In 1956, Trans-Canada Air Lines Flight 810 crashed on Mount Slesse, located in Chilliwack, killing…read moreall 62 people aboard. I had never heard about this crash, one of the worst aviation disasters, or of Mount Slesse, until my friend invited me to go hiking on the Slesse Memorial Trail with a Meetup group yesterday. I'm not a novice hiker -- I have gone on my fair share of hikes over the years and have done a few this summer -- but I am definitely not an expert hiker; the majority of the hikes I have done are three to four hours, with the longest being around six hours. Reading the description of the hike, I knew it would be a challenge, and I was a little nervous that it would be above my skill level, but I decided to give it a try. While there were about 20 people in the Meetup group all together, we hiked in small groups, and I hiked with my friend in a group of six. Unfortunately we got off to a late start for various reasons, including hiking up a very rocky and difficult path for about 20 minutes before we realized we took the wrong path and were walking up an ATV/access road, and not actually hiking along the trail, which took up about 45 minutes of our time. By the time we started hiking the Slesse Memorial Trail, it was 12:15pm. The initial half an hour or so of the trail was fairly easy, especially compared to walking up that rocky path, but the trail gradually became more and more challenging, and I would definitely rate it as "difficult". There were lots of roots, rocks, and logs to scramble over, as well as a small rock face we had to climb up. The trail was quite narrow at many points (sometimes with a steep drop on one side -- don't attempt this hike if you're afraid of heights!), as well as muddy. While I enjoy a challenge, it was beyond my skill level, and there were a couple of points at which I was debating whether or not to stop and wait for the group to pick me up on the way back (I had a book to read, so I would have been fine waiting for a few hours). However, I continued on, but when we got to about 90% of the way up, I had to give up -- my left knee was throbbing, the terrain was just too difficult for me, and I was afraid that I would seriously injure myself -- the last 10% was known to be even more challenging than what we had already experienced, and I did not feel confident that I would be able to climb back down (assuming I was even able to climb up in the first place). So I left my group and joined another Meetup member for my slow, three hour descent down. (It should not have taken that long to get back to the beginning of the trail head, but my knees were killing me -- I managed to whack my right knee against a log), and my legs were utterly fatigued. I was so slow that two minutes after I got to the bottom, my group, who had continued to the top, where they had spent about 20 minutes, arrived. While it was disappointing that I had to turn back when I was so close to the top (where there is a piece of the propeller from the crash, "the Propeller Cairn"), it was the right call to make due to the challenging terrain, and I would have slowed down the group so much that we would have been hiking back in the dark. Including the 45 minute hike up the rocky trail, we had hiked from 11:30am to 7pm, for a total of 7.5 hours. Despite not being able to complete the hike, I still managed to get some great exercise and take in some amazing views. [Yelp collections: Hiking]

Very beautiful! Came here couple years back and I was amazed. I took the picture with a cellphone…read morecamera and regardless how bad your camera was, you are still going to get amazing picture. That tells you something. I love coming here. Its relaxing and just gorgeous. Definitely worth a trip

Absolutely... this is an excellent place to stop for a walk. Words and pictures can not accurately…read moredescribe how stunning the tunnels and the river are. Other reviews suggest bringing a flashlight, which we did, but it really wasn't all that necessary. There were 4 distinct tunnels through which to walk; one was very short. Only one was long enough to make the darkness of the tunnel feel a bit spooky. But the feeling passed as we continued walking. There's a large parking lot, with more than enough free parking for when we arrived on Thursday around noon. There are 4 toilets just adjacent to the parking lots, which is great because the location of the park is a bit remote. Would definitely recommend everyone making a trip!

You can see the falls from the highway and once you've taken the short hike up to the falls it's a…read morebeautiful view in person. There is very limited parking, and only a one way in and out so if you're trying to social distance I would not go if you see more than five cars out front. It is a lovely walk and hike up but it is damp so I suggest wearing appropriate shoes as it can be slippery. At the top there is plenty of places to take photos of there isn't too many people there as well. There is also two benches that you're able to sit on at the top. One is quiet close to the waterfall so do expect to get

Fantastic, family oriented campground. Everyone we met camps there annually and most also fish. The…read more"regulars" were all friendly, welcoming, and really made our stay there fantastic. Yes, it is dusty traveling the last mile there and the campground has lots of gravel, but there is a sweetness, and heart-felt friendliness that overwhelms a little dust acquired coming and going.

We discovered Cheam campground this weekend and we are so happy we did. Right from the start, from…read morethe first phone call, Jamie the host was super helpful and really, really nice. She accommodated us fast, answered to all our questions and was always there when needed, without being too intrusive as we experienced in other campgrounds. The site we got was right by the water, where we could fish, and enjoy the beautiful view. There were mosquitoes around, due to the high levels of the Fraser, but managed to keep them away with smoke, insect repellent spray and citronella candles. The campground has nice spacious sites, water and electricity hook ups and everyone kept it quiet and respectful. There are train tracks across the river, and trains are passing throughout the day, but is far enough to not be too loud and just give a nice picturesque touch. We already booked to go back in a couple of weeks.

What a beautiful place to visit. The walk up is fairly easy and the views are gorgeous!read more

A quick stop off the highway for a picnic or for some sensational photos…read more The trail is all uphill for about 15 minutes. Once you take the trail to the base of the falls, there is a sign that warns about going up to the top. It is absolutely very slippery. We were there in July and it was very dry and slippery. Lots of people were struggling to get up to get good pics. The falls are breathtaking indeed. Mother Nature did a good job. Beware...It's even more difficult getting back down. If you don't have the right shoes or if you don't have someone to help you, it could be very scary. Lots of parking and picnic tables.

Daughter and I did an early-am walk of the trail last week, during another stay in Harrison Hot…read moreSprings. Our last walk and view of/on the trail was back in late-March, when the deciduous trees were still mostly without leaves, and the grounds and trails rather wet. In contrast, all the forest trees were bright and green this time, but with the low rainfall this spring, forest grounds and trails were starting to look very dry. Early-spring ground vegetation (like Western Trillium and False Lily of the Valley), was so green during our last walk. We had hoped to see some blossoming of these plants during the walk this time - but that was pretty much over - the plants though, still alive, and providing some nice green 'carpets' to various areas along the walk. For us as always, a most pleasant forest trail walk. And this time, we made a point of walking the trail extra slowly, to really absorb and benefit from as much of the wonderful fresh air, and beautiful natural sights of the surroundings as we could.

Nice and decent hike (day trip) just S of Chilliwack…read more Parking is available along the side of the road. The logging road up the mountain is not paved and has quite a few potholes. A SUV is recommended, and 4x4 is best, especially if one goes past where the hiking trail starts. There are 2 paths to the peak. The most common one is a 8.9km return hike (377m elevation gain) from a turnoff just past the switchbacks. Most of the trail is much like the Grouse Grind, but there are some steep sections that require using the attached ropes. The other way requires a 4x4, following the same road (past the turnoff) to the very end. This path requires a bit of off trail hiking (lots of prickly bushes and dead trees) but is much shorter, with a 220m elevation gain and ~1.7km distance. The view from the end of the road provides a sweeping panorama (looking SW) of the Fraser Valley, and is arguably a better view than the one from the peak area, which has too many trees. However, from the peak one can look E towards Cultus Lake, though the lake itself isn't visible because of the terrain. Lastly, the "true" peak is quite disappointing. It's a long skinny lumpy rock, surrounded by trees which block the view.

Daughter and I walked this forested trail after breakfast each morning of our recent, early-March…read morestay at the Harrison Resort. The trail runs near / alongside the Miami River, by, and across from the Resort's property. It is very easily accessible at upstream and downstream ends of the trail, with entrances / exits -- upstream via a small, walking bridge over the River, at the far end of the Resort's parking lot -- downstream via a small, opening to the path located near the Miami River 'dike pump replacement building' near the Lake. It is a fine example of a west coast rainforest, and for our walks on the trail (and adjacent areas alongside the Lake, and to the source of the hot spring water) during this stay, it truly lived up to its name -- our early-morning walks were conducted via some rather heavy rain showers!! But once inside the forest, and on the trail, it was lovely, and so naturally quiet and peaceful - any wet stuff falling from above, was soon ignored, and became an integral part of the wonderful scenery. Two new-to-me sights observed during our walks this time -- a park sign (Qwolts Park. Harrison Hot Springs) erected just off the walkway / road near the downstream end of the Miami River, and two photo posters (The Sts'ailes People and The Sa:sq'ets), placed on the wall of the downstream end of the dike replacement building (on each side of the Sasquatch sculpture). As usual, the 'Miami River Bridges Trail Walk' offered a fun, lovely, and easily-walkable forested trail for us to enjoy a walk each morning. An early breakfast, followed by a walk in a close by wonderful piece of forest ecosystem -- hard to beat!!