Minnekhada Regional Park
One of the things we haven't been able to do as often over the pandemic are the overnight trips to explore the Pacific Northwest. With all its beautiful scenic blues and greens throughout British Columbia, the dense forests to a viewpoint that overlooks the shimmering blue waters is something that we've sorely missed. The good news is that things are improving and we should be comfortable traveling for recreational purposes again very soon. We look forward to doing overnighters again!
This past weekend, we committed time out of our day to make the trip out to Minnekhada Regional Park, which is about an hour drive from downtown Vancouver. The trip was a combination of fun, but will get your heart rate going. It was one of the more enjoyable trails that we've gotten to do in the past little while and it definitely scratched the hiking itch for us!
About Minnekhada Regional Park
Minnekhada Regional Park sits towards the northeast corner of Coquitlam, British Columbia right off of Pitt River. The park is over 200 hectares and consists of multiple trails throughout. There is a main loop trail that goes around the perimeter which is roughly 7km long and there is a trail that runs right through the middle creating two halves. From this main loop, there are a few trails that branch out onto some shorter out-and-back trails to knolls and lookouts, which are great places to take a breather and enjoy the view.
Minnekhada Park is mostly comprised of marshy areas, forest, hills and rocky areas. While the main loop trail is fairly well-maintained, the trails to the lookouts are a bit more rough. The park is also well-marked with signs and maps scattered at critical spots on the trail, so we never felt turned around or lost at any time. This park is also a popular spot with photographers for animal spotting including eagles and cranes - both of which we got to see while we were there!
As a warning, it should be noted that bears are often spotted at Minnekhada Regional Park and its surrounding areas. Generally, the bears will leave you alone if they hear you from a distance, so we recommend strapping a bear bell on your dog's leash or harness if you're planning on doing this hike especially with a dog.
What are knolls?
Two of the places that hikers love to visit at Minnekhada Regional Park are the Low and High Knolls. We found ourselves wondering what are knolls? In short, a knoll is a small rounded hill or mound. And no, before you start picturing a pitcher's mound, it's slightly bigger than that. In this case, the knolls serve as a vantage point for hikers and photographers to get a little higher up for good views. The knolls here are pretty distinct and throughout your time on this trail, you will walk past both of them.
The Path to the Addington Lookout, Low Knoll and High Knoll
Length: 6.5km
Traffic: Moderate
Route Type: Loop
Heading into this hike, we were feeling ambitious. We knew that the entire loop around Minnekhada Regional Park was probably too long to do in one go, but we wanted to make stops at all three of the lookouts - the Addington Lookout, Low Knoll and High Knoll. This overall length of this trip was about 6.5km long and took us just over 2.5 hours to complete with short breaks in between to rehydrate and enjoy the view. You can certainly do it faster as our pace was a slow cruise.
For this breakdown, we'll be starting from the parking lot and going counter-clockwise. There are quite a bit of parking spots, but the lot was nearly full when we were there right around noon. You can also choose to go clockwise, but some have said that going that direction is a bit more challenging.
Path to Addington Lookout
From the parking lot, we kept to our right and followed the Lodge Trail and Fern Trail until we got to the far southeast corner of the trail. This first section is very well groomed with crushed gravel and you're walking on a fairly flat trail. At one point, you'll emerge out of the trees into a marshland on a man-made path that goes right through the marsh to the other side. There's even a small bridge that you'll need to cross to get to the other side of the McLean Creek.
For the most part, it is just a single path, so keep following the path and you'll make it to the first lookout. At one point where the Lodge Trail meets the Fern Trail, it does get a little unclear, but you'll know pretty quickly if you went the wrong way because you'll end up at a parking lot. Just keep walking on Fern Trail for now.
You will eventually come across a fork on the path. One path continues on the Fern Trail and another that branches out towards the Addington Lookout. If you take the detour to the Addington Lookout, you'll find that the trail starts to get a little rough. Here, the path will no longer be crushed gravel, but natural soil with lots of tree knotted roots running along the path. The incline is not too bad here, so just be careful with your footing and follow the path.
We felt that this trail was longer than it appeared on the map, but you'll know you're at the end when you emerge out of the woods onto a small lookout. The main opening of the lookout is blocked by a giant fallen tree, but you can climb over it and get to the lookout. You'll want to be careful climbing over the tree as we did see somebody fall trying to get over. We recommend walking further down where the tree is not as wide so you can get to the other side to enjoy the view overlooking the Pitt-Addington Marsh Wildlife Management Area.
You might be wondering if the view overlooks a marsh, is there really anything to see? Well, personally for us, not really. The lookout view of the marsh wasn't very spectacular. If you have the time, then check it out by all means, but if you're limited on time, this is probably a detour that you can skip.
Whenever you're ready to go, head back on the trail that you came from to get back onto the main loop trail to continue your hike.
The Low Knoll
The next stop is the Low Knoll. For this one, keep heading along the Fern Trail and you will be met with another fork on the path where Fern Trail meets the Mid-Marsh Trail. Going right will continue along the loop. Going left will take you towards the Low Knoll. Despite the name, it is still an upwards climb, but this trail is not too difficult and not very long either. It is a little steeper, but compared to the view from the Addington Lookout, we didn't mind the incline and preferred this view as it looks out onto the marsh that you passed by on the way in.
We took a moment here to take a breather and give our dog a drink of water before heading up to the High Knoll. Since the High Knoll is the most difficult of these three spots, we would recommend taking the moment to catch your breath and rehydrate. Once you're ready to go, head back down onto the Mid-Marsh Trail and follow the loop once again.
The High Knoll
Almost immediately after coming down from the Low Knoll, you'll be met with another fork on the path. Unless you're planning to do the full loop around Minnekhada Regional Park, you'll want to remember this area because you will need to be back here eventually. You'll be taking a right onto Quarry Trail and upwards towards the High Knoll.
This stretch between the Quarry Trail and the High Knoll Trail was the most difficult part of the entire hike for us. The combination of uneven ground and a steeper climb got us pausing to catch our breaths and it definitely worked up a sweat. You might want to be equipped with the proper footwear that'll give you better footing up and down this trail.
Along this path, there is actually one more fork in the road - one that follows Quarry Trail and takes you towards the larger loop and the other that takes you upwards towards the High Knoll. Remember this area so you can recognize it coming back down so you don't accidentally end up taking the long route. Take the path that keeps heading upwards and you will emerge out of the woods onto a rocky area where you might find other hikers enjoying the view or a quick lunch.
The view at the top of the High Knoll was the best out of the 3 for us. You end up getting a similar view to the one from the Low Knoll, but much higher up. There were also a number of areas where other hikers were sitting (on large rocks or fallen trees) to enjoy the view. We were lucky enough to watch as an eagle circled above us and then made its way across the marsh. Bears have also been spotted around this area climbing trees, so be on the look out for that as well.
If you're bringing your dog with you on this hike, just be careful as your dog is going up and down this particular section. Use your leash to guide your dog where to go. If your dog tends to go down faster than you (and they likely will since they're more sure-footed), we recommend you use the proper leash control to signal to the dog when to wait and when to proceed. Make sure you have good footing especially if they're big enough to pull you forwards. Going up is not too bad, but the way down was a bit steep and finding our footing wasn't the easiest.
Completing the Loop
Whenever you're ready to go, work your way back down to the Mid-Marsh Trail. If you're not planning on doing the entire loop, make sure you don't accidentally wind up northbound on the Quarry Trail. This section of the Mid-Marsh Trail before the marsh has some difficult parts that are steeper with roots on the ground, but it won't be as bad as the trail towards the High Knoll. Once again, take it slowly and you should be fine.
Once you pass through to the other side of the marsh, you're on the homestretch back to where you started. At least when we were there, the path towards the Lodge Trail was closed off, so we took the Meadow Trail to head back. This section is fairly easy to do, which is great since you and your dog are likely to be pretty tired at this point. Turn another corner and you're back on your way to the parking lot from where you started.
What we liked
We enjoyed this trail quite a bit and would do it again. It's not the easiest of trails to do, but it serves as a really good workout.
The trails were mostly quiet, even though it was busy based on the parking lot. There were people, but they're mostly spread throughout the park (aside from the lookouts where they do tend to congregate).
The views at the Low and High Knolls were pretty nice and enjoyable. The view at Addington Lookout wasn't quite as nice and you can probably skip it if you're pressed for time.
What we didn't like
There were some parts of the trail that were steeper with uneven ground. It's not the easiest for people with limited mobility, but if you take it slowly (especially with your dog), you should be fine.
The bear sightings are always a little unnerving to hear, but if you're bear-aware and equipped with a bear bell, they should leave you alone.
Our Recommendation for Reactive Dogs
We didn't come across many dogs on this trail and all the ones we did were on-leash. This is likely due to the fact that there have been bear sightings in the area and it's not recommended to have dogs running around freely.
We're going to take a moment to remind you that if you're planning on doing this hike with your dog, we recommend purchasing a bear bell and attaching it on the leash or harness of your dog. The jingling of the bell serves as a noisemaker and bears will generally try and avoid the noise. If your dog is reactive, you might want to consider how your dog might react to bears or animals in the wild (although that's a situation that we imagine not many of us have found ourselves in).
The trail wasn't too busy for the most part and if anything, people are congregating by the lookout points. Since there are steeper areas, it's not really a spot for smaller dogs and you'll want to make sure your dog is able to jump up and down bigger rocks. Our dog Markus was pretty beat tired after, so make sure to bring water and make stops for them to rehydrate along the way, especially if you're going on a hot day.
Disclaimer
Markus is a reactive, but not aggressive dog. His instinct is to avoid other dogs and he may growl, bark or lunge if provoked, but will not attack. We normally do not have issues with leashed dogs when both sides are controlled, but we will be on guard when an oncoming dog is not leashed. There are varying levels to a dog’s reactivity and only you can decide if this park, trail or hotel is appropriate for your dog. Our visits generally will not include off-leash areas; most experiences shared on The Markus Project are within leashed or undefined areas.
Please remember that our past experience visiting a park, trail or hotel may not be the same as your experience at the same park, trail or hotel. We have no control of who visits the park and whether they adhere to park rules - like leashing their dogs on leash-required paths - or not. Please use your discretion with the information provided and with your personal knowledge of your dog’s reactivity when visiting these parks, trails or hotels.
