Strathcona Provincial Park

Strathcona was created in 1911, the first provincial park in British Columbia, and covers about two hundred and fifty thousand hectares of the island's mountainous interior. Della Falls, at around four hundred and forty metres, is among the highest waterfalls in Canada and one of the hardest to reach: the route involves a boat across Great Central Lake followed by a sixteen-kilometre walk each way. Easier ground is around Buttle Lake and the Forbidden Plateau, where alpine meadows flower in late summer. The Golden Hinde, the island's highest point at 2,195 metres, is a multi-day route. Vancouver Island marmots, among the rarest mammals in the world, live in the park.

History

This is the traditional territory of the Mowachaht and Muchalaht people, and Commander John Buttle, after whom Buttle Lake is named, explored it in the 1860s. The Reverend William W. Bolton explored the area in 1894 and 1896, Premier Richard McBride set aside a park reserve in June 1910, and an expedition under the lands minister Price Ellison made the first ascent of Crown Mountain on 29 July 1910; the park was created in 1911, named after Donald Alexander Smith, Lord Strathcona, and W. W. Urquhart's survey party climbed and named many of its peaks in 1913 and 1914 (Wikipedia, Strathcona Provincial Park).

What you'll find

• Della Falls - a 440-metre waterfall reached only by boat and a long walk.
• The alpine meadows - Forbidden Plateau flowering in late summer.
• The Golden Hinde - Vancouver Island's highest summit, a multi-day route.
• The marmots - an endangered species found nowhere else on earth.

When to go

July to September, when snow clears the higher trails; meadows flower late July into August. Snow can linger into July and returns in October. Winter access is limited.

Things to know

Della Falls is a serious two to three day undertaking, not a day trip, and the water is thin by late summer. Trails are rough and poorly marked in places. Weather changes fast at altitude.

Nearby

Campbell River lies east; Port Alberni is south.

Key facts