This weekend, Pacific Rim National Park Reserve is launching the Long Beach Challenge,
a timed running course along one of the most beautiful stretches of coastline in Canada. Like Vancouver's epic Grouse Grind, the Long Beach Challenge will give participants the chance to wear a chip that times their journey through a new 9.5 kilometre running course that winds along Long Beach, through Sandhill Creek, and up to the Kwisitis Visitor Centre where they can see how their time stacks up with other's.
These times will also be shared online, so people can see from home how their record is holding up, or where the bar has been set. Visitors who take part in the Long Beach Challenge will get an astounding view and experience of the park. Those who aren't runners, can also enjoy hiking or biking it.
An app for that Pacific Rim National Park Reserve is unveiling a new app that can be downloaded to your personal mobile device called the Explora program.
The app takes you on a self-guided tour of one of the park's rarest and most dynamic landscapes - the Wickaninnish sand dunes. As visitors walk along the beautiful Wickaninnish Beach into the sand dunes, the app is a virtual guide, offering photos, cool facts, and an interactive map designed to deliver a memorable, informative and fun adventure.
Our forests and beaches are well known, but our dunes are a hidden gem that Parks Canada staff and volunteers have been working to Borrow our Camping Gear
Parks Canada is giving people the chance to experience the freedom of a night under the stars without the investment in camping gear. Pacific Rim National Park Reserve is partnering with Mountain Equipment Co-op to offer Equipped Campsites in Green Point Campground.
By booking one of these sites, the most costly camping gear is taken care of. After checking in, visitors will be directed to a walk-in campsite with a tent that sleeps up to six people, mattress pads, a lantern, and propane cooking stove. To prepare for the adventure, visitors only need to round up items that are probably already sitting in their homes, such as food, bedding, kitchenware and a flashlight. These can be reserved by calling 1-877-737-3783.
Laura Judson is the public relations and communications officer for the Coastal B.C. Field Unit of Parks Canada.