Wednesday, 15 July 2015

Exploring the new suspension bridge at Elk Falls Provincial Park



by Keith and Heather Nicol  
New suspension bridge
 On Tuesday, July 14 we decided to check out Elk Falls near Campbell River and the new suspension bridge that has been built there.  Keith’s brother Bruce and his wife Mary Ellen were visiting from Victoria and they were also keen to see this area. The new suspension bridge spans Campbell River in Elk Falls Provincial Park and offers stellar views of the river as it plunges 25 meters over a picturesque waterfall.  The new suspension bridge opened in mid May, 2015 and by the looks of number of people that were walking the roughly 1 km trail from the parking lot to the bridge, it has been very successful in attracting visitors. 

Elk Falls as seen from the new suspension bridge
     We also walked an 800 meter side trail to get down to the river where it rushes over over sloping bedrock.  The water was very turbulent and all you can see is white water before the river drops over the falls. 
Heather sits on the rock overlooking the river before it descends over the falls
   There are also other hiking trails in the area but we recommend the 800 meter Old Growth Loop which passes by some huge trees that have never been logged. These trees also managed to avoid a devastating fire in 1938 which burned much of the timber in the surrounding area. Evidently 1938 was the driest summer in 64 years and the forest was tinder dry. The fire was evidently set off by a logger who accidently dropped a pick on a rock and a spark set off the dry grass near his feet.  For more information on the park see: http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/bcparks/explore/parkpgs/elk_falls/  

Check out the Old Growth trail while you are in the park



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