| Mount Richardson
Provincial Park on the east side of Sechelt Inlet on the BC Sunshine
Coast protects ocean shoreline and Mount Richardson, providing habitat
for a wide diversity of wildlife.
The summit
of Mount Richardson (986 metres/3,205 feet) offers great views of
Sechelt Inlet, the Sechelt Peninsula, and the town of Sechelt on
the Strait of Georgia. Access is by 4-wheel drive to the mountaintop
hiking area and Richardson Lake with its rustic campsites. The park
shoreline includes three of the boat-accessible camping sites on
Sechelt Inlet, at Oyster Beach, Nine Mile Point and Tuwanek.
Wildlife in
the 1,001-hectare park includes black-tailed deer, coyotes, bobcats,
martens, cougars, black bear, snowshoe hares, flying squirrels,
turkey buzzards, osprey, eagles, owls, pileated woodpeckers, doves,
and loons.
Mount Richardson
Provincial Park offers canoeing and kayaking, snorkelling, SCUBA
diving, hiking and vehicle-accessible camping on a first-come, first-served
basis. Campsite reservations are not accepted. These campsites can
only be accessed by 4x4 vehicles and are available year round. Facilities
are limited to pit toilets. Hiking access to Mount Richardson is
from Richardson Lake along an old logging road, a rough trail of
approximately 2 km (2 hours) one way.
Diving: A popular
dive site is at Tuwanek Point Marine Park, where fish are so varied
and numerous that you may think you're snorkelling in Hawaii. The
chill of the waters in the inlet will quickly disabuse you of that
notion. Access to this aquarium is by water only. The closest suitable
public access points are Porpoise Bay Provincial
Park and Tillicum Bay Marina. Note that there is no access from
the community of Tuwanek.
Wilderness,
backcountry or walk-in camping is allowed, but no facilities are
provided. There are 3 areas to camp:
Tuwanek:
This area is generally used as a day-use area, as it is the closest
to the community of Tuwanek. It has one wooden tent pad, plus 3
other hard packed ground camping areas, and a pit toilet. There
is a gravel beach and a stream running through the campsite.
Oyster Beach:
There is a gravel beach, a small camping area with 2 to 3 sites
on hard-packed gravel, a pit toilet, and a group fire ring. Water
is not available at this site.
Nine Mile
Point: This is the largest of the 3 marine sites and an excellent
site from which to watch the sunset. There is a gravel beach, a
pit tiolet, and 2 group fire rings. Water is available, subject
to a boil water advisory.
Boating: The
Tillicum Bay Marina is located in Tuwanek. Anchorage in the bays
of the park shoreline is poor during southeasterly winds or a Small
Craft Advisory. Be aware of local daily winds picking up in Sechelt
Inlet.
The residential
community of Tuwanek is located at the foot of Mount Richardson.
The name is derived from one of the original four "septs" (division
of the Sechelt Nation) located around Narrows Arm. Tuwanek is the
eastern gateway to the Tetrahedron Plateau and Tetrahedron Provincial
Park.
Mount Richardson
Provincial Park is located north of Sechelt and the village of Tuwanek
on the Sechelt Peninsula of the BC Sunshine Coast. Access to the
park is via the Sechelt-Gray Forest Service Road, which also provides
road access to Tetrahedron Provincial Park. Note that this is an
active logging road (normally active from 7am to 6pm weekdays),
so please read all signs, watch for and give way to logging trucks,
and drive with extreme caution. Drive for 4 km on Branch 300 to
the foot of a steep hill. Either park here and walk the remaining
kilometre, or continue in 4-wheel drive. Where the road flattens
out there is a road to the left that leads to Richardson Lake and
the old Forest Service campsites. The main road continues for a
few hundred metres and leads to a superb view of Sechelt Inlet.
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