BC Parks stories blog series – Fall and winter 2023/2024

Continuing our ‘BC Parks stories’ series, we’re excited to bring you highlights of some of the BC Parks projects and stories shared in the news over the past few months. From family fun at Rivers Day in Port Alberni, to improvements and new facilities in popular parks, we’ve seen some compelling stories that we’re happy to celebrate with you here. 

Hikers excited about the new stairs when accessing Moul Falls in Wells Gray Park – October 11, 2023

Photo: Roland Neave

October 6 saw the completion and opening of a special addition to Moul Falls at Wells Gray Park: new metallic stairs along the trail leading down to the falls. Moul Falls attracts up to 300 visitors a day in the summer, and the new stairs make the hike much easier and safer for people. The stairs are the result of the hard work of BC Parks staff and a generous donation of $10,000 to the BC Parks Foundation from Wells Gray Park supporters Anne and Roland Neave.

Port Alberni celebrates its rivers – Alberni Valley News – October 3, 2023

On September 25, Port Alberni residents and visitors celebrated the second annual Alberni Rivers Day at the Beaver Creek Community Hall and Stamp River Park. The family-friendly event let curious kids get up close to animal specimens including a wolf’s pelt and an animal skull display. There were also lessons on how to dissect fish and how to paint them on cloth print. A local black bear even showed up to watch the festivities from across the river.

BC Parks open reservations four months in advance – January 15, 2024

Photo: Vancouver Is Awesome

BC Parks visitors can book a campsite up to four months in advance of their stay. Reservations for the May long weekend opened on January 17, helping campers access campgrounds for the kick-off of the 2024 camping season. More than 366,000 camping reservations were made last year, marking a 15% increase from 2022. To help accommodate increasing demand, BC Parks has created 32 new campsites at Martha Creek Park. With these new sites, BC Parks created a total of 85 new sites across the province during the 2023 season. People can now sign up for up to five different availability notifications for any dates for reservable campgrounds, which they will receive over email.

Gotta go? Bad decision in Valhalla Provincial Park – January 13, 2024

Photo: Iain Robert Reid

Park rangers have been working hard in Valhalla Park to resolve a growing human-wildlife conflict situation involving mountain goats and human urine. Over recent years, the animals have learned to get essential minerals from hikers’ and rock climbers’ urine and have discovered the places—like the base of Mt. Gimli—where visitors most typically relieve themselves. While this has created new viewing opportunities of the usually elusive animals, encounters with mountain goats can be dangerous. To help retrain affected populations of mountain goats, have been strategically placing salt licks in the area. Park rangers have also installed a urine diversion toilet at the base of Mt. Gimli.