February 27, 2009 | Tips from Travellers >
Port Alberni, Attractions
View a larger image on flickr.com
There are, in fact 4 other provincial Parks in the area. Each has features for
the Vancouver Island explorer to enjoy.
Stamp River Provincial
Park is the King.
A huge falls tumble in to a narrow gorge lined by a fenced path. Tens of
thousands of the largest species of salmon, the Chinook, work their way up the
fish ladder in August September and reaches a peak in October when the spawning
begins. As a spectacle, it's the best place on the island to see the migration.
There's signage telling about the salmon life cycle, and in the fall, there is
even a television monitor on site to count the fish going through the ladder.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rain-bird/sets/72157607277318395/
In April, the area is alive with huge stands of the exquisitely
shaped Trout Lily and the song of American Dippers, a unique perching bird that
walks around underwater eating aquatic insects.
Wait! There’s more! Upstream lies a trail that wanders
through some of the largest Douglas fir in British Columbia. We measured one veteran
that was within the top 6 in the Great Tree Register of British Columbia for height.
The Grove is at the far end of the trail so you have to drive around to it.
There are maps of it in the park. It’s spectacular by the large river; and no
crowds!
Fossli
Provincial Park
is a jewel! But it is for day use only. It is probably one of the least used
Provincial Parks. But it is a mistake to miss it! The big reason why no one
goes to it is because there aren’t any signs to it all! To get to it you need
to either take a motor boat or paddle to a small sandy beach or hike down a
trail across a suspension bridge from a logging road. It is on the other side
of Sproat Lake from Highway 4. After the
suspension bridge, you take a fork to the right and come to a beautiful little
falls with a babbling woodland stream below it. In the summer kids love to play
among the moss-covered rocks in the stream looking for crawfish. And then enjoy
the worm summer sun at the beach.
Sproat
Lake Provincial is
home to some unique petroglyphs. The signs don’t say much about them
because little is really known. Both first nation tribes in the Alberni Valley claim them. They are purported to
represent some sea creatures; part wolf and part killer whale as well as
others. Although there is camping at Stamp
Falls too, Sproat Lake
has a larger and more popular campsite. It is the main public boat launch at
the lake. So it you want to go to Fossli by water, start here!
The final Provincial
Park is not the most
spectacular of the parks. Taylor
Arm Provincial
Park is another day use
park although there is a small group camp ground above the road. Its claim to
fame is a nice smooth gravel beach where you can enjoy a swim in the clear mountain
water of Taylor Arm, an arm of Sproat
Lake.