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Handy to four provincial parks, Chase offers plenty of opportunity for hiking, horseback riding, wildlife viewing and camping. The rafting and sockeye salmon fishing in local rivers is legendary but you can have just as much fun canoeing, kayaking, windsurfing, boating or scuba diving in area waters. When you’re in the mood to stay indoors, you can visit places of historical or cultural interest, such as the Chase Museum & Archives or the Quaaout Resort. There’s a local, nine-hole golf course and a number of 18-hole courses within an hour’s drive. Winter activities include downhill skiing and boarding, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing and snowmobiling.
There’s a lot of beautiful country around Chase and hiking is a great way to explore it in detail. Try the boat-access-only Copper Island trail in Shuswap Lake Provincial Park, Flume Trail in Roderick Haig-Brown Provincial Park or the interpretive Reinecker Creek Trail in Herald Provincial Park. Vehicle-accessible campsites can be found at Niskonlith Lake Provincial Park, Herald Provincial Park and Shuswap Lake Provincial Park. Other popular, land-based pastimes include horseback riding (local ranches offer guided excursions) and golfing on either the nine-hole, par-33 course on Little Shuswap Lake or one of the 18-hole courses in surrounding areas.
The colourful history of the Chase area can explored in all sorts of ways. Exhibits at the Chase & District Museum and Archives deal with both Aboriginal and pioneer cultural history. The Quaaout Resort, on the other hand, focuses exclusively on Shuswap culture. Traditional crafts, food, drumming and dancing, as well as interpretive areas, are all part of the experience there. Pictographs and archaeological evidence of large Shuswap settlements (all strictly protected) can be viewed in Roderick Haig-Brown Provincial Park. Finally, there is the Nature House in Niskonlith Lake Provincial Park and its displays on the human and natural history of the area.
Wildlife is abundant around Chase, particularly in provincial parks. Watch for white-tailed and mule deer, black bear, beaver, river otter, cougar, mink and eagles. In October, salmon returning to their natal streams churn up the Adams River in Roderick Haig-Brown Provincial Park. The spawning process turns their bodies bright red and their heads emerald green. During the dominant runs that happen every four years, they number in the millions. A major event, Salute to the Sockeye, is held in the park in those years. Roderick Haig-Brown Provincial Park is also known for archaeological evidence of large Shuswap settlements and pictographs (rock paintings), all strictly protected. Other provincial parks in the area include Shuswap Lake Provincial Park, Niskonlith Lake Provincial Park and Herald Provincial Park. Shuswap Lake contains a 1-km (0.6-mi) sand-and-pebble beach and a scenic 2.8-km (1.7-mi) hiking trail on boat-access-only Copper Island. Niskonlith is known for rustic camping experiences, swimming, fishing and boating. Herald boasts a large, well-equipped campground, day-use area and self-guided nature walk to Margaret Falls. It’s popular with swimmers, anglers and birders.
The beach in Memorial Park is a perfect spot for a relaxing day out with the family. Amenities include a pier, boat launch, playground, picnic tables, safe, sandy swimming area and open green space.
There are many ways to enjoy the lakes and rivers around Chase. Rafting and fishing on the Adams River are very popular. Millions of sockeye salmon pass through the headwaters of the South Thompson River as they prepare to spawn in October. This is also a good time and place to catch rainbow trout, Dolly Varden and whitefish. Rainbow trout, Dolly Varden, kokanee, burbot and whitefish are just a few of the 19 fish species living in Shuswap Lake. Kokanee and rainbow trout are also plentiful in Niskonlith Lake. All four provincial parks in the area – Roderick Haig-Brown Provincial Park, Shuswap Lake Provincial Park, Niskonlith Lake Provincial Park and Herald Provincial Park – contain lakes suitable for canoeing and kayaking. The Adams River is the top local spot for whitewater paddling. Rated Grade II for most of its 14-km (8.7-mi) length, it does have a 75-m (246-ft) section, nicknamed “The Gorge,” that novice paddlers might find difficult. Rapids in that section are rated Grade III – IV. Other popular water activities include power and house boating on Shuswap Lake, which is often referred to as the “House Boating Capital of Canada"; scuba diving in Shuswap and Little Shuswap Lakes; and windsurfing on Shuswap and Niskonlith Lakes. Equipment rentals and scuba diving lessons are available from businesses operating in nearby communities.
Winters are just as lively as summers around Chase, which is handy to Sun Peaks, one of the largest skiing and snowboarding facilities in Canada, and a small, family-friendly hill called Harper Mountain. For cross-country skiing or snowshoeing, try Mount Morrisey (set-track and ungroomed trails), Skmana Lake (groomed trails), Niskonlith Lake or Shuswap Lake (both have ungroomed trails). Snowmobiling is possible in many places but the Fly Hills area of Skimikin Lake and the Tod Mountain Trails are particularly well suited to this form of recreation.
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