Monkman Provincial 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 t ...

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, ...

, southwest of

Tumbler Ridge Tumbler Ridge is a district municipality in the foothills of the B.C. Rockies in northeastern British Columbia, Canada, and a member municipality of the Peace River Regional District. With a population of 2,399 (2021) living in a townsite, the ...

and northeast of

Hansard ''Hansard'' is the traditional name of the transcripts of parliamentary debates in Britain and many Commonwealth countries. It is named after Thomas Curson Hansard (1776–1833), a London printer and publisher, who was the first official prin ...

. Like

Monkman Pass Monkman Pass, in the Canadian Rockies, is southwest of Tumbler Ridge and northeast of Hansard. Found in the Hart Ranges, some consider this mountain pass as the southern limit of the informal grouping known as the Northern Rockies, although those ...

, Monkman Lake, Monkman Creek and Monkman Falls, it was named after Alexander Monkman.

History

By the early 1960s, a strong local interest emerged to create a national park, with a proposed name of Canada Centennial Park. Covering approximately a 100-mile long and 30-mile wide section of the Monkman area, a 1970 report proposed a freeze on further land leases for resources extraction, and the formation of a wilderness park. The

Regional District of Fraser-Fort George In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...

opposed the plan because of its impact on resource development. In due course, the government banned all off-road vehicular access to prevent ground cover damage. Established in 1981, the park covers 62,867 hectares. The washed out logging road, formerly accessible only by

all-terrain vehicle An all-terrain vehicle (ATV), also known as a light utility vehicle (LUV), a quad bike, or simply a quad, as defined by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI); is a vehicle that travels on low-pressure tires, with a seat that is stra ...

s and

four-wheel-drive Four-wheel drive, also called 4×4 ("four by four") or 4WD, refers to a two-axled vehicle drivetrain capable of providing torque to all of its wheels simultaneously. It may be full-time or on-demand, and is typically linked via a transfer case ...

trucks with winches, was upgraded during 1991 to a gravel road suitable for regular vehicles. The grand opening occurred the following August, with a new 42-unit campground. The 75-passenger

BC Rail BC Rail is a railway in the Canadian province of British Columbia. Chartered as a private company in 1912 as the Pacific Great Eastern Railway (PGE), it was acquired by the provincial government in 1918. In 1972 it was renamed to the British ...

Prince George-

- Chetwynd circle tour for the ceremony sold out within days. A further 22,000 hectares were added to the park in 1999 to protect the Limestone Lakes and Upper Fontiniko Creek Valley areas.

Features

Monkman Pass

The discovery is unclear, and railway officials and legislators ignored the pass’s value, but the combined efforts of hundreds of volunteers attempted to conquer it with a highway. Only a few sections of the former road/packhorse trail are visible along the Monkman Lake Trail and Monkman Pass Memorial Trail. For the history of the wider Monkman Pass area see:

Kinuseo Falls

Located 2 km. north of the campground at the northern tip of the park, the 60-metre (197-foot) waterfall is slightly taller than

Niagara Falls Niagara Falls () is a group of three waterfalls at the southern end of Niagara Gorge, spanning the border between the province of Ontario in Canada and the state of New York in the United States. The largest of the three is Horseshoe Fall ...

, but with a fraction of the water.

The Green Bowl

The gorge is southeast of Kinuseo Falls and immediately south of the entrance road on the Stone Corral Interpretive Hiking Trail.

The Stone Corral

Identified in 1999, it comprises a crystal-clear doline surrounded by 100-metre vertical

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

cliffs. Immediately south of the Green Bowl, the four-kilometre interpretive trail also includes ponds, falls and caves that contain stalactites, moonsmilk and other limestone formations.

Monkman Lake Trail

The trail follows the east bank of the Murray River for seven kilometres before crossing a suspension bridge. About 10 km. farther are branches to the Cascades.

The Cascades

The Cascades are a series of 10 waterfalls along Monkman Creek including Lower Moore Falls, Upper Falls, Brooks Falls, Shire Falls, Monkman Falls, McGinnis Falls and Chambers Falls. Located about 4 km. before Monkman Lake, and 1 km. west of the Memorial Trail, four bear names of original highway trailblazers: Brooks, Moore, Monkman and McGinnis.

Monkman Lake

Located near the centre of the northern half of the park, the original 25-km. trail ended at the serene lake. Surrounded by precipitous mountains, it is the largest body of water in the park.

Monkman Pass Memorial Trail

Officially opened July 17, 2008, the route is an extension of the Monkman Lake Trail. The 63-km. hike takes five to six days to complete, and follows part of the former road/trail. South of Monkman Lake, the trail deviates from the original route into subalpine meadows with a series of tarns. Descending the western slopes, the terminus is Hobi’s Cabin, at the confluence of Fontiniko and Herrick Creeks, a destination accessible only by boat.http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/bcparks/explore/parkpgs/monkman/downloads/MonkmanPassMemorialTrail-HikingRoute.pdf. pp. 1, 4-7

Footnotes

References

* * * * * * * * http://pgnewspapers.pgpl.ca/fedora/repository

External links

* https://tumblerridge.ca/discover/id/39/monkman-provincial-park * http://www.discoverthepeacecountry.com/htmlpages/monkmanparkbc.html Kinuseo Falls as featured on DiscoverThePeaceCountry.com * http://southpeacearchives.org/monkman-pass-highway-association/ Monkman Pass Highway Association {{British Columbia parks Provincial parks of British Columbia Parks in the Canadian Rockies Northern Interior of British Columbia Caves of British Columbia 1981 establishments in British Columbia Protected areas established in 1981