 Location: The park is located right in the middle of Vancouver Island, west of Courtenay and Campbell River.
Terrain: Strathcona is home to the highest mountains on Vancouver Island, as well as the highest waterfalls in Canada. There are several glaciers, the most famous being the Comox Glacier, which can be seen from the Island Highway. Some of the higher peaks are composed of excellent rock and offer challenging rock routes. The terrain is generally very rugged. The weather is usually mild and wet, with heavy snowfall in the winter months. The average yearly precipitation is about 3 meters.
The mountaineering areas of Strathcona Park are divided down the center by Buttle Lake. To the east is the Forbidden Plateau area, and to the west is the Golden Hinde area. Geology
Strathcona Park has many different kinds of rock exposed. In particular, limestone is sandwiched between volcanic rock.
Vancouver Island was formed in the deep eastern Pacific Ocean about 380 MYA along an undersea island arc of volcanism. Volcanic eruptions in the Devonian Period built up undersea mountains that were subject to massive rockslides. The island arc was part of ancient Wrangellia which forms present-day Vancouver Island, Queen Charlottes Island and SE Alaska and Yukon. Tectonic forces in the Cretaceous Period (140 MYA to 65 MYA) carried Wrangellia eastward on its crustal plate, where it collided eventually with the North American plate. The initial explosive volcanic period was followed by uplift and deposition of oceanic sediments up to 300m deep. The sediments in later periods metamorphosed to...more
History: Strathcona Park, established in 1911, is the oldest provincial park in British Columbia. As such, it contains more unlogged watersheds than most of the parks created later such as Garibaldi Park, whose boundaries were drawn to exclude almost all valuable trees from the park. Strathcona park was named for Lord Strathcona whose full name was lengthy: "Donald Alexander Smith, First Baron Strathcona and Mount Royal". He was involved in the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway that connected Canada from east to west. In 1885, he pounded in the last spike at Craigellachie in southcentral British Columbia to complete the railway.
 Looking North to Golden Hinde, highest mountain on Vancouver Island |
Park Information
Permits: According to parks website, you need to pay in three areas: Bedwell, Elk River, and Forbidden Plateau. Random camping is not permitted within 1 km of main roads or in designated fee collection areas.
No fees are required to hike into Golden Hinde from Buttle Lake.
No permits required for backcountry. Click for Peak Lister |