Travel In-Town: Hope's Picturesque Parks
Here are the more popular parks in Hope, from north to south (see other area parks):
Coquihalla Canyon Provincial Park
off Highway #5 from Hope, Take Exit #183, north
It is an easy stroll from the parking lot, through the tunnels to view the Coquihalla Canyon and a variety of flowers, trees and shrubs. Built in 1914 by the C.P.R. the five Othello Quintette Tunnels were dug simultaneously, an engineering feat. Engineer Andrew McCulloch designed the tunnels as a unique way to get through the Coquihalla gorge where the river had cut a 300-foot deep channel in a wall of solid granite. The tunnels took five years to build and were completed in 1916 to finish the Kettle Valley Railway. The location was used for filming several major motion pictures, including First Blood (Rambo), Shoot To Kill and most recently Far from Home: Adventures of Yellow Dog. Hiking trails, parks, and lakes dot the area, and flashlights are recommended for inside the tunnels.
Centennial Park
Alongside the TransCanada Highway #1 and Fraser River in Hope.
Centennial Park offers some of the best river and mountain views in town. A signpost points to the many mountain peaks surrounding Hope - Holy Cross Mountain, Mount Chawuthen, Crack Mountain, Dog Mountain, Mount Ogilvie, Thacker Mountain and of course, Mount Hope. The cairn also tells the story of Hope's origin, and the park gives visitors a close-up view of the majestic Fraser River on its way to the Pacific Ocean. Greenwood Island, directly across from Centennial Park, is an Indian reserve and a sanctuary for great blue herons.
The Fraser River is named for Simon Fraser, the first white man to paddle the river to the sea in 1808. He thought he was descending the Columbia River until the wild river made its abrupt westward turn at Hope (too far north to be the Columbia).
Jones Lake, Laidlaw
Take a 9 km steep gravel BC forestry road to this high elevation lake, created by a Hydro dam at the north end. The water is diverted to the Wahleach powerhouse via a tunnel through the Four Brothers Mountain. Road conditions vary and may require 4 wheel drive; also, watch for logging trucks. BC Hydro maintains a recreation site at Jones Lake, with boat launching facility, fishing, picnic day-use area, and 30 campsites with picnic tables and fire rings. The location offers spectacular views of the Cheam Ridge mountains, rising over 2100 metres above sea level with year-round snowcap. There is a hiking trail that begins at the midpoint of the east shore, leading to the Lucky Four mine shaft and Foley Peak. Boaters need to be alert for sudden winds changes, rough waves, fluctuating water levels, floating and submerged debris, and cold water.
The Skagit Valley Provincial Park
36 km south on the Silver Skagit Road, accessed 3 km west of Hope, via Flood-Hope Road.
This 27,948 hectares provincial park was the site of one of the first major environmental protests in BC, dating back to 1906 when the Seattle City Light Company had begun to dam the Skagit River on the Washington side. By 1949, additional dams flooded two square kilometres of Canadian territory and 1969 planned expansion finally led to a heated protest by citizens on both sides of the border. Eventually an international joint committee withdrew its approval and the park received its class A status in 1995.
The Chittenden Meadow self-guiding interpretive trail meanders through a dry ecosystem of prairie grasses and majestic ponderosa pine. The nearby lush Skagit River Trail takes hikers through lush coastal old growth and some spectacular groves of wild Pacific Rhododendrons (blooming in June).The 1998 addition of the Whitworth Horse Camp gives horse lover miles of trails, campsites individually equipped with corrals, high-line posts and hitching rails. The provincial Park also provides access to the Ross Lake national Recreation area in Washington State
Manning Provincial Park
26 km east of Hope on the Princeton Highway #3
The Visitor Centre and core area of the park in the heart of the Cascade Mountains is located 68 km east of Hope.
As you enter Manning Park from Hope, you pass the carved marmot at the West Gate. A short trail loops through the forest along the historic Royal Engineers route.
Sumallo Grove is a great spot to get a feel for the wet coastal old-growth forests, with a wheelchair accessible interpretive trail. June is the best time to walk through Rhododendron Flats, with the bright blossoms of the Pacific Rhododendron.
Manning Park Resort, in the center of the park, offers a meeting place, camping, lodging, dining, and chainsaw carvings. is a favourite place to meet, enjoy a hearty meal, or admire the chainsaw carvings. From the resort to the Cascade Lookout, take the paved road across the highway a few kilometres to some of the most extensive sub-alpine meadows in Canada. Mid-July to early-August offers stunning apline floral displays. .The E.C. Manning Park Visitor Centre is one kilometre east of the resort.
Lightning Lake is a beautiful spot to enjoy a picnic, rent a canoe, try your luck fishing, or even take a refreshing dip in the clear mountain waters. The Skyline Trail, beginning & ending from the Lake, climbs up through the forest to scenic ridges leading towards the spectacular Hozomeen Peaks. This trail also traverses into the Skagit Valley Mt. Frosty Trail leads to the highest peak in the park, with stunning views of the surrounding Cascade Mountains.
Manning Park is also a popular winter destination. Enjoy the thrill of downhill skiing (with night skiing), snowboarding, tobogganing, groomed cross-country trails, or 73 km of back-country touring routes from Fat Dog Creek and Three Brothers.
Here are the other Fraser Valley communities:
[ Pitt Meadows, Maple Ridge | Mission | Harrison - Aggazis
Langley-Aldergove | Abbotsford-Matsqui |
Chilliwack | Hope ]
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