Magnificent Elk Falls
Elk Falls
One thing that I love about living on Vancouver Island is the proximity of wilderness. I live in town, but it doesn’t take long to get out into nature; rivers, mountains, waterfalls, primeval rainforest and great beaches are all close at hand.
Whenever I go to Campbell River I am impressed with the number of hiking trails that are only a few minutes from the city center. Elk Falls Provincial Park is certainly high on the list. The park’s 1087 hectares encompass a huge area, and feature a 122 site campground and a network of hiking trails including Quinsam River Trail, Kingfisher and Beaver Pond Trail, Canyon View Trail and Millennium Trail.
One of the park’s gems is Elk Falls, the park’s namesake, which plummets 25 metres into a deep, rocky gorge. According to the book Edge of Discovery (a history of Campbell River by Isenor, Stephens and Watson) the park was established in 1940. Prior to being declared a park, the area housed a camp for reforestation efforts. The “Great Fire” of 1938 narrowly missed the park, burning a swath of land that stretched from north of Campbell River south to the Courtenay area, almost reaching Comox Lake. Continue reading »
