With the clouds rolling in, the temperature dropping, and the water getting choppy, you realize today might be a good day for an adventure. I consult with my neighbour, Stu, who recommends his favourite day trip, Englishman River Falls Provincial Park. Located just outside Parksville, B.C., this 45 minute hike is just the right length for my five and seven-year-old kids.

Entering the park, we are surrounded by tall majestic cedars’ whose thick green boughs block out most of the sunlight, leaving a cool dark forest. Filling out the parking form, we can hear the roar of Upper Falls. Stu advised us to hike Lower Falls first; it is a steep descent and easier to go down than up. The trail loops around to Upper Falls and then ends back at the parking lot. With our picnic lunch and Daisy straining at her leash, we set off down the trail.

As we get close to the falls we hear screaming. Crossing the bridge, we see hikers jumping off the rock outcrops into the icy emerald green water. After each jump, they don’t linger in the glacier fed pool.  Scrambling up on the rocks, they quickly dry themselves off, climb up and do it again.

The kids, seeing the water, quickly scramble down the rocks, whip off their sandals and join the other visitors wading in the calmer shallow river. The rocks are smooth, but the icy water soon numbs our feet. We spend an hour at Lower Falls “swimming” and eating.

It only takes about 15 minutes to hike to Upper Falls. Crossing the bridge, we follow the switch-backs up the steep slope and wind up back at the parking lot.

This pristine park has a large group picnic area, running water bathrooms, and overnight camping. The campsites are spread out and nestled in the dense woods. This is a great spot for a hike and a picnic, and a beautiful place to overnight.

If You Go: Exit 51 - Parksville - take Alberni Highway  (Highway 4) and follow the signs to Englishman River Falls. Turn left onto Errington Road and follow it to the end.  Make sure you pack water shoes, bathing suit, towel and camera.

We capped off our adventure with a double scoop waffle ice cream cone from the Coombs Country Market - located further down the road on the Alberni Highway.

For more information on this park or other hikes visit the BC Parks website and take a hike.

Cheers,

Julie

This entry was posted on Friday, August 10th, 2007 at 6:17 pm and is filed under Entertaining. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.