Two mountain ranges hem the Fraser Valley: the Coast
Mountains to the north and the Cascades to the south.
In the folds of each are numerous lakes (for the most
part bone-chillingly cold), the largest of which are
Pitt and Harrison to the north, and Cultus and Chilliwack
to the south. Ross Lake in Skagit Provincial Park is
also a contender. Although most of Ross Lake's basin
is located in Washington State, the easiest access to
it is from the Canadian side in the Fraser Valley. The
excellent beaches at most of these big lakes are easily
reached, with steep-sided Pitt Lake being the one exception.
You'll need a boat to reach those.
North Fraser Valley: Undoubtedly the most popular
beach in the North Fraser Valley is at Alouette Lake
in Golden Ears Provincial Park. You can drive right
to the beach at the lake's south end, or take 15 minutes
to hike to North Beach from the Gold Creek parking
lot. Water temperatures in the dammed lake warm up quickly,
and by the middle of May there's bound to be a melee
of bodies stretched out in the sun here. It's a far
different picture in winter when water levels (and temperatures)
drop, but the mood is still magical. The forested slopes
of the steep-sided valley are reflected on the lake's
surface, although you have to paddle out onto it in
order to truly appreciate the sight of the surrounding
peaks. The longest stretch of beach is located at the
Alouette day-use area near the park entrance; the approach
is gentle, and is suited to wheelchairs and strollers.
Farther north, Campers Beach lies beside the
Alouette Campground. Campers Beach is near a hillside,
so a short walk down a pleasant path and staircase is
necessary to reach it.
Picnic shelters are located at Alouette Lakes
popular day-use area in Golden Ears Provincial Park.
A strong breeze blows here in the afternoon, so pack
a full hamper to help anchor the tablecloth. The open
setting looks east across the lake towards the far shore,
where a future expansion of the park is planned. They
just can't build this beach big enough! And such a beach.
There's a small beach at Rolley Lake Provincial Park
near Ruskin, perfectly in keeping with the scale of
the diminutive lake itself. It's a welcome feature when
camping in the park. However, for a bigger beach experience,
head to North Beach on nearby Hayward Lake, where the
broad shoreline is dotted with picnic tables. Action
at the beach runs hot and cold: good weather brings
out the crowds, while at other times the beach can be
so deserted that you'll have its centrepiece - a gracefully
constructed gazebo - to yourself. Trails lead south
from the beach along the reservoir and to a viewpoint
on a nearby bluff. To find your way here, follow the
signs north of Hwy 7 at Ruskin, a small mill town on
the Fraser River between Maple Ridge and Mission, to
the Hayward Lake Reservoir Recreation Area.
The beach at Kilby Provincial Park is particularly
popular with water-skiers. But don't forget your wet
suit. Water temperature in the park's Harrison Bay is
influenced by outflow from the chilled fjord waters
of nearby Harrison Lake and rarely warms up above 70
Deg F
(20 Deg C). The beach is also popular with anglers,
trumpeter swans, and a thousand or more eagles that
come here to feast on the annual salmon run in late
autumn. The beach is located just south of Hwy 7, about
20 miles (33 km) east of Mission.
Green
Point picnic area lies just north of Harrison Hot
Springs where a wide swath of grassy lawn rolls down
to the shores of Harrison Lake. Here in the day-use
area of Sasquatch Provincial Park you'll find picnic
tables (many with barbeques), an open play area, and
a beach with great exposure to the afternoon sun.
Harrison Hot Springs is fronted by a long stretch
of municipal beach, so perfect for building sand castles
that an annual international competition is held here
in September.
The tranquil Blue Mountain Forest in Maple Ridge provides
a soothing setting for picnicking in Kanaka Creek Regional
Park. Tables are spread about in a sunny location just
above Cliff Falls. Come June, the salmonberry
bushes are laden with ripe fruit, in brilliant shades
of red and gold. They both taste the same (the yellow
ones are rarer) and provide a sweet, juicy accompaniment
to whatever else you have on your menu. The picnic site
is several minutes' walk downhill from the parking area
at the 252nd St entrance off Dewdney Trunk Rd. There's
also picnicking in the park farther upstream at the
Bell-Irving Kanaka Creek Fish Hatchery. This
open setting beside the main fork of Kanaka Creek lacks
some of the mystique of Cliff Falls.
If
you're on a 'picnic crawl,' journey the short distance
between Hayward Lake and Mission on the Dewdney Trunk
Road for a peek in the backwoods. It's a change from
the river scenes presented along Hwy 7, the more popular
route. Both roads lead to Mission, where you'll find
good picnicking with some of the best views in the Fraser
Valley at Fraser River Heritage Regional Park. Turn
north off Hwy 7 on either Stave Lake Road or May Street,
then turn east on Fifth Avenue. Mount Baker's snowcapped
visage beams down on you from the distant horizon, while
below the park the Fraser River makes a sweeping elbow
turn on its way to the Pacific. One look at the wide-open
spaces in this park and you'll see why this is a wonderful
place to enjoy a picnic, especially towards the end
of July when the park is the venue for the Mission Folk
Festival. Just come prepared to do battle with the bugs.
If you get too baked in the hot summer sun, seek out
the cool refuge provided by a ravine that cuts through
the nearby forest. Also within Mission's city limits
is Hatzic Park, a colourful place to picnic from
May to October. The park overlooks the fields of flowers
that surround Ferncliff Gardens and is a good
place to picnic after a visit to the gardens.
A
third picnic park in Mission is nearby Neilson Regional
Park, located on the west side of Hatzic Lake, an
easy five-minute drive from Hatzic Park. Follow the
signs to the park from Edwards Street. Picnic tables
dot the open field that slopes down to the shore of
Hatzic Lake from the parking lot. Your reward is a view
of Westminster Abbey's bell tower, which graces the
skyline above the park. In October, salmon spawn in
Draper Creek, which cuts through the park.
Another waterfront to admire while you picnic in the
North Fraser Valley is Kilby Provincial Park east of
Mission, a short distance off Hwy 7 on wide-mouthed
Harrison Bay. Winds blowing off the bay can have a chill
edge to them, so find a sheltered table or keep a sweater
handy. This is the open heart of the valley. Chilliwack
lies unseen on the south side of the Fraser.
Finally,
if you're headed for Harrison Hot Springs with a picnic
hamper in hand, visit the Green Point day-use
area picnic grounds just north of town on Rockwell Drive
at the entrance to Sasquatch Provincial Park.
There are several dozen picnic tables arranged along
the lakeshore in the shade of a cottonwood grove.
South Fraser Valley: Life on the Fraser River
is often best viewed from a beach. Unfortunately, many
of the river's best beaches (or 'bars') are leased to
lumber companies for logging booms. Several exceptions
lie on either side of Fort Langley, at Derby Reach
and Glen Valley Regional Parks. The hard-packed
beaches at Derby Reach's Edgewater Bar and Glen
Valley's Two Bit, Poplar, and Duncan
Bars are wide, gently sloping stretches of sand,
perfect to stroll on while watching the river flow.
Blue herons glide by above, while in the river a seal
will occasionally poke up its head to check you
out, sometimes with a fish in its mouth. Although 30
miles (50 km) upriver from the mouth of the Fraser,
tidal action in the river is still powerful enough to
leave more (or less) of the beach exposed, depending
on the time of your visit.
The
warm waters of Cultus Lake have attracted visitors
to frolic and splash on its beaches for decades before
the establishment of a provincial park on the lake's
east side. Small private cabins clustered around Cultus
Lake Municipal Beach's maze of swimming wharves
testify to this tradition. The warm water is so clear
that at midday the gold sand on the bottom of the lake
perfectly complements the colour of the summer sun.
A small slide mounted on one of the wharves gives users
of all ages a youthful thrill. All the amenities of
beach life are found here: barbeques, a picnic gazebo,
tennis courts, washroom facilities, and even a boat
rental are close at hand. To reach the municipal beach,
take the Cultus Lake Provincial Park exit from Hwy 1
in Chilliwack and follow the signs. Turn right at the
large wooden public parking sign as you enter the town
of Cultus Lake and drive the short distance to lakeside.
In between dips, stroll past nearby cottages, some sporting
names such as 'Bide-a-wee,' 'Laffalot,' and 'Dunroamin.'
Mounted atop one beachfront cabin are several pairs
of ancient homemade water-skis equipped with cut-off
rubber boots, signs of earlier, more ingenious times.
Drive a short distance south of the municipal beach
into the provincial park. Entrance Bay, Spring
Bay, and Maple Bay all have a beach and picnic
day-use area, where neatly trimmed grass lawns roll
down to the shoreline. Tall cottonwoods shade the banks
of the beach and the narrow pathways that traverse the
shoreline. No matter what time of year you visit here,
the setting bespeaks long, hot, breezy summer days.
Just as at Cultus Lake, you'll find a series of beaches
on the eastern shoreline of Chilliwack Lake,
beginning at the provincial park located here. Three
more beaches front the Forest Service recreation sites
located along Chilliwack Lake Rd at Paleface
and Depot Creeks, and at Sappers Park
at the south end of the lake, perhaps the prettiest
of them all. The sand here is a very fine quality, which
is a good thing because you'll spend more time stretched
out on it than in the chilly waters of the big lake.
No matter which beach you choose, there are awesome
views on all sides as the ramrod-straight fir forest
rises to icefields and scissor-cut peaks.
Kawkawa Lake Provincial Park has a large picnic
area, beach, and boat launch in a forest setting, 1.5
miles (2.4 km) north of Hope. The word kawkawa is a
poetic Native term that means 'much calling of loons.'
Repeat it often enough and you'll get the picture. Many
people journey here as part of a visit to the Othello-Quintette
Railway Tunnels, farther north.
One of the best picnic sites in the south Fraser Valley
is located at Campbell Valley Regional Park in
Langley. An unspoken welcome permeates the atmosphere.
Eat a little, explore a little, eat a little more -
you know the routine. Choose from any of three tabled
sites or simply bring a blanket and spread yourself
beneath the arms of the Hanging Tree, an imposing bigleaf
maple in the valley bottom beside the Little River Loop
Trail. Picnic tables and toilets are located at the
North Valley and South Valley entrances, as well as
at the Campbell Valley Downs Equestrian Centre. The
park can be reached from either Hwy 1 or 99.
Matsqui Trail Regional Park has picnic tables
arranged beside the Fraser River. Most of the year these
are on high ground, but during spring runoff the tables
may be covered by several feet of muddy water. Fortunately,
the tables are well secured and should still await you
once river levels recede. Here on the Matsqui prairie
you'll find many grassy areas between the river and
the dike where you can spread a blanket and let the
Fraser lull you with its slow but steady rhythm.
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