Looking back towards the Beaufort Range from a lower view point As an alternative to the very popular Ripple Rock trail consider the Campbell River Lookout trail. While the Ripple Rock trail might have a full parking lot, the lookout trail can be less busy. The views are just as good and perhaps better than Ripple Rock because the elevation …
Campbell River
Campbell River’s Canyon View Trail
Campbell River’s Canyon View Trail (accessed via parking areas at the old BC Hydro powerhouse and at the logging bridge at Woodburn Road) is a moderate 6 km loop that is excellent for wildflowers in the early spring. The rich soil of the Campbell River flood plain is perfect for both white and pink fawn lilies (Erythronium sp.) and the display can …
Valley of the Devil’s Club
The huge leaves of Devil’s Club (Oplopanax horridus) are visible from the Millennium Trail in Elk Falls Provincial Park. Maple-like leaves the size of a giant’s plate, clusters of bright red berries, thick twisted spine covered stems. Stumbling through a patch of Devil’s club (Oplopanax horridus) can be a memorable experience. While the common name gives some indication of the nature …
Deltoid Balsamroot
If you live near Campbell River on Vancouver Island you don’t have to take a ferry over to the mainland and drive all the way to the Okanagan to see some gorgeous wild sunflowers. In fact, the deltoid balsamroot (Balsamorhiza deltoidea) that grows on Tyee Spit is much rarer than its cousin the arrowleaf balsamroot (Balsamorhiza sagittata) that covers the …
Wildflowers on the Canyon View Trail
This is the time of year on Vancouver Island to get down to local riverside trails and check out the spring wildflower bloom. One of my favourite places to walk is the the Canyon View Trail in Campbell River. We usually start this moderate 6 km loop trail at the John Hart Generation Station and then walk downstream along the …
Campbell River Christmas Bird Count – January 2, 2012
Another early morning and I was on my way north to Campbell River to do my second (and last) Christmas Bird Count of the 2011/12 count period. I didn’t do the Campbell River count last year (substituting it with the Nanaimo CBC) and, since I was able to do the Comox count this year, I thought it would be good …
Canyon View Trail in Campbell River
The beautiful White Fawn Lily (Erythronium oregonum) is one of many wildflowers in bloom along the Canyon View Trail in Elk Falls Provincial Park. The Canyon View Trail in Elk Falls Provincial Park is a six kilometer loop that follows the banks of the Campbell River is spectacular right now and getting better every day. Allow yourself about 1.5 hours …
Progress
Way back in the spring of 2006 I noticed something just south of Campbell River that made me do a double take. Here on Vancouver Island, the pressure to develop real estate is pretty intense, so intense that sometimes nature gets in the way. I’m really not sure how the developer pulled this off but check out the sign and …
Brandt’s, not Brant’s
A Brandt’s Cormorant (Phalacrocorax penicillatus) showing off its exotic blue gular patch and white breeding feathers. If I only had a dollar for every time I’ve seen the confusion in the spelling of Brandt’s and Brant, I might be able to afford my dream birding trip to Ecuador. Right now we are nearing the end of the Brant Goose migration …
Ripple Rock Trail
Seymour Narrows and the former site of Ripple Rock from the viewpoint. A hundred years ago, the name of Ripple Rock evoked dread in the hearts of mariners, but today entices hikers to explore natural history as well as human history, on the Ripple Rock Trail. The stretch of water in Seymour Narrows, part of the Discovery Passage north of …