range of parks are grouped together so I can't really pick out another two. From Glacier to Lighthouse and a lot in between.
|
|
|
Post by Scott on May 5, 2011 22:23:37 GMT -8
I guess I wasn't specific that I was looking for "BC Parks" parks;) They're celebrating their 100th anniversary this year and that's kind of what inspired me to start the topic. But it would be interesting to expand the discussion to non-provincial parks as well. I always like hearing of new parks or one's I've never been to before. It helps plan future holidays!
|
|
|
Post by Northern Exploration on May 6, 2011 7:58:39 GMT -8
I guess I wasn't specific that I was looking for "BC Parks" parks;) They're celebrating their 100th anniversary this year and that's kind of what inspired me to start the topic. But it would be interesting to expand the discussion to non-provincial parks as well. I always like hearing of new parks or one's I've never been to before. It helps plan future holidays! So mostly Provincial Parks in other words. The national parks are more obvious, but some of the other parks get muddy as to category. Some of my favourite parks are due to memories and associations rather than any natural wonder or extreme beauty so I might not put them on a list for someone to visit. Like Burnaby or Deer Lake Park where we used to picnic and was close to home. I believe they would be regional parks anyways. When I have time, I will scan the provincial parks and see what that jogs.
|
|
|
Post by lmtengs on May 6, 2011 12:51:36 GMT -8
And of course there's the regional parks, and the BC hydros recreation areas.
|
|
|
Post by dofd on May 6, 2011 22:27:10 GMT -8
Well it has been a long time. Not my favorite, but a great park.
But Strathcona Provincial Park; the first park I did spelunking.
Favorite park (Garibaldi Park) , I hiked the trail many times and climbed the Black Tusk once.
|
|