Mount Richardson Provincial Park on the east side of Sechelt Inlet on the BC Sunshine Coast protects ocean shoreline and Mount Richardson, providing habitat for a wide diversity of wildlife.
The summit of Mount Richardson (986 metres/3,205 feet) offers great views of Sechelt Inlet, the Sechelt Peninsula, and the town of Sechelt on the Strait of Georgia. Access is by 4-wheel drive to the mountaintop hiking area and Richardson Lake with its rustic campsites. The park shoreline includes three of the boat-accessible camping sites on Sechelt Inlet, at Oyster Beach, Nine Mile Point and Tuwanek.
Wildlife in the 1,001-hectare park includes black-tailed deer, coyotes, bobcats, martens, cougars, black bear, snowshoe hares, flying squirrels, turkey buzzards, osprey, eagles, owls, pileated woodpeckers, doves, and loons.
Mount Richardson Provincial Park offers canoeing and kayaking, snorkelling, SCUBA diving, hiking and vehicle-accessible camping on a first-come, first-served basis. Campsite reservations are not accepted. These campsites can only be accessed by 4×4 vehicles and are available year round. Facilities are limited to pit toilets. Hiking access to Mount Richardson is from Richardson Lake along an old logging road, a rough trail of approximately 2 km (2 hours) one way.
Diving: A popular dive site is at Tuwanek Point Marine Park, where fish are so varied and numerous that you may think you’re snorkelling in Hawaii. The chill of the waters in the inlet will quickly disabuse you of that notion. Access to this aquarium is by water only. The closest suitable public access points are Porpoise Bay Provincial Park and Tillicum Bay Marina. Note that there is no access from the community of Tuwanek.
Wilderness, backcountry or walk-in camping is allowed, but no facilities are provided. There are 3 areas to camp:
Tuwanek: This area is generally used as a day-use area, as it is the closest to the community of Tuwanek. It has one wooden tent pad, plus 3 other hard packed ground camping areas, and a pit toilet. There is a gravel beach and a stream running through the campsite.
Oyster Beach: There is a gravel beach, a small camping area with 2 to 3 sites on hard-packed gravel, a pit toilet, and a group fire ring. Water is not available at this site.
Nine Mile Point: This is the largest of the 3 marine sites and an excellent site from which to watch the sunset. There is a gravel beach, a pit tiolet, and 2 group fire rings. Water is available, subject to a boil water advisory.
Boating: The Tillicum Bay Marina is located in Tuwanek. Anchorage in the bays of the park shoreline is poor during southeasterly winds or a Small Craft Advisory. Be aware of local daily winds picking up in Sechelt Inlet.
The residential community of Tuwanek is located at the foot of Mount Richardson. The name is derived from one of the original four “septs” (division of the Sechelt Nation) located around Narrows Arm. Tuwanek is the eastern gateway to the Tetrahedron Plateau and Tetrahedron Provincial Park.
Mount Richardson Provincial Park is located north of Sechelt and the village of Tuwanek on the Sechelt Peninsula of the BC Sunshine Coast. Access to the park is via the Sechelt-Gray Forest Service Road, which also provides road access to Tetrahedron Provincial Park. Note that this is an active logging road (normally active from 7am to 6pm weekdays), so please read all signs, watch for and give way to logging trucks, and drive with extreme caution. Drive for 4 km on Branch 300 to the foot of a steep hill. Either park here and walk the remaining kilometre, or continue in 4-wheel drive. Where the road flattens out there is a road to the left that leads to Richardson Lake and the old Forest Service campsites. The main road continues for a few hundred metres and leads to a superb view of Sechelt Inlet.
Nearby Regions & Towns
Park Notices
