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Skagit River
Park: Skagit Valley Provincial Park
14.5 km one way.
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Approximate Elevations (in meters) |
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| Start | End | Minimum | Maximum | Gain |
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| 555 | 650 | 555 | 650 | 95 |
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South Skagit River Trailhead: (230 km from Saanich Hall, 40k on logging roads, ferry required). Drive north from Victoria to Swartz Bay and take the ferry to Tswassen, drive to the Trans Canada Highway and head east. Take exit 168 and turn right at the stop sign. Take the first right and then drive40km along the Silver Skagit Road to Skagit Valley Provincial Park. Park at the picnic site just before the bridge, walk across the bridge to the trailhead.
Facilities available at the trailhead include:
Sumallo Grove parking lot Trailhead: Sumallo Grove parking lot in Manning Park on BC #3.
Facilities available at the trailhead include:
- Toilets and/or outhouses
- Picnic tables
- Toilets and/or outhouses
Uses
| Backpack | Easy. | | |
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| Dayhike | 3 boot (easy to moderate). | | |
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Description
This trail travels from Skagit Valley Provincial Park into Manning Park. It follows part of the route of the Whatcom Trail created by Captain Walter de Lacy of the US Army in 1858. This trail has been used by gold seekers in the 1870's as they made their way to Ruby Creek in Washington State. In 1910 tre trail was integral in the Steamboat (Shawatum) Mountain gold scam in which Dan Greenwalt and W.A. Stevens from the US netted over $90,000 by "salting" the area with gold.
The trail doesn't follow the river as closely as you might expect. The times it does it is lovely but there are many sections away from the river. The trail passes through an ecological reserve and through a couple of stands of Rhododendruns (mid June is the optimum time to view them in bloom). The trail is generally flat although there are a couple of steep climbs and descents along the way.
Coming from the south you hike a connector trail for about 20 minutes before intersecting the Centenial Trail. Turn right onto the Skagit River Trail. A couple of kilometers brings you to the steepest climb of the trail. After this climb you descend near the river for a time and then enter the Ecologial Reserve (be on the lookout for culturally modified trees). Camping is prohibited in the Ecological Reserve. Delacy Camp is shortly after crossing the 26 Mile Creek bridge at about 10.5km. A couple of kilometers beyond Delacy Camp is the ruins of the Silverdaisy Mine along with an old abandoned truck, remnants of a cabin and a mine entrance (do not enter the mine). Shortly after this spot you come to a junction with the Silverdaisy Trail this itself is only about 2km from the end of the trail.
Features
This trail features fishing, flowers, forests, historical artifacts (Mining relics), rivers, shrubs (Pacific rhododendrun Early to mid June) and views.
Campsites along the trail
| Delacy Wilderness camp | 10.5 km | | | Water is plentiful quality is good. |
Plentiful although access to the river is sporadic. There are a couple of good streams in addition to a few spots along the river where you can get water.
For additional information see:
http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/bcparks/explore/misc/manning/skagitrv.htm.
Last hiked:May 19, 2003
View trail condition reports for this trail.