Greater Vancouver
	The Fraser Estuary
	The Fraser Valley
	The North Shore
	Whistler/Sea to Sky Highway
	Pemberton/Lillooet
	The Sunshine Coast
	Click on the desired Area for more information on beaches and picnic areas.

There are few places around Pemberton where you can stay in the water for any great length of time - it's just too cold. The exception is One-Mile Lake, a small park beside Hwy 99, complete with a beach and dock. Later in the summer the lake can become choked with algae, but attempts have been made to improve the drainage, which may
help restore clarity.

The best beach in the Pemberton region is on Lillooet Lake at the Strawberry Point Forest Service Recreation Site. Drive south of Hwy 99 on rough-surfaced Lillooet Lake Rd to reach Strawberry Point. A short trail leads from the parking lot to a wide swath of sand. The beach is remote enough that you'll often have it to yourself. Lillooet Lake is broad and deep, and its waters never really have a chance to warm up. However, swimming is possible for short plunges before retreating to your blanket.

It's a shame that for a region renowned for seriously hot summer days and for exquisite lakes and rivers, so few are warm enough to even consider swimming in them. At least the beaches are inviting, which is what makes the BC Hydro recreation site at Seton Lake such a hit. Even if you don't go in the water, your eyes will be bathed in colour. Seton Lake is a rare shade of green, and it's complemented by the rugged, mineral-hued mountainside that rises nearby to the north.

One sign that spring has arrived in Mount Currie is the blooming of the apple trees at the Owl Creek Forest Service Recreation Site. It's a miracle that these old trees still blossom at all. They're at least 60 years old and have endured the coldest winters of the century. Picnic tables covered with white petals await travellers in May, though they are just as appealing at other times, particularly when the sun shines and the creek sings. There's an adjacent site on the opposite side of the creek in a more heavily forested section favoured by kayakers.

Farther up the road from Owl Creek is D'Arcy's Heritage Park on the shore of Anderson Lake. Tables dot this grassy site, which is exposed to the cool wind that often blows off the lake on even the hottest days. This same wind really helps keep down the bugs, the bane of any picnic. D'Arcy is a easygoing town, which is evident by the cattle that are allowed to range freely around the park and on nearby roads.

You can enjoy a picnic in a log-cabin setting at the Pemberton Pioneer Museum. These are not the smooth, round-log homes that are now constructed in Pemberton, but the rough-hewn timber models that served early settlers so well. It's a delight to examine their thick walls and peer through the windows at their snug interiors, even if you find that the museum itself is closed. The picnic tables are always available, as is the view of imposing Mount Currie that rises before you. The museum is located at the corner of Prospect and Camus Streets, a short distance north of Hwy 99 in the heart of Pemberton.

The limestone canyon in which Marble Canyon Provincial Park is located is a rather rare geological formation in British Columbia. That's what makes picnicking here such an unusual experience. You can sense there's something different: the white, chalk-faced slopes are certainly not composed of granite as are the nearby Coast Mountains. And the weathered peaks, surmounted by the remarkable Chimney Rock, have the appearance of a crumbling castle wall. This canyon was once part of a Pacific island chain, another section of which lies in the northwest corner of the province. Thanks to continental drift, they got around. Keep this thought in mind as a waterfall on the far side of suitably named Turquoise Lake reminds you of the power of the elements to eventually wear all things down.