Checking out Cumberland’s Coal Creek Historic Park

by Keith and Heather Nicol

      Our last visit to this area of Cumberland was in February when the ponds in this area had frozen, we could skate on the ice and people were skiing down the trails! See:

 http://keithnicol.blogspot.com/2019/02/the-ice-skating-near-cumberland-is.html  But with spring in the air we decided to check this area out again to see what ducks or other birds might be around as well as to visit the Chinatown historical walking tour. So on Friday, April 12 we drove through Cumberland and took the road toward Comox Lake. At “Jumbo’s Cabin” (a can’t miss log building on the left) there is a small parking lot and large plaque discussing the Coal Creek Historic Park which features trails, picnic tables and interpretative signs.Be sure to pick up a map and information sheet  about this area in a plastic case at the trailhead.

Heather at the Interpretative sign near Jumbo's Log Cabin

    From there we headed down a few meters to the Wellington Colliery Trail  that heads toward a

There were many lively robins along the trail

wetland area and small ponds. There was much bird life about and once we reached the ponds we could see several Lesser Scaups as well as a pair of Buffleheads in the water. Greater and Lesser Scaups are difficult to tell apart but by carefully checking our photos against our bird book we decided they were Lesser Scaups- a duck that we don’t see that often. We had also been told to watch out for Wood Ducks but we didn’t see any of those colourful ducks on this trip. And we saw more robins that we have seen in quite awhile. They seemed to be everywhere chirping away.  Since we also wanted to go on the short walking tour through Cumberland’s historic Chinatown we turned around and headed back for 600 meters or so to where the Chinatown plaques are displayed.

 

Lesser Scaups in a small pond

       Chinese were brought in to work in the Cumberland coal mines as well as help build a railroad

Heather checks an interpretative sign on the Wellington Colliery Trail

which brought coal to tide water at nearby Union Bay. This settlement lasted for 80 years from 1888 to 1968. Not much remains today but at one time this area was apparently the second largest Chinatown outside of San Francisco! The walking tour passes by 17 plaques which have a photo of what buildings used to stand in that area or information about the  settlement.  The trail can easily be walked by a variety of ages and abilities since it is just a few 100 meters long along smooth gravel trails. The variety of buildings that once stood here is impressive from a bakery to general store to a restaurant that once served 10 course meals and was a ticket outlet for steamship travel to China! There is even a picnic pavilion so that you can enjoy your lunch here as well. This park is an ideal place to visit for anyone interested in nature or learning about the history of this area. For more information on Cumberland’s Chinatown see: https://cumberland.ca/coal-creek-historic-park/ 

The picnic pavilion is a real bonus