Uncle Tom’s cabin is located off 201, Down Edge Rd and then a right turn after the bridge. The bridge is about 3 km down edge Rd. From Uncle Tom’s one can get to Derickson Lake via a 3 km hike – see GPS Track and Pictures.
Uncle Toms Cabin
Uncle Toms Cabin from the creek located behind the cabin.
Uncle Toms Cabin inside
Derickson Lake hike has been on my mind awhile since my friend Ray Derickson has wanted to explore the area as he continues to renew the registered trap line business that has been in his family since the mid 1800’s. Derickson Trap Line Maps
To get to the best place to start the hike, I had to find the snowmobilers cabin known as “Uncle Tom’s. From there we walked down the road crossed a creek that was a little too much for my two wheel drive Ford Ranger and and when my GPS told me we were within 700 meters of the lake, we left the road which was now marked with snowmobile trail markers and hiked through the bush to Derickson Lake.
Update – September 2018 – Derickson Lake is now stocked with trout!
Uncle Tom’s Cabin update – A new cabin has been built and the images above are old. We’ll keep em there for historic reasons. 🙂
I thought the lake would be more swampy but it turns out to be a very nice lake to visit. Probably no fish but ….who knows, leave a comment below if you know of anyone who caught a fish in Derickson Lake! After we circled most of the lake we followed the GPS pointer through the bush and let it take us back to the snowmobile trail and road to Uncle Toms. We saw 5 hunters in three groups, and I was only able to get 3 of them. …no not really but none of them nor I saw a single good sighting of game.
When i recruited people to venture into greystokes provincial park, everyone always asked “where the heck is that?”. Weird, considering it’s only 60km from kelowna. It’s pretty much inaccessible without a truck, quad or snowmobile, but once there, there is some pretty cool stuff.
The main center of the park is greystokes lake, which is actually a reservoir. There are some snowmobile cabins you can stay in while exploring the lakes, hiking trails and backroads. There is also plenty of opportunity for free camping. When we were there, we planned on tenting, but ended up sleeping in the truck because we weren’t prepared for the winter camping that was at the top. it was 15 degrees in kelowna in october when we left. Also, the cabins were out because the 1st one was full of rowdy types, and the others were inaccessible do to the road not actually being passable, unless you have a rock crawler or other crazy 4×4. Maybe the road is slightly more passable without snow, but it would still take some skill. It’s a mission for next summer.
Since there are so many extremely deactive roads, there are tons of opportunities for exploring on foot. But, a mountain bike would be the best i think. There are also some hiking opportunities in the park. a short trail just before greystokes lake leads to lemon lake. a small wooded alpine lake.
There is also a longer (read multi-day) trip around some of the other lakes and to the summits of Jubilee Mountain and Mount Moore. Apparently the hilton cabin in the south of the park is quite nice. apparently.
This park is a very popular snowmobile destination in the winter. very popular. partly because thats the only way to get around this largly unmaintained park.
It turns out that this park is pretty darn cool. unfortunately, besides the one or two hiking trails (though they do seem epic) there is not too much in the way of maintained, non-motorized stuff to do. If you are down with random back-country hiking and snowshoeing, self guided old road mountain biking, then this is a sweet place. But be prepared, though it is not so far from kelowna (access greystokes FSR off highway 33) it can be a lonely place to have a truck breakdown. There is no cell reception either.
Thanks for posting the Graystokes info Rex. I (TracksAndTrails webmaster) figured you wouldn’t mind if I posted the Graystokes pics that I had as well. I even give you a few shots of a couple of the cabins up there.
Thetis Lake Regional Park is one of the largest urban parks around Victoria, BC on Vancouver Island. This 831 hectare park is located in suburban Victoria and is a natural refuge of lakes and forests teaming with wildlife. Hikes in this park include loop trails and treks up coastal mountains.
This is a well-groomed loop trail around Lower Thetis Lake.
The park is located 20 minutes from downtown Victoria and is an excellent family location to enjoy hiking, swimming, boating and canoeing. Hikers are rewarded with easy trails through thick forests with expansive views of the lakes. The loop trail around Lower Thetis Lake has a few up and down sections but the well-groomed trail makes for easy hiking.
The trail starts to the right of the information board and weaves through a thick coastal rainforest. Some trees are hundreds of years old. In the spring, wildflowers paint the slopes in a myriad of colours. As the trail skirts close to the lake shore, it begins to climb scenic, rocky bluffs. These lookouts provide great views of the lake and make for tempting jump-sites into the water below (this is not recommended).
The trail continues to the far side of the lake where many trails branch off to all corners of the park. To return to the parking lots, take the small foot-bridge across the stream which leads to Trillium Trail. This wide path is the most direct route back to the starting point and has good wildlife and bird-viewing opportunities in the forest. The park is home to deer, marten, eagles and vultures. At the rear of the park, bears and cougars have occasionally been spotted.
There are a few look outs above Lower Thetis Lake that provide views of the surrounding park.
The trail ends at a popular, sandy beach where change facilities are provided. In the summer, this small beach may be crowded but there’s plenty of space in the water for wading and swimming. After a reward hike, feel free to hop in a canoe and do some fishing.
Well groomed trails along the loop trail around Lower Thetis Lake.
Getting There: For driving directions to Thetis Lake Regional Park, click here for a Google Map. From downtown Victoria, take Douglas Street north which will then turn into the TransCanada Highway (Hwy #1). Take the turnoff into View Royal using Burnside Road (Exit #10). This will turn into the Old Island Highway. After going under the highway overpass, turn right on Six Mile Road which leads into the entrance of the park. It takes about 20 minutes to get to the park.
Note
For more coastal hiking around Victoria and Sooke, BC visit Comfort Cove Cottage. For a list of romantic getaways in Victoria, look at Heavenly Hideaways.
East Sooke Park is a large, coastal park located 40 minutes from downtown Victoria, BC or 20 minutes from Sooke, BC. Most visitors to Vancouver Island never explore this region and miss out on a coastal treasure. The park, which is located on the East Sooke Peninsula, is home to many forest animals, tons of birds and plenty of sea life off its shores.
This hike will take you to an ancient petroglyph carved into a seaside rock by the ancestor of the local native tribe. It takes about 1.5 hours to complete (round trip).
50 km of trails take you through thick second-growth rainforests and to the ancient shores of Juan de Fuca Strait. This hike, to Alldridge Point, is located in the eastern portion of the park and will take you to a dateless petroglyph, carved into a seaside rock ages ago by a native graffiti artist. The drawing isn’t that spectacular (no offense to the artists) but imagining a romantic couple on these very trails and rocks 1000’s of years ago is inspiring. Maybe a young man was trying to impress his girlfriend with his artistic talents. Did their parents punish them for defacing the seascape? Could they have imagined that their work would last for millennia?
This hike starts out from the Aylard Farm parking lot. There are two routes to the petroglyph at Alldridge Point. The first trail is along the rugged coastline of the park. The Pacific waves have created a jagged and rocky coastal shelf with deep surge channels. There are plenty of rock faces to climb where hikers will be using hands and feet to scale the rocky crags. The trail is well marked with yellow, metal indicators attached to the rock face. There were plenty of places where I had to lift my dog in order to proceed. Hiking boots are recommended for this route.
The second route is gentle and smooth along well-groomed pathways through the trees. Only when you get to Alldridge Point will you have to watch your steps on the rocks to see the artwork. Signage is good throughout the park and will help direct you to the petroglyph. Running shoes will provide enough traction and protection for this route. Click here for a map of East Sooke Park.
For more coastal hiking around Victoria and Sooke, BC visit Comfort Cove Cottage.