Cathedral Provincial Park and Protected Area, usually known as Cathedral Provincial Park and also as Cathedral Park, is a

provincial park Ischigualasto Provincial Park A provincial park (or territorial park) is a park administered by one of the provinces of a country, as opposed to a national park. They are similar to state parks in other countries. They are typically open to the ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. It is located east of

E.C. Manning Provincial Park E.C. Manning Provincial Park is a provincial park in British Columbia, Canada. It is usually referred to as Manning Park, although that nomenclature is also used to refer to the resort and Gibson Pass Ski Area, ski area at the park's core. The pa ...

, south of BC Highway 3, and southeast of the town of

Princeton Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the nine ...

and southwest of

Keremeos Keremeos () is a village in the British Columbia Interior, Southern Interior of British Columbia, Canada. The name originated from the Similkameen dialect of the Okanagan language word "Keremeyeus" meaning "creek which cuts its way through the fl ...

. Its southern boundary is the border with the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. Much of the park is the basin of the

Ashnola River The Ashnola River is a tributary of the Similkameen River, rising in the northeastern part of the North Cascades in Washington, United States, and flowing north into British Columbia, Canada, to join the Similkameen River about halfway along that r ...

History

The park gets its name from Cathedral Mountain, near the international border. The peak was named in 1901 by Carl and George Smith on a

United States Geological Survey The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, ...

expedition, who are believed to be the first to have ascended the summit. The original area of Cathedral Provincial Park was established on May 2, 1968, with an area of . This park ran in a narrow north–south corridor along Lakeview Creek from the Ashnola River in the North to the international boundary. The park included the Cathedral Lakes area. After a lengthy consultation process with local interest groups, industry, and researchers, the park was expanded to have boundaries that roughly matched natural boundaries. This expanded the park to an area of roughly , with the Ashnola River forming the Western and Northern boundaries of the park and Ewart Creek forming the Eastern boundary, with certain exceptions for existing mineral claims. On April 18, 2001, the contiguous conservation area protected was expanded with the establishment of the Snowy Protected Area.

Recreation

The park is home to front-country vehicle accessible camping as well as back-country camping. There are multiple day-use areas in the park. Accommodation is provided within the park at the Cathedral Lakes Lodge. There are no public roads within the park itself. The park is connected to E. C. Manning Provincial Park by the Centennial Trail from

Osoyoos Osoyoos (, ) is the southernmost town in the Okanagan Valley in British Columbia between Penticton and Omak. The town is north of the United States border with Washington state and is adjacent to the Osoyoos Indian reserve. The origin of the na ...

Simon Fraser University Simon Fraser University (SFU) is a public research university in British Columbia, Canada, with three campuses, all in Greater Vancouver: Burnaby (main campus), Surrey, and Vancouver. The main Burnaby campus on Burnaby Mountain, located from ...

, though it has not been maintained recently and no longer appears on maps of Manning Park. ViewFromQuiniscoePeak 1200W

References

External links

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BC Parks Web pageBCGNIS listing "Cathedral Park"
Provincial parks of British Columbia Similkameen Country Canadian Cascades 2001 establishments in British Columbia {{BritishColumbia-park-stub