Join us for Parks Day 2018!

Have you heard of Parks Day? This annual event is celebrated on the third Saturday of July in every province and territory across Canada. Thousands of people come together to participate in fun, educational, family-oriented events that highlight the important role parks play in maintaining healthy, resilient ecosystems and communities.

Join us for Parks Day 2018!

This year Parks Day falls on July 21, 2018. Below is list of what events are happening in parks near you. Don’t forget to gather your family and friends so they can also join in one of these fun-filled activities.

• Swan Lake Centennial Celebration: 2018 happens to be Swan Lake’s centennial anniversary — an important milestone for any park. To celebrate, we’re inviting people to join us from 11am- 4pm where there will be hands-on activities, educational opportunities, cupcakes and more.
• Outside & Unplugged: Healthy by Nature, a BC Parks Foundation initiative, is celebrating Parks Day with 100 walks in 100 provincial parks, led by 100 health care professionals. The walks are one-hour, family-friendly and fun. This is a great opportunity to get #outsideandunplugged and learn about the health benefits of getting outside. You can register for any walk at  www.healthybynature.ca. The walks will take place at 10:00am.
• Guided hike to Moul Falls, Wells Gray Provincial Park: Join Senior Park Ranger, Vladi Gat, on a guided interpretive hike to Moul Falls in Wells Gray Provincial Park. The event will start at 9:00am and is open to the public – sign up is at the Visitor Info Centre. The hike will take approximately 1.5 hours (round trip) but allow extra time for interpretation and spending time at the waterfalls. The trail is family-friendly, although there are some steeper sections, particularly as you approach the falls. A vehicle is required to access the trail head.

And, if you want to impress your friends this coming Saturday, read on to learn some cool facts about what makes BC Parks such a diverse and remarkable parks system:

• British Columbia has the third largest parks system in North America, after Canada’s National Parks and the United States’ National Park Service;
• The world’s most productive sockeye salmon run can be viewed at Roderick Haig-Brown Park;
• Khutzeymateen Park is Canada’s only grizzly bear sanctuary and is home to about 50 grizzlies, the highest known concentration along the British Columbia coast;
• The largest intact coastal temperate rainforest in the world is protected in Kitlope Heritage Conservancy; and
• Tweedsmuir Park at 989,616 hectares, is British Columbia’s largest provincial park. The smallest is Memory Island, at less than one hectare.

Learn more about BC Parks at BCParks.ca.