Hiking, mountain biking, swimming, fishing, camping, boating, kayaking, picnicking, or perhaps just a gentle stroll after a scenic car drive: All of the above are everyday activities in municipal, oceanside, provincial, and regional parks in Campbell River and vicinity.
Strathcona Provincial Park
Strathcona Provincial Park, founded in 1911 as BC's first provincial park, is located at the north (and most accessible) end of the largest, most rugged, and mountainous green space on Vancouver Island (a 40-minute drive east of Campbell River along Highway 28). Buttle Lake is popular with swimmers, boaters and campers, while the Elk Lake Trail is a popular spot for family day hikes.
The pleasantly rustic Strathcona Park Lodge on Upper Lake Campbell specializes in a la carte adventure vacations that allow guests to pick and choose from a variety of outdoor sports – climbing, kayaking, ziplining, hiking, rappelling, and orienteering included. The lodge's Outdoor Education Centre teaches kids and teenagers these sports along with survival skills and leadership training.
Elk Falls Provincial Park
It feels like a world away, but Elk Falls Provincial Park with its dramatic waterfall and riverside hiking trails is right on Campbell River's doorstep just five minutes east of town. Fish for trout and salmon at private campsites mere feet from the Quinsam River. And enjoy a fresh perspective on the Campbell River while striding the Canyon View (4km/2.5mi) and Millennium (2.4km/1.5mi) trails.
Sayward Provincial Forest
One of BC's great canoe trips extends on a circuit route across nine lakes and just as many purpose-built portage corridors through Sayward Provincial Forest a half-hour's drive north of Campbell River. Enjoy aspects of it on day trips or tackle the entire 48km/30mi voyage in three or four days. In addition to wildlife sightings, paddlers will likely encounter swimmers and fishermen on Morton and Mohun lakes.
Civic Parks
Three dozen green spaces can be found within Campbell River's municipal limits. Beaver Lodge Forest Lands, southeast of downtown near the Merecroft Village Shopping Centre, is the largest at over 1000ac/405ha. Local hikers, cyclists, and horseback riders share the trail system in this lovely second growth forest. Another favorite is Nunns Creek Park downtown. Pick up the 12 Great Places to Walk brochure at the Visitor Centre.
Rotary Sea Walk
One of Campbell River's most remarkable features is its oceanfront walkways, which begin at the mouth of the Campbell River on Tyee Spit and extend along the Rotary Sea Walk past the Willow Point neighborhood in the city's southend. Joggers, cyclists, dogwalkers, and hand-in-hand couples dot the promenade.
Keep an eye out for the dozens of wood carvings (animals, mythical heroes and cartoon characters, among them) along the route. All are legacies of the annual Transformations on the Shore carving competition; check out the latest entries each summer at Frank James Park in Willow Point.
Stop by the Campbell River Visitor Centre for more information about parks in the area.