It is one of the oldest marine parks on the BC coast, and a popular anchorage in the summer months. The 57-hectare park is located on the northwest shore of Keats Island.
The park has a well maintained hiking trail system, a grassy upland picnic area and forested walk-in campsites. The trail system consists of 'Keats Loop' which leads to the top of a bluff to a lookout, and then there is a 2km (1mi) trail which leads to Keats' Landing, the final segment of which can be travelled either by dirt road or trail. The 2km (1mi) trail is of intermediate level, easy to hike when not laden with camping gear, but somewhat arduous when hiking in with several days worth of camping supplies. It is roughly 1km (1mi) uphill and 1km (1mi) downhill either direction, and somewhat near the trail's middle it peaks near the lookout.
There are only two ways for the public to access the park; by marine access or by hiking in. Travellers can take BC Ferries from Horseshoe Bay to Langdale, then board the Stornaway II which makes infrequent trips to Keats' Island and Gambier Island, then hike roughly 2km (1mi) to the campground. The trail from Keats Landing to Plumper Cove Marine Park is NOT bike friendly, and most trails on the island are similarly challenging - bicycles are not recommended but good walking shoes will get you where you need to go! Alternately, via marine access, one with their own boat can navigate and pay moorage fees at the park dock. Several water taxi services are available from Gibsons to Plumper Cove Marine Park, but these are somewhat erratic and do not operate on a regular schedule, sometimes requiring a charter.
The park is known for its quiet and natural surroundings. Unlike many other provincial campgrounds which have vehicle access, traffic by locals there to drink and make loud noise is limited. Occasionally people from Gibsons, British Columbia or those who have cabins on Keats Island will park a barge or tie together a series of boats and have a private flotilla party, although this is rare and usually only occurs on peak long weekends. Due to the natural surroundings, lack of vehicle access, and dedication or investment in a marine vehicle to get to the park, the park is lovingly referred to by those who frequent it regularly as "the best campground in BC". Those from Vancouver, British Columbia who frequent the park tend to go back every year on the same weekends at the same time, and tend to not advertise to their fellow city dwellers about the park in order to keep it private and from it getting too busy.
From September 24 to May 15, the park does not charge camping fees, but has limited services available. Normally, during peak summer months, the camping fee is $16 per night per party (party up to four). There are group campsites available which are double sites for larger parties. Group picknicking services are available by private reservation only. Moorage at a buoy costs $12 per night, and moorage at the dock costs $2.00 per metre per night. Docking and moorage fees only apply after 6pm. During the winter months most services are free of charge. Garbage service is very limited (if at all) and visitors should plan to pack out anything they may bring.
The park has potable water available from a hand pump only from May 15th to Sep 15th and the pit toilets are open year around.
Due to storm damage in the winter of 2006 the dock at the Park was destroyed, and replaced in 2007.
Pacific Rim National Park Reserve is a 511 km2 (197 sq mi) park located in British Columbia, Canada, which comprises three separate regions: Long Beach, the Broken Group Islands, and the West Coast Trail. Its the Pacific Coast Mountains, are characterized by rugged coasts and temperate rainforests.
Della Falls is a waterfall located within Strathcona Provincial Park on Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. With a total height of 440 m (1,440 ft), it ranks as the 16th tallest confirmed waterfall in Canada and the second tallest on Vancouver Island after Kiwi Falls in Schoen Lake Provincial Park.
Gulf Islands National Park Reserve is a national park located on and around the Gulf Islands in British Columbia, Canada. In the National Parks System Plan, this park provides representation of the Strait of Georgia Lowlands natural region, the only place in Canada with a Mediterranean climate of dry, sunny summers and mild, wet winters, the result of a rain shadow effect from surrounding mountains between the region and the ocean. It has similar dominant vegetation as the Pacific Northwest, such as coastal Douglas-fir, western red cedar, shore pine, Pacific dogwood, bigleaf maple, and red alder, but also contains the northern extent of some of the more drought tolerant trees such as Garry oak and Arbutus. The park was created in 2003 as the fortieth national park. It covers 36 square kilometres (14 sq mi) of area on 16 islands and more than 30 islets, reefs and surrounding waters, making it the sixth smallest national park in Canada.
Galiano Island is one of the Southern Gulf Islands located between Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland of British Columbia, Canada. Located on the west side of the Strait of Georgia, the island is bordered by Mayne Island to the southeast, Salt Spring Island to the west and Valdes Island to the northwest. Galiano is part of the Capital Regional District Electoral Area G, and has a permanent population of 1,044 inhabitants as of 2016.
The Sunshine Coast is a geographic subregion of the British Columbia Coast that generally comprises the regional districts of qathet and Sunshine Coast.
Sucia Island is located 2.5 miles (4.0 km) north of Orcas Island in the San Juan Islands, San Juan County, Washington, United States. It is the largest of an archipelago of ten islands including Sucia Island, Little Sucia, Ewing, Justice, Herndon, the Cluster Islands islets, and several smaller, unnamed islands. The group of islands is about 2.5 miles (4.0 km) in length and just short of a half mile wide. Sucia island is roughly the shape of a hand. The total land area of all islands is 2.74 km². The main island of Sucia Island by itself is 2.259 km². There was a permanent population of four persons as of the 2000 census, all on Sucia Island. Sucia Island State Park is a Washington State Marine Park.
Porteau Cove Provincial Park is a provincial park located along the eastern shore of Howe Sound in British Columbia, Canada.
Golden Ears Provincial Park is a Provincial park in British Columbia, Canada and is 555.9 square kilometres (214.6 sq mi). It is named after the prominent twin peaks which are commonly referred to as Golden Ears. The park's southern end is located on the northern edge of the district municipality of Maple Ridge on the north side of the Fraser River.
Discovery Island Marine Provincial Park is a provincial park located about two nautical miles east of Oak Bay on the coast of British Columbia. It is about one mile (1.6 km) long and one-half mile (0.80 km) wide and looks out into the Juan de Fuca Strait.
Juan de Fuca Provincial Park is a provincial park located on the west coast of Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. The park was established on April 4, 1996 by combining three former parks - China Beach, Loss Creek, and Botanical Beach - into one provincial park. It is the location of the majority of the Juan de Fuca Marine Trail, which is a southern compliment to the West Coast Trail within Pacific Rim National Park Reserve.
Kikomun Creek Provincial Park is a provincial park in British Columbia, Canada.
Lockhart Beach Provincial Park is a provincial park Located 40 km north of Creston, British Columbia, Canada, on BC Highway 3A. "This park and the adjacent Lockhart Creek Provincial Park extend 3 hectares, from the sunny shores of Kootenay Lake to the headwaters of Lockhart Creek. "This small park provides the only easy access to public camping along the south arm of Kootenay Lake. An 18 site campground and day use area are located near a sand and fine gravel beach where visitors can relax and enjoy the clear waters of Kootenay Lake."
Wallace Island Marine Provincial Park is a provincial park in the Gulf Islands of British Columbia, Canada. The park includes almost all 72 hectares of Wallace Island. Land on the northern side of Princess Cove extending north towards Chivers is private. This long, thin island lies in Trincomali Channel south-west of Galiano Island, and about 2 km (1.2 mi) northeast of Saltspring Island. There are a few hiking trails, and camping is permitted in designated areas.
Smuggler Cove Marine Provincial Park is a provincial park in British Columbia, Canada.
Saturna Island is a mountainous island, about 31 square kilometres (12 sq mi) in size, in the Southern Gulf Islands chain of British Columbia, Canada. It is situated approximately midway between the Lower Mainland of B.C. and Vancouver Island, and is the most easterly of the Gulf Islands. It is surrounded on three sides by the Canada–United States border. To the north is Point Roberts, Washington, and to the east and south are the San Juan Islands. Approximately half of the island is in the Gulf Islands National Park Reserve (GINPR) that was formed in 2003 from a gift of ecologically sensitive land by Ulla Ressner and John Fry, existing provincial parks, an Ecological Reserve, and other Crown land. There is also a large First Nations reserve on the island. The island has a permanent population of around 350, although that number increases significantly during the busy summer season.
Jones Island State Park is a Washington state park coterminous with Jones Island, one of the San Juan Islands in San Juan County, Washington, USA. It is located one mile (1.6 km) west of the southwestern corner of Orcas Island and accessible only by boat. The island has a land area of 188 acres (76 ha) and no resident population. The island was named by the Wilkes Expedition in 1841 for naval officer Jacob Jones.
Valdes Island is one of the Gulf Islands located in the Strait of Georgia, British Columbia, Canada. It is across Porlier Pass from Galiano Island, which lies to the southeast. It has an area of 23 square kilometres, and is 1.6 kilometres wide by 16 kilometres in length. The island is popular with kayakers, boaters and has historically been the site of several human settlements.
Keats Island is an inhabited island located in Howe Sound near Vancouver, British Columbia. Around eighty people live on Keats Island year-round.
Matia Island is an island in the San Juan Islands of the U.S. state of Washington. The island's entire 145 acres (59 ha) comes under the protection of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and is cooperatively managed by the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission as Matia Island Marine State Park. Matia Island is a National Wildlife Refuge, part of the San Juan Islands National Wildlife Refuge. A 2-acre (0.81 ha) camping area around Rolfe Cove is managed as a State Marine Park by the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission under an agreement dating back to 1959. Pets, wood collecting, and campfires are not allowed on the island. Except for the Wilderness Loop Trail and the campground, all areas above the high tide line are closed to the public.
Portland Island is an island of the Southern Gulf Islands of the South Coast of British Columbia, Canada. It is located in the Salish Sea west of Moresby Island and off the south tip of Saltspring Island, adjacent to the main BC Ferries route just offshore from the terminal at Swartz Bay at the tip of the Saanich Peninsula. It was named after HMS Portland, the flagship of Rear-Admiral Fairfax Moresby, Commander in Chief of the Pacific Station 1850–1853.
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