Kearsley Creek Horse Camp:
Located 9 km up the gravel Florence Lake FSR towards Stave Lake, just past the Zajac Ranch, is the Kearsley Creek equestrian campsite.
Corrals and at Kearsley Creek. Photo by Janet Schmidt
B.C.Rec Sites and Trails, the District of Mission, and Backcountry Horsemen of BC have worked hard to put in eight horse friendly campsites each with a double 12 x 12 paddock. With the help of many volunteers and other organizations, donations and grants have made this new campsite a great destination for local camping and riding. Trail construction has been ongoing and we now have approximately 11 km of trails to ride. This year we will be working on extending the trail network in this area.
A manure bin and portable water tank are also provided for horse campers. This is a camping site with no potable water. The campsite is open in the spring and closes in mid October each year. The equestrian site is becoming a favourite of many overflow campers and they choose to stay put when other spots become available. There is a centre field that can be utilized for camping if the sites are full and pens are available.
Entrance to Kearsley equestrian campground. Photo by Janet Schmidt
Check out stavewestcamping.com-Kearsley Creek, for more info, driving directions and a site map.
Headwaters Horse Camp:
E.C. Manning Provincial Park is located in the Fraser Valley Regional District between Hope and Princeton, in the heart of the Cascade Mountain Range. With stunning scenery, it is rich in outdoor activities including a horse camp and numerous trails available to equestrians. The camp is an easy drive on Hwy #3 to the Manning Park Resort, turn south on the Lightning Lake Camp access road, and it’s on your left.
New camp corrals at Headwaters. Karin Smith photo credit
Headwaters horse camp began in 2011, utilizing the existing rustic corral perimeter of the old dude string grounds. Headed by BCHBC Yarrow chapter with the help of Aldergrove Chapter, large logs were put in the ground to create high line poles that still stand today. In 2012 the same dedicated chapters using two teams of member’s draft horses, pulled felled logs from the surrounding forest to construct two double corrals.
Now in 2023 Yarrow Chapter with Aldergrove, have replaced the degraded log corrals with new double panel corrals in six of the seven camp sites. High-line or your own panels are allowed in the seventh empty site.
There is water available on site for horses, a manure bin with wheelbarrows, an outhouse, picnic tables at each site and a central fire ring. Cost is $25 per night on a first come first basis. This includes access to pool and spa area in the resort!
Lightning Lake Trail photo by Arlene Ladd
Trails from camp include Beaver Pond loop, Little Muddy, East and West Similkameen, Steam Boat Trail, Windy Joe and Part of Lightening Lake Trail. A short trailer ride away is the historic Dewdney Trail. Poland Lake trail has amazing mountain views along the ski lift area. Other trails which were damaged by flooding and forest fires, are Monument 83, 78 and Sumallo Grove. We hope to open these in the near future.
Camp is open May long weekend to end of October generally, depending on snow fall.
Maps can be found online on the BC Parks website or the resort has free paper maps.
A very special thank you to Horse Council BC, BC Parks, and Manning Park Resort for continued support of equestrian activities and BCHBC projects.
Want to support initiatives like these and get updates? Join a BCHBC chapter near you! www.bchorsemen.org
By Janet Schmidt and Arlene Ladd of Yarrow Chapter
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