Exploring Sechelt: Porpoise Bay Provincial Park, and Bricker Cidery
After hiking in to Skookumchuck Narrows in the morning of Day 43 of the trip, June 7th, I made the short drive to Sechelt. We got set up for 2 nights at the Porpoise Bay Provincial Park campground just north of town, and began our Sechelt exploring with a visit to the new Bricker Cidery, which had just opened a few days earlier.
BC Highway 101 is not one to hurry on. Not only because there are many side roads to beaches and tiny communities, but also because it’s narrow and winding. Although it runs close to the sea for much of its length, there are very few ocean views.
We reached Porpoise Bay Provincial Park at about 2:00 pm.
There are 84 campsites, with a nightly fee of $29.
We made a loop around the campground, and there aren’t really any good or bad sites. They’re all spacious and fairly level.
I chose campsite #67 near the end of that exploratory loop.
My first job once we got settled was to take a photo that Cathy had asked for. She wanted to make sure that none of us was wearing a cast or anything of that sort, I think 🙂
The first dog walk was to the beach. There, as usual in BC, we were “greeted” by this sign. We discovered a trail later that evening that runs through the forest and then along Anus Creek to a small estuary with no such restrictions. Bella and Tucker were able to have a good play there.
The picnic area is very nice, and huge. The parking lots must hold 400 or so cars, and perhaps 30 picnic tables are available.
There are no fire rings at the campsites, just a few communal fire rings – one is seen to the right of the path in the next photo. I seldom build campfires when Cathy isn’t with me, in any case.
We had a good night’s sleep, but could hera heavy rain start very early in the morning. It got very heavy, and when I shot this photo showing water pouring off the RV roof at 08:40, Bella and Tucker were still not interested in going for a walk!
After a late breakfast, to kill some rain-time, I went into the Sechelt Visitor Information Centre. Two very helpful staff members showed me lots to do, outside and in, to keep us busy. By 11:00 or so the rain had eased off and the dogs and I enjoyed a much longer walk. Then I decided to leave the dogs in the RV and take a drive to check out a place that one of the tourism people had suggested – a recently-opened cidery.
The Bricker Cidery is in West Sechelt, in a lovely area of acreage residential properties.
As soon as I walked in the door, I was taken by the great vibe. I spent a few minutes talking to Nick Farrer about the business – he and his wife Morgan Moore had just opened the doors of their new business 5 days before. Although there were only 2 other people when I arrived, a few more settled in over the next half hour or so. Word was obviously getting around in a hurry.
Bricker’s is producing 3 ciders – an “Original”, a medium dry one with dry hops added, and a dry “Frambo” with raspberries added.
Morgan poured me a flight to try all 3 types. While all 3 are very nice, I was particularly attracted to the hopped one.
After checking out the various options for cider to take home, I asked Nick to fill a couple of growlers with the hopped cider. I kept them in the RV fridge for a few days, and then they disappeared quickly in an evening with friends who also really enjoyed it.
As well as a small deck, this large picnic area is available so you can bring the family and spend some time. Nick told me about the condition the property was in when he and Morgan bought it, and how much work it’s been to get it to the state that visitors see now. I expect that the neighbours are as pleased with the changes as the other customers I heard talking in the tasting room. The cidery is on a major cycling route, and I expect that sunny days will see good crowds.
The clouds were trying hard to break up as I started back to the park at 3:30.
With the rain now stopped, I got Bella and Tucker, and returned to downtown Sechelt for more exploring.
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