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| Alouette Lake |
We have camped twice at Golden Ears, once at North Beach and once at Gold Creek. The North Beach campsite was great, smaller, more forested and less noisy. But only pit toilets which after a few days gets tiresome for a family mostly comprised of girls.
On the other hand Gold Creek has showers and flush toilets. Of course both sites also have running water for drinking.
Alouette Lake is great for swimming, fishing and boating. There is a beach front near the North Beach campsite and along the Gold Creek campsite.
Because Golden Ears park is so close to civilization it is a very busy campsite, especially on weekends. I highly recommend making reservations. Click on the title to go to the provincial park website for more general information and maps of the park itself.
One of the things we love here is how close it is to home and it's easy enough to go if you've only got two or three nights. Plus, you won't hear much of "are we there yet".
We also love the trails for hiking. They are busy too with day hikers but the trail is wide and well maintained, the forest is gorgeous and the surrounding nature is very vibrant.
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| A pool at Lower Falls |
Lower Falls Trail is a great family hike. You begin at the Gold Creek parking lot and the hiking trail is only 2.7 kilometres. It takes about an hour with younger kids and a leisurely pace. As I mentioned above, this is a very popular, easy walk along Gold Creek to the 10-metre high Lower Falls. There is a beach area halfway to the falls which makes for a good spot for a picnic and to frolic in the river. Some of the best scenery in the park is visible just beyond.
There are several other hiking trails in the park ranging from easy to difficult, day hike to overnight backpacking style. We will probably try the backpacking overnight trail (Golden Ears trail) this October and let you know our experience afterwards.
Park trivia: Golden Ears Park represents the Coastal Western Hemlock biogeoclimatic zone (one of 14 large ecosystems in B.C.) and is characterized by a second-growth forest of western hemlock, western red cedar and Douglas fir.
Our kids have a great time here frolicking in the river, walking the trails and "discovering" new things in this beautiful natural area. Our days are quickly spent swimming or boating in the lake and playing around the campsite with lots of other kids exploring the woods.
We will definitely continue to take our family to Golden Ears over the years and hike up the more advanced trails as our kids are able to.
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