This week's hike to Forests for the World is one of the city's true treasures.
The park has more than 22 km of trails for people of all ages and abilities. The park has a diverse list of features that will provide something of interest for everyone. There are two small lakes with beaver lodges and a wider variety of waterfowl. There are two lookouts that provide some of the best views of the city and the McGregor Mountains.
The trails are just as diverse with single track bushwacks, wide wheelchair accessible paths and everything in between. Shane Lake is the main attraction of the park as it has picnic facilities, lookout, shelter and a newly installed fishing platform that now provides access to the west side of the lake where people can try their luck for one of the annually stocked rainbow trout. Come out this Sunday at 10:00 am to celebrate the opening of the platform and help release some of the trout into the lake.
Directions
The main "Forests for the World" parking lot and access is located on Cranbrook Hill in the western part of the bowl over Prince George. Turn on to Cranbrook Hill Road off of Foothills Blvd. Climb the hill for 1.5 km and then turn left onto Kueng Road and drive a further 2.3 km to the main parking lot. The main trailhead is from the parking lot at the north end of the park off Kueng Road. Other access points to the park are from UNBC, Cranbrook Greenway parking lot and Blue Spruce Campground.
Description
Forests for the World is the largest park within the city of Prince George at 106 hectares. It is a five minute drive from the bowl of Prince George but provides a variety of trails and opportunities to see wildlife in a natural setting. The trails are quite popular and provide opportunities year round for skiing and snowshoeing. For more information on the park and booking events call the City Parks Department at (250) 561-7600.
For more information on this hike including airphotos, maps, GPS coordinates and trail photos refer the newly released 2nd edition of Hiking North Central B.C., which is available at local bookstores.
