By Keith and Heather Nicol
The Comox
Bluffs are along the north side of Comox Lake and there is an ecological
reserve there to protect the unusual plant life that exists in this dry rocky
sun drenched area. Trees like Arbutus and shrubs like hairy Manzanita are
common along this area where as they are pretty rare in the rain forest
environment of the Comox Valley. Our friends Steve and Marj had not been to
this area before so they joined us since they had wanted to see this area for
some time. In the picture below we are having a snack at the lookout overlooking Comox Lake.
This trail starts at a small parking lot at 49 38.477 N 125 06.256 W on the left hand side of the road a few hundred meters past the bridge the crosses the Puntledge River. This route is called the Tomato Creek trail and it leads to a lookout which gives fine views of Comox Lake and is surrounded by the rare plants of the Ecological Reserve. It can be reached in just over 1.5 km (30 minute walk). Some of the many flowers that bloom here were out although if we had visited earlier in the spring we likely would have seen more flowers in bloom. In the photo below you can see the woolly eriophyllum in full colour.
A longer trail continues from the lookout and it traverses the entire Ecological Reserve and ends up at the main logging road which you can then follow back to your car. Be aware that logging trucks may be using this road and it can be dusty so you also can return back via the same trail rather that do a loop. This longer route is about 5.5 km and takes about 2 hours. But the shorter hike to the lookout would suit people families with smaller children or others that want a shorter hike. Just be aware that the trail is hard to find in some places and it does have forks which makes route finding abit challenging. The full route can be found on AllTrails and is under the name “Tony’s and Tomato Creek Loop”. If you use this app route finding should be easier. For more info see: https://www.alltrails.com/
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