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ALBERNI VALLEY PARKS & RECREATION

Municipal Parks

Provincial Parks

National Parks


City of Port Alberni Parks & Recreation

The Alberni Valley and Alberni_Clayoquot Regional District provide local residents and visitors from around the world with spectacular recreational opportunities. From alpine mountain  to ocean beaches, our parks provide the prefect setting for recreation, sports and active living adventures.

Municipal Parks

Several parks are available to book for team or sports gatherings and events. Call us at (250) 723-2181 to reserve a park site.

City Parks and Playground Facilities

• Blair Park

• Cameron Heights Park

• Dry Creek Park

• Echo Park

• Glenwood Park

• Harbour Quay Park

• Gyro/Recreation Park

• Kiwanis Park

• Klitsa Park

• Paper Mill Dam Park

• River Road Park

• Roger Creek Park 

• Russell Park

• Seaton Park

• Somass Park

• Spencer Park

• Weaver Park

• Williamson Park

Provincial Parks

• Sproat Lake Provincial Park

This beautiful provincial park on the northeast shore of Sproat Lake in the Alberni Valley has a number of popular attractions, including a wonderful beach.

Sproat Lake is noted for its warm water and is an excellent training location for aquatics and watersports such as kayaking, canoeing, sailing, water skiing, and wakeboarding   or as a competition venue.  Windsurfing is excellent when the wind typically comes up in the afternoon.

Sproat Lake Provincial Park has an excellent beach and clear, warm water. The park is located beside a sheltered bay overlooking the lake with Mount Anderson rising to the south. Many campers and day-use visitors take advantage of the public marina and the Park’s boat launch ramp.

Throughout the park there are numerous hiking trails, with one leading to the prehistoric petroglyph--K'ak'awin--on the eastern end of the park.

During the forest fire season, the awesome Martin Mars water bombers take off from the lake as they roar off to douse forest fires. They are the largest water bombers in the world, and can scoop up to 27 tonnes of water from the lake surface.

There are 59 camping spots in two separate campgrounds in the park. Reservations are accepted and advisable during the busy summer months. The campground is wheelchair accessible and has showers, pit and flush toilets, a sani-station and a boat launch. A large public marina is located on site, and full amenities are available at Port Alberni. Open all year, fees are collected at the Lakeside and Upper campground from April 1 to October 15. There is a winter fee with no provided services charged from October 16 to March 31.

The Alberni Valley offers freshwater fishing that is the envy of any fishing town anywhere. The Somas River runs through the heart of town, and shore casting is accessible from a number of locations beside Hwy 4 and along Hector Road off Hwy 4 west of Port Alberni. Just north of Port Alberni, the Stamp River would probably make every Chinook and steelhead angler's Top Ten list. Beginning in January and lasting through March, a winter run of steelhead occurs in the Stamp River, while April and May are good months for steelhead in Sproat Lake. Sproat Lake also has a solid reputation for rainbow-trout angling, particularly June through September. Use the boat launch here to head out for some trolling or casting.

In late summer, upwards of a half-million salmon make their way to the spawning grounds near the Stamp River Hatchery. Bank casting is permitted downstream from the hatchery. Follow Beaver Creek Road about 12 km north from Hwy 4 to Stamp River Provincial Park. Watch for pullouts beside the river along the way.

The 39-hectare Sproat Lake Provincial Park is situated on the north shore of Sproat Lake, 13 km northwest of Port Alberni. Access to the park is directly off Tofino Highway 4, or off Great Central Lake Road.

(Adapted from: http://www.britishcolumbia.com/ParksAndTrails/Parks/details/?ID=393)

• Taylor Arm Provincial Park

Taylor Arm Provincial Park is an excellent group camping facility close to the shores of Sproat Lake and is ideal for a year-round training base for watersports and aquatics teams. The six group campsites at this park are located across the highway from the lake, connected via a trail that leads through a highway underpass.  

This pleasantly wooded park has undeveloped beaches and two day-use areas – one on the shores of Sproat Lake at the end of the trail from the campground and the other at Camp 10, located ½ km west of the group campground parking lot down Hwy #4. A short trail from the Camp 10 parking lot also leads to the lake.

(Adapted from: http://wlapwww.gov.bc.ca/bcparks/explore/parkpgs/taylor.htm)

• Fossli Park

Day-use Fossli Park is situated on the south side of Sterling Arm on Sproat Lake, west of Port Alberni on Vancouver Island. This undeveloped park has limited facilities but does contain a beautiful walking or running trail. This 30-minute route leads through second-growth forest to an old homestead site on Sproat Lake. At the lake, visitors can relax on the level grassy area or pebble beach and enjoy the lovely views of Sproat Lake.

(Adapted from: http://wlapwww.gov.bc.ca/bcparks/explore/parkpgs/fossli.htm)

• Stamp River   

Serious white water at Stamp Falls Provincial Park--- kayaking anyone?

After a hard day competing or training relax by the waterfall at this peaceful riverside park or hike the hiking trails that weave their way through the lush forest, past waterfalls and river rapids. Great for trail running and building up the cardio! Named for the pioneer who built Port Alberni’s earliest sawmill, this park is an amalgamation of Stamp Falls and Money’s Pool provincial parks.

Each Fall thousands of Pacific salmon gather in the pool below Stamp Falls before making the arduous ascent up the fish ladders to the gravel spawning beds. Lookout points along the river offer excellent views of the salmon fighting their way up the falls and fish ladders. This natural phenomenon starts in late August with Sockeye and continues with Coho and Chinook right into December.  

Black bear feed on salmon and head to the river to scoop the fish from the icy waters. Naturally, safety precautions should be taken in any bear habitat. Fishing is not permitted within the park boundaries, however the park is a popular base camp for anglers fishing other parts of the Stamp River, as well as visitors traveling through the Alberni Valley en route to and from the Pacific Rim.

(Adapted from: http://wlapwww.gov.bc.ca/bcparks/explore/parkpgs/stamp.htm)  

National Parks

• Pacific Rim National Park Reserve
  

The park is a recreational jewel offering opportunities for sports of all sorts: swimming, sailing, surfing, kayaking, and hiking to name but a few.

Located approximately 100 km. from Port Alberni, Pacific Rim National Park Reserve consists of three geographically diverse and geographically separate areas including: Long Beach; the Broken Group Islands and the West Coast Trail. The Long Beach area is named for the longest of a series of beaches on Vancouver Island's west coast, the Broken Group Islands is an archipelago of over 100 islets in the Barkley Sound and the West Coast Trail is 77 km (48 miles) of difficult hiking which was originally used as a life saving trail for shipwrecked mariners battling the elements of Vancouver Island's west coast.

(Source: http://www.bcadventure.com/adventure/wilderness/parks/pacrim.htm)

Recreational fun in the great outdoors--S'Port Alberni--We’re Onto It!