Comox Valley Nature

Saturday, October 22^nd, K’omoks Estuary Walk , 8:30 am
Dan Bowen and Bill Heidrick will be leading a fall interpretative walk to a number of sites of cultural, ecological and geological importance around the K’omoks Estuary. The participants will meet at the Air Park café, 102 20^th Street, at the end of the small airport.
The group will carpool to different locations around the estuary, so please allow 3+ hours for the entire trip. Walking will be easy for the most part, but may require some beach travel on sand and cobblestones. Dress for the weather, and wear sturdy hiking boots.    As a low tide is ideal for this walk, please note the starting time is 8:30 am!
The following link will take you to our own website for more details;
http://comoxvalleynaturalist.bc.ca/nature-viewing-guide/1-courtenay-rivercomox-bay-area/courtenay-river-estuary-riverway-and-airpark/

Saturday, October 15^th, Ralph River, Strathcona Park Mushroom Walk

Alison and Loys will lead the popular, albeit long, Mushroom hike to Ralph River , which flows into Buttle Lake. The drive to the trail head goes through Campbell River and inland past Campbell Lake, so carpooling is highly recommended.

Participates interested in carpooling will meet at the Courtenay Country Market, 5352 Old Island Highway at 8:30 am. If you prefer to drive direct to the Ralph River Campsite, we will meet at the Campsite around 10:30.  Bring water and a lunch as the only facilities at the trailhead are pit toilets. The first part of the trail is easy, while the 2^nd part has some elevation gain so is more strenuous, but is not too difficult. Hiking poles are suggested.  A link to the Provincial Government site is here;

http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/bcparks/explore/parkpgs/strath/strath_buttle_campground.pdf?v=1474569917565

Sunday October 9^th, Courtenay River Interpretive Walk, 9:00 am
Come along with Frank Hovenden and friends for a shoreline walk down the Courtenay River to the Estuary. The walk from Simms Park to Millard Road will stop a various points along the shore line to view work currently underway or to discuss projects planned to restore the riparian habitat.  Dan Bowen from Project Watershed, and Steve Williams of the Millard Piercy Stream Keepers will be along to discuss the work their organizations have or plan to complete in the near future.  The group will meet at Band Shell in Simms Park,  and proceed along the waterfront to Millard Road (about 5 km return) and back. Come prepared for the weather, and wear sturdy shoes. Notice the Sunday start!
The following link will take you to our own website for more details;
http://comoxvalleynaturalist.bc.ca/nature-viewing-guide/1-courtenay-rivercomox-bay-area/courtenay-river-estuary-riverway-and-airpark/

Saturday, October 1st, Kin Beach to Little River Shore Line 11:00 am 

Helen and Robbie Robinson will lead this shore line walk to the north of the Comox Airport. Participants to this 11 am walk will meet at the Main Entrance to Kin Beach. To get there turn north at the main gate to CFB Comox (by the Voodoo Jet) onto Little River Road, then right on to Kilmorley road, and left on to Astra Road.  Kin Park is at the foot of the hill at 1700 Astra Road and has lots of parking.

The beach has areas of sand and cobblestones, so sturdy footwear is recommended, and dress for the weather. The total distance is about 2.5 km one way, and mostly flat, as befits a beach walk. Along the way you will see the public access points and parking locations to this under visited part of our local shoreline.

On the return to Kin Beach, we will walk on a trail along the Little River behind the Ferry works yard to where Little River Nature park starts, then take the beach access back to the beach for a short distance.  We will leave the beach at the King Coho Greenway public trail which leads out to Mayfair Road where we turn left    We will turn right on Singing Sands Road to Wilkinson Road, where we go left to Little River Road.  We go right for a few feet, then immediately turn left onto Booth Road.  Booth Road becomes Astra Road at the sharp curve as we near the water.  Kin Beach Provincial Park is on Astra Road.

The walk will take about 2 hours. Note the 11 am start for the walk was determined by the tide.

The following link is also to our own website for more details;

http://comoxvalleynaturalist.bc.ca/nature-viewing-guide/2-comox-peninsula-area/kin-beach/

Saturday, September 24th: Cape Lazo and its Garry Oaks, 9:00 am
What better way to follow up on Dr. Marsh’s presentation at the General Meeting on Sept 18th, than with a walk of the Cape Lazo/Point Holmes area with Judy Morrison?   Low tide is at 06:39, so the 9:00 meeting time at the Point Holmes Boat launch will allow the members to access a large part of the inter-tidal zone. The walk will be along the beach, so wear shoes suitable for the sandy and rocky beach. It is often windy, so bring a wind breaker, and wet seaweed can be slippery so be careful.

The link below is to our website.
http://comoxvalleynaturalist.bc.ca/nature-viewing-guide/2-comox-peninsula-area/point-holmes-and-cape-lazo/