Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Strathcona Provincial Park
British Columbia's oldest and Vancouver Island's largest park, Strathcona preserves a vast
250,000-hectare (617,800-acre) wilderness in the northern center of Vancouver Island.
Vancouver Island's highest peak, 2,220-meter (7,280-foot)
Golden Hinde,
is within the
park. The peak was named for Sir Francis Drake's ship, in which he circumnavigated the
world in the 1570s (some believe he would have sighted the peak from his ship). The
park's other superlative natural features include 440-meter (1,440-foot) high
Della Falls,
one of North America's highest waterfalls, and a 1,000-year-old, 93-meter-tall (300-foot)
Douglas fir, British Columbia's tallest known tree. Douglas fir and western red cedar car-
pet the valley, and wildflowers—lupine, Indian paintbrush, moss campion, and kinnikin-
nick—cover the high slopes. Resident mammals include black bears, wolves, wolverines,
cougars, marmots, deer, and the island's only herd of elk. Cutthroat trout, rainbow trout,
and Dolly Varden fill the park's lakes, and all kinds of birds soar the skies here, including
the provincial bird, the Steller's jay.
You'll get a taste of Strathcona's beauty along Highway 28, but to get into the park
proper, turn south off Highway 28 halfway between Campbell River and Gold River. This
access road hugs the eastern shore of
Buttle Lake,
passing many well-marked nature
walks and hiking trails. One of the first is the short walk (10 minutes each way) to
Lupin
Falls,
which are more impressive than the small creek across from the parking lot would
suggest.Continuingsouthalongthelakeshorepastdriftwood-strewnbeaches,you'llcome
to the
Karst Creek Trail
(2-kilometer/1.2-mile loop; allow 40 minutes), which passes
through a karst landscape of sinkholes and disappearing streams. At the lake's southern
end,wheretheroadcrossesThelwoodCreek,a6-kilometer(3.7-mile)trail(2.5hourseach
way) climbs a steep valley to
Bedwell Lake
and surrounding alpine meadows.
Astheroadcontinuesaroundthelakeshore,lookfor
Myra Falls
acrossthewater.After
passing through the Westmin Resources mining operation, the road ends on the edge of an
old-growth forest. From this point, explore on foot by taking the
Upper Myra Falls Trail
(3 kilometers/1.9 miles; one hour each way) to a lookout point above the falls.
Apart from numerous picnic areas along the shore of Buttle Lake, the only facilities
within the park are two campgrounds.
Buttle Lake Campground
is beside Buttle Lake,
just west of the junction of Highway 28 and the park access road.
Ralph River Camp-
ground
is farther south, on the shore of Buttle Lake. Both have pit toilets, picnic tables,
and fire rings, and both charge $14 per night.
