Guest Post by Jocie Brooks This week I put on my gumboots and headed into the heart of Merville, British Columbia to explore Tsolum Spirit Regional Park. It’s a nice place to take a leisurely stroll (the trail isn’t too long, so no need to rush) and enjoy the fall colours as well as a viewpoint overlooking the river. The …
North Vancouver Island
Nymph Falls Nature Walk
This last weekend we took a family nature walk to Nymph Falls just outside of Courtenay. This park is a local destination for runners, mountain bikers and swimmers but is interesting from a botanical perspective as well. Nymph Falls, near Courtenay, British Columbia is a great destination for a family walk and some summer botanizing. We had heard that both …
Buttle Lake Bluffs
It’s a spot where few people stop on their way to Ralph River Campground in Strathcona Provincial Park. There doesn’t look like there’s much to see and the road is so narrow, twisty and windy in this section that there aren’t many places to pull over safely as well, especially if you’ve got a Boliden-Westmin Mines ore truck on your …
Spring Streamside Wildflowers
Guest Post by Jocie Brooks “Spring is finally here,” I think, letting the little ones run ahead of me down the path as I take in the fresh greenery and colourful wildflowers, while listening to a burst of melodious bird song. Today, we are heading out to find some of spring’s finest flowers, and the kids have volunteered as my …
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 …
A Place of Rainbows
The name Sointula, the Malcolm Island community of utopian origin off northern Vancouver Island, translates as ‘Place of Harmony.’ However, it might equally be known as a ‘Place of Rainbows’. A frequency of rainbows of course means an abundance of rain, of which Malcolm Island receives over 150 cm annually. In addition, the south facing shore of the island also …
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 …
Ancient Horsetails
During a recent visit to Sayward I happened upon a patch of giant horsetails rising from a roadside ditch. Strangely alluring, the pale brown wand-like fertile shoots appear in spring, followed shortly after by green, vegetative shoots. These anemic fertile shoots, which only last for a short period, are easily overlooked. Most of us are more familiar with the green …
San Josef Bay
The beach at San Josef Bay, Cape Scott Provincial Park. I have made two visits to the San Josef Bay area of Cape Scott Provincial Park. The area is an excellent place for both beach combing and photography. A First Visit to San Josef Bay On the first occasion we drove to the trail head, parked and backpacked the short …
Cape Scott Provincial Park by Water Taxi
The dramatic north coast shore in Cape Scott Provincial Park makes for striking black and white photographs. Cape Scott Provincial Park is at the northern tip of Vancouver Island. The conventional way of visiting the northern part of the Park is to backpack from the trail head. Nels Bight is 16.8 km from the trail head and the trail can …