If you provided me with only the location of Emory Creek Provincial Park and asked me to guess at its makeup, I’d say something like this. It must be a big park, sprawling up into the mountains on either side of the Fraser River, with lots of trails leading to exceptional viewpoints. There would have to be a campground, a big one, with reservable sites, some backing onto the river, that sell out almost immediately after the booking window opens. And shower houses with flush toilets. Oh, and a registration office. And store that sells ice cream cones in myriad flavours.
I’d be wrong, of course. Emory Creek Provincial Park is none of those things. In some respects, quite the opposite. Which isn’t necessarily bad but does perplex me some. Let’s find out why.
Where is Emory Creek Provincial Park?
Emory Creek Provincial Park is located 18 km north of Hope, BC putting it within two hours’ drive of the populated Lower Mainland. It is the first provincial park in the Fraser River Canyon and the only one with a campground between Hope and Lytton on the once heavily travelled TransCanada Highway.
This alone had me expecting a monster park and campground. An appealing geological setting near a massive population centre and, prior to building the Coquihalla, situated on the primary traffic route heading north. Sounds like a recipe for a profitable, popular spot to me.
The reality is quite different. The park is small, crammed into a narrow, 230m strip of land between the TransCanada Highway, CP rail line, and Fraser River. Bound to the north by a First Nation Reservation and to the south by Emory Creek, the 620m long park is little more than a campground and a small natural area.
The Campground at Emory Creek Provincial Park
The campground too, is small. Where I would have expected hundreds of campsites, Emory Creek Provincial Park only has thirty-five. And all of them are first come, first served which I suppose perplexes me most. I would have expected reservable campsites considering the thousands of campers I envision wanting to go.
We’ve camped here twice, now. The first time on a Saturday and Sunday night and the second time, just on the Sunday. Both times we arrived in the afternoon, late afternoon the first and early afternoon the second. We successfully obtained a campsite in each instance, but choice was most certainly slim.
There is an active Facebook page for the park which appears to post notices when the campground becomes full. I only discovered this now, as I write. I wager this could come in handy if you’re heading to Emory Creek Provincial Park and are wondering if any sites remain available.
The thirty-five available campsites are situated both around and within a single loop. Four of the sites are paired into double sites with the remaining thirty-one being traditional back-in sites. And none of them have any services. Ooh, ooh! I would have expected at least electrical in my magical, non-existent mega-park.
All of Emory Creek Provincial Park is set within a lush, mixed forest with plenty of undergrowth. It’s a stark contrast to Skihist Provincial Park 100km to the north. This provides plenty of shade and reasonable privacy between campers.
There is minor variability in site size and orientation. I wouldn’t describe them as cookie cutter, but they do conform to a common design. All are level with gravel driveway and broader living area. Some are long enough to accommodate fairly large RVs but don’t get too carried away. Navigating around the loop itself could be problematic for the biggest toy haulers.
Site Amenities and Campground Services
As mentioned above, none of the sites are serviced. They do, however, have the expected firepit and picnic table. The large, round, steel firepits have an affixed grate over a portion of their surface. The picnic tables are the beastly, immovable concrete and wood numbers that BC Parks is famous for. Sturdy as hell, but not always ideally located.
For those bringing trailers or motorhomes, a few of these campsites have reversed layouts. This results in a firepit and picnic table that won’t be on the correct side of your unit. A small inconvenience to avoid, assuming you have multiple sites to choose from.
Potable water is available from taps located around the campground. These water taps are bit unique in that they’re stuck into thick segments of upright log. Some are associated with garbage and recycling stations.
Toilets are also unique. While there are no bathrooms or shower houses, there are, indeed, flush toilets at Emery Creek Provincial Park. You’ll find them inside converted pit toilet structures, something we’ve only seen at one other park on our travels.
There are three sets of these converted outhouses. Two sets are located along pathways crossing the interior of the loop. The third are near the south end of the campground, though I’m unable to confirm if this latter set has been converted. And though flush toilets are great, these do not come with sinks, so be sure to bring appropriate means of washing up.
For those using onboard facilities, there is no dump station in the park. Emory Bar RV Park, located across the highway, has one you may be able to purchase access too. Otherwise, I’d try Hope. That RV Park, by the way, is a lot closer to what my expected mythical campground would be.
Not surprisingly, there is no office or store. There’s not even a registration kiosk at the entrance, just a billboard with map and historical information. To claim a site, just find an open one and set up your gear. Eventually, the campground operator will drop by to register your stay and collect fees. They’ll also sell you firewood, but as you can see from my picture, there was a fire ban during our most recent visit.
Trails and Beach at Emory Creek Provincial Park
Despite the modest nature of Emory Creek Provincial Park, there is some entertainment to be had. Readers will be happy to learn there is a little library present which truly is unexpected, but neat to see. There are also a couple of short trails to explore and a beach. No playground, unfortunately.
The dirt trails are limited. I wouldn’t call them hikes by any means. But they’re both nice strolls through the woods. One is located at the south end of the campground and takes you to Emory Creek and the boundary of the park. The other is found midway along the east side of the loop and takes you to the beach.
That beach is a thick sand bar along the shore of the Fraser River. It’s pretty, I suppose. And sifting the sand through your fingers is fun. But I don’t imagine much typical beach behaviour occurs there outside of, perhaps, sunbathing.
Be aware that the trail to the beach, and the beach itself, border the neighbouring First Nations Reserve. Trespassing on their land is prohibited and warning signs are posted to make you aware of this.
The trail through the forest to Emory Creek is the longer of the two and nice, in my opinion. Along its path you’ll encounter a few reminders of the town that once existed here as well as a viewing bench. At its terminus, you’ll encounter Emory Creek as it enters the Fraser River.
The contrast between the bouldery, clear Emory Creek and the muddy, relatively rock-free Fraser River is quite dramatic. Scrambling around the rocks, tossing stones, or just sitting and taking in the beautiful surroundings is a great way to decompress.
You can hike from one trail to the other along the water’s edge. There isn’t a specific trail to do this, but it is possible. Along the way, up the slope, you’ll see some of the campsites backing onto the Fraser. From this viewpoint, you can better appreciate how great they’d be to get, if you can.
At this point, you’re probably thinking Emory Creek Provincial Park is a lovely little spot to camp. And you’d be right. But there is bug in this otherwise delicious bowl of soup. Trains.
Trains, Trains, and More Trains
The Fraser Canyon hosts both CP and CN main rail lines heading into Vancouver. The CP line runs between the highway and the park while the CN line runs on the other side of the river. Between them, you get a steady diet of freight train traffic 24/7.
Better yet, that CP line crosses the entrance road into the park thereby necessitating the use of its horn. By regulation, of course. If the squeals and chugs of large trains don’t interrupt your sleep, that horn surely will. Especially if you’re in a tent.
The crossing of the entrance road presents further frustrations when a train is forced to halt its movement for some reason. This occurred when we were attempting to leave, resulting in a nearly twenty-minute delay. The park operator, also trapped within the park, revealed that this is not an unheard of situation.
So, yeah, trains kind of kill the otherwise idyllic vibe that the park has. It certainly isn’t the grand, recreational super-park I imagined it should be, but it is a lovely spot. The surroundings are pretty and it’s conveniently close to Yale if you fancy some public access gold panning like us. Or Hope.
Conclusion
I’ll give Emory Creek Provincial Park 3 Baby Dill Pickles out of 5. I like this campground and it has served us well during our summer road trips. But the lack of reservable sites and playground is a detriment. And the trains … oh, those damn trains.