 Grizzly Bears
Capilano Salmon Hatchery
Beautifully situated in the deep, lushly forested canyon of Capilano River Regional Park, this hatchery provides an excellent opportunity to learn about the salmon lifecycle. It was designed to restore the diminishing stocks of coho salmon and steelhead trout and releases thousands of these fish every year.
The public viewing area contains outdoor displays and tanks, including a glass side to the fish ladder. This allows visitors a chance to watch the salmon migrate upstream in the late summer and fall. At certain times of the year, you may also witness juvenile salmon and trout in the display aquaria.
The Capilano Salmon Hatchery is located in North Vancouver, just a 20-minute drive from downtown Vancouver.
A word or two on your visit:
- No admission fee in effect
- Approximate time required: 1 hour
> Capilano Hatchery website.
Harrison Mills
Harrison Mills is home to both Kilby Provincial Park and the Weaver Creek Spawning Channel.
Kilby Provincial Park is a designated British Columbia Wildlife Watch area. It is the winter abode of roughly 1,000 bald eagles. They are attracted to the abundance of salmon in the nearby Harrison River. While geese, finches, chickadees, jays and ravens can be seen throughout the park, visitors in the winter are most astonished by the trumpeter swans and their graceful movements.
Weaver Creek Spawning Channel is a nearly three-km (1.9-mi) long spawning habitat, created in 1965 for sockeye salmon. During the month of October, it is a prime site from which to watch sockeye spawning. The channel also hosts a fair share of chum salmon. As an added treat during colder months, visitors may see the unique American dipper. This small grey songbird is known to actually walk under water!
Harrison Mills is located near Harrison Hot Springs, two hours east of Vancouver via Highway 7.
> Kilby Park website.
> Weaver Creek Channel website.
Manning Provincial Park
Over 200 species of birds and more than 60 species of mammals live in and about the 70,844-ha (175,000-ac) Manning Provincial Park. Beaver Pond, Strawberry Flats, Blackwall Meadows and Sumallo Grove are all ideal locations for viewing wildlife. Visitors can expect to spot bird varieties that include woodpeckers and songbirds. Hikers often spot black bears, which roam the backcountry and often make their way out alongside the highway!
Manning is also famous for its well-developed wilderness trail system, which takes adventurers through flower-clad meadows, up forested mountains, down deep valleys as well as along lakes and rivers. Visitors can even drive right up to the flower meadows, which are in full bloom from mid-July to early August.
Fishing, swimming, horseback riding and canoeing are favourite activities here. You can also set up camp in one of the campgrounds. If you do, be prepared for a visit from a gentle deer or two.
Manning Park is located along Highway 3 between Hope and Princeton, a three-hour drive east from Vancouver.
> Manning Park website.
Birkenhead Lake Provincial Park
Birkenhead Lake Provincial Park is beautifully situated in the Coast Mountains. The park, an inspiring combination of crystal-clear lakes, jagged mountain peaks, old-growth forests as well as sub-alpine and alpine environments, is known for its role in protecting important habitats that include those of the spotted owl, mountain goat as well as black and grizzly bears. In addition to these park dwellers, visitors may catch sight of moose, blue herons, ospreys, grouse and deer.
The campground area of the park straddles Phelix Creek, which is home to spawning kokanee every fall. Campers are also likely to see mountain goats roaming the surrounding cliffs.
Birkenhead Lake Provincial Park is a 90-minute drive north from Whistler via Highway 99.
> Birkenhead Lake Park website.
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