Strathcona Park, Vancouver Island

Strathcona Park is located in the heart of Vancouver Island, BC, covering some 250,000 hectares. Access to the park is from Campbell River on the northeast coast of the Island, approximately a two-hour drive from the Departure Bay ferry terminal in Nanaimo. The main attractions of the Park are hiking, camping, fishing, and sightseeing. Recently, we visited Strathcona with my family for the first time. Not only did we thoroughly enjoy the trip, but were pleasantly surprised by what the Park had to offer.

For those of you wishing to travel there yourselves, below is outlined an assessment of certain aspects of the Park. Because we only spent a day at Strathcona, the shorter hikes are all we had time for. The time it takes to do the hikes is exaggerated quite a bit (at least for people in moderately good shape), so don't go strictly by what the signs say.

The road through Strathcona takes you through beautiful scenery--lake, river, and trees (particularly Dogwoods when we went in May). The speed limit is 80 km/h on this winding road, with a number of passing opportunities. During off-seasons, it's extremely deserted, making for nice driving conditions.


Lupin Falls Trail

This short hike is well worth it when you reach the tall, narrow waterfall about halfway through.


Auger Point

We never did the hike here, but the beach on the parking lot side is nice.


Karst Creek Trail

This trail is slightly boring, even for geography buffs--the disappearing and reappearing creek is barely discernable, but mildly interesting. However, near the end of the trail we were pleasantly surprised by another waterfall! This one cuts through limestone, and disappears into some rocks, although in the early spring or after heavier rainfall, it courses down the stream bed.


Wild Ginger Trail

Since we went in early May, not many flowers were out, and this "hike" was rather boring. Were the flowers to be blooming, this hike may be worthwhile to go on. Perhaps I'll head back sometime later in the spring/summer.


Shepherd Creek Trail

We only went along the creek on this trail, since we were running out of time. But, for those who can be entertained by skipping rocks, splashing other people, or sitting near a creek, even going the first bit is nice.


Ralph River Campsite

Obviously, we never went camping, but we did drive through this campground to spy it out for the summer. It looked great, though--it's fairly private, has a water supply (must be boiled before drinking, etc.), outhouses, wood (for a price), and access to the lake and river throughout the grounds. There are about 76 sites; in the summer months, they probably go fast, so reserve ahead of time.


Lady Falls Trail

This is an uphill hike, but wasn't too bad--the trail has many switchbacks, making it easier to climb. The waterfall at the end is awesome, and worth the energy exerted to get to it. Both high and wide, the waterfall is as good as Niagara Falls (taking into consideration crowdedness, cost of seeing it, etc., etc. :]) The spray from the falls reaches you from the viewing platform, about 3/4 up the height of the falls.


Gold River

This small town is remote, but a jump-off point to a number of places off the west coast of Vancouver Island. Food, gas and lodging are available here (Gas was 0.1 cent higher here than in the Parksville/Nanaimo area).


Links

The official BC Parks page has a detailed and useful map of the area. Check out "Park Finder" under "Popular Topics", then "Strathcona", and the "Map/Brochure" located on that page.

The site I used to decide which trails to go on was Vancouver Island Abound, as it describes all the hikes--long and short ones--in a practical manner.

** Please use your browser's "back" button to return to the previous page. Or click Jenn's Page or John's Page. **