E.C. Manning Provincial Park

Manning Park straddles the Cascade crest on Highway 3 and its distinction is access: a paved road climbs to Blackwall Peak at around two thousand metres, so the subalpine meadows are reachable by car rather than by a day's climb. They flower from mid-July into August with lupine, paintbrush and valerian. In late September the alpine larch turn gold, a short window that draws photographers, since larch is the one conifer here that sheds its needles. The Pacific Crest Trail crosses the park at its southern boundary, entering Canada from Washington. Lightning Lake at the valley floor has a flat loop walk.

What you actually see

• The Meadows road - a paved climb to subalpine flower meadows.
• The golden larch - alpine larch turning in late September.
• Lightning Lake - a flat lakeside loop on the valley floor.
• The Pacific Crest Trail - the northern terminus area of the long-distance route.

When to go

Mid-July to August for flowers; late September for larch, a window of about two weeks that shifts each year. The Meadows road closes with snow, roughly October to June.

Honest expectations

The Meadows road is closed for most of the year. Larch colour timing varies and the road can close before it peaks in an early winter. Highway 3 is a busy truck route.

Nearby

Hope lies west; the Okanagan is east.