Porpoise Bay Provincial Park, Provincial park in Sechelt, Canada
Porpoise Bay Provincial Park covers 61 hectares on Sechelt Inlet, about 4 km north of Sechelt. The park is mostly open grass and a sandy beach, with second-growth Douglas fir, western hemlock, cedar, maple and alder behind the shore. A short side road off Highway 101 leads to the entrance.
A local family turned part of the land into a recreation area in 1966, and the province established Porpoise Bay Provincial Park on 29 January 1971, enlarging it in the process. The park boundaries were redrawn and slightly expanded in 2000.
The park lies within the traditional territory of the shíshálh Nation, who used the bay and surrounding forests long before the land was sold by a local family in 1966. The name Sechelt derives from their language, and the band's main community at ch'atlich (Sechelt) is a short distance south of the park.
The park has camping areas and forest trails for day visitors and overnight guests alike. Water access is available through designated beach areas, though facilities operate fully only during the warmer season.
The park's tidal range is about one metre lower than at the entrance to Sechelt Inlet, a difference caused by the Skookumchuck Narrows. At low tide, mussel beds and other marine life are exposed on the sandy beach. The inlet's salmon also draw ospreys and bald eagles, while Steller's jays, British Columbia's provincial bird, live in the woods.
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