Ten of us took the ferry to Vancouver Island to hike some of the trails on the east side of the Quinsam River. With recent commercial and industrial development, we had to park quite far from the the Boneyard Bypass trail head and walk some roads to start the hike. It was a great day, mostly sunny and a good hiking temperature.  We followed the labyrinth of mountain bike trails through the forest and ravines.  This is a lovely and varied walk, made more beautiful by the amazing display of spring flowers: trillium, pink fawn lilies, wild bleeding heart, wild current, and yellow violets. We stopped briefly at a viewpoint of some Strathcona Park mountains before descending to the river.  We followed the river upstream to a bend with a view and a bench in the sunshine where we stopped for lunch.  After the lunch break, we climbed back up to the high bank and meandered through the forest on bluffs and around ravines before completing the loop and heading back to the vehicles.  It was a beautiful day and many on the trip had not explored this area before.  (10.9 km; 4 hours)

(click on photos to enlarge)

Hiking – Quinsam River Trails – 15 April 2024