Haig Brown Provincial Park

Haig Brown Provincial Park is a 1076 hectare park established in 1977 to protect the salmon spawning beds located on the Adams River north of the community of Chase, BC and west of the community of Sorrento, BC. The river flows 11 kilometres down the centre of the elongated park while resting in a quiet river valley surrounded by cedar, pine, birch, hemlock, Douglas-fir, cottonwood and alder trees.

From 1908 to 1976 Roderick Haig-Brown played an important role in protecting British Columbia's wilderness regions. It is because of these efforts that the parkland was dedicated to Roderick and his wife Ann in 1977.  

The big draw in the park is in October salmon spawning run on the Adams River. It is during the spawning season when people gather along the edge of the river to watch the  sockeye, chinook, coho and pink salmon spawn. This is not any salmon run, it is one of the largest salmon runs in North America.

Throughout the summer months the park is a popular destination for many activities including hiking, picnicking, river rafting, wildlife viewing, kayaking, fishing, birdwatching and mountain biking. A short trail from the parking lot leads to some viewpoints, pit toilets and a wheelchair accessible interpretive viewing platform.

The Haig-Brown Park 26 km river trail system is the most popular for hiking and mountain biking in the summer and cross-country skiing & snow-shoeing in the winter. The recreation trail system is divided into three sections - the Lower, Upper and Flume Trails.

The Lower Trail System consists of the Cottonwood, Island Loop and Phil Rexin Trails. The Cottonwood Trail links the parking lot with the river mouth via a 3.5 kilometre trail. This is a good trail to view spawning salmon. Near the river channel is the Island Loop Trail which is a 1.5 kilometre loop hike around a small island. Again another spawning salmon viewing area. The Phil Rexin Memorial Trail is about 1.5 kilometres long and leads to the river mouth parking area or the groundwater spawning channel.

The Upper Trail System consists of the Packer and Adams Trails. The Packer Trail traverses high up on a ridge following the same path once taken by pioneer horse packers. The Adams Trail follows the river and connects to the Packers Trail creating a loop route. A popular destination on Adams Trail is the canyon pool with a small sandy beach. The Flume Trail travels over seven bridges and leads to Bear Creek Falls. 

When exploring in the Haig-Brown Park please be reminded that the lands of the park were once home to the Shuswap First Nation people. Throughout the park there are pictographs, pit houses and artifacts which are all protected and should never be disturbed, but only admired and cherished from a distance.

Being such a large park with a protecting river, it is very likely during your visit to the area that you will have an opportunity to view some wildlife including birds like Bald Eagles and other wildlife like beavers, Black Bears, otters and mule deers. 

Haig Brown Provincial Park, Shuswap Lake, BC, Canada in the Thompson-Shuswap