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Lakes abundant in Alberni Valley
Monday, June 18th, 2007 by GetawayBC.com
Visitors to Vancouver Island expect mountains and ocean, but they might be surprised to discover the abundance of freshwater lakes tucked in the valleys.
Within an hour’s drive of Port Alberni there are huge, developed lakes like Sproat Lake and tiny gems like Gracie Lake sitting in a shallow dip atop a mountain pass. Just about every water sport you can think of can be done on one of the hundreds of freshwater bodies in the Alberni Valley.
Starting with the obvious, Sproat Lake is just north of town. This lake is so big (93,000 hectares) it has two provincial parks – Sproat Lake and Fosslie. The main park in one of the southern fingerlings of the lake, Sproat Lake, has campsites and a sandy beach for a day of lazing, wading and watching the world go by. It’s also the home of the famed Martin Mars waterbombers, and one of the finest panels of prehistoric petroglyphs painted on a rock wall in B.C.
Fosslie Provincial Park is located across the lake from Sproat Lake Provincial Park and includes some scenic hiking trails and viewpoints, but no camping.
“There’s everything on that lake,” says Yvette Smith at the Alberni Valley Chamber of Commerce’s visitor’s information centre. She listed kayaking, windsurfing, fishing, canoeing, sea-doing, swimming as a few of the choices available.
After a day of play on the water, anglers will have a choice of fish to fry on the campfire.
“There’s excellent trout fishing,” Smith said. Little Gracie Lake is considered one of the better rainbow trout spots on Vancouver Island, while the bigger lakes near the highway sport cutthroat, Dolly Varden, steelhead and kokanee.
Most of the water bodies have basic facilities to set up a base camp for exploring all the hiking trails in the region.
Rick Avis has a favourite lake he describes as small, but unique. Turtle Lake is tucked in with two other water bodies between the Alberni Valley Airport and Great Central Lake. “It’s a good spot for winter birds,” Avis says. Neither rain nor snow prevents Avis, who’s a member of the Alberni Valley Outdoor Club, from hiking out to catch a glimpse of trumpeter swans, loons and mergansers using the water for their paddling pool.
Another poorly kept secret is Father and Son Lake, nestled at the foot of Limestone Mountain. The high elevation lake has a rustic campsite requiring a three-kilometre hike in. Along the way backpackers are treated to ridge views, alpine meadows and an old-growth cedar, fir and hemlock forest.
There’s nothing like a week at the lake to escape the heat of summer, and unlike the great Pacific the water’s safe and almost warm.
reporter@albernivalleynews.com
IF YOU GO:
Contact the Alberni Valley Chamber of Commerce visitor information centre at www.avcoc.com, phone (250) 724-6535 or e-mail avcoc@alberni.net.
Another good source is the Backroad Mapbook, Vancouver Island edition, by Russell Mussio. This book offers topographical information as well as comprehensive lists for paddling, camping, fishing and hiking trails.