WHITE CREEK TRAIL FEATURES
– Bog environment
– Settler remnants
ABOUT
Situated within Naikoon Provincial Park, White Creek Trail is a relatively flat 3.5-kilometre out-and-back trail. The trail, which is an early 20th-century settler wagon road, begins on the west side of White Creek, near the bridge. You’ll see a small sign – the trailhead marker – indicating that the route is not maintained.
Despite this, it’s clear the trail is “user maintained” because it was clear and easy to navigate for the duration of our hike. The first kilometre of the hike takes you through a beautiful second-growth forest, carpeted with thick green moss, along an unmistakable wagon road.
As you walk this section it’s not difficult to imagine the old settlers, in their horse and buggy, trudging along to their homesteads. In the current day, besides the obvious road, the hand-dug ditches and corduroy bridges are all that remain of this pioneering era along White Creek.
After about 30 minutes or so, you’ll emerge from the brush into what Go Haida Gwaii has described as “Haida Gwaii’s Serengeti.” The unique bog ecosystem – with its small ponds, grassland, and twisted and stunted pines – is certainly reminiscent of the African Savannah! As you hike this section of the White Creek Trail, you’ll notice several small side trails, all of which provide access to the bog.
We’d recommend taking your time here to explore but do tread gently. Depending on the time of year you visit, it’s possible to observe Shooting Stars, Labrador Tea, Sundews, and a host of other plants endemic to this environment. Who knows, you might even hear the frat boy-like calls of male grouse in the distance!
The bog section of White Creek Trail runs for about 2.5 kilometres before you come upon the “trail ends” signage. If you’re wearing good boots, it is possible to cross Kliki Damen Creek and continue some 19 kilometres, past the Harelda Lakes, all the way to East Beach along what eventually becomes the Carr-Whittle Trail. If you do this, though, please note that the route is not marked or maintained.
While there are other trails on Haida Gwaii offering access to bog environments (Nadu Homestead and Regier Lake, for example), White Creek is the most popular and, we’d suggest, photogenic.
If you visit, take your time here. The mystical and magical effect of forest and bog still occupies and entices the mind!
DIFFICULTY: Easy
TOTAL DISTANCE: 7 kilometers (return)
TIME: 3 hours
TYPE: Out-and-back
ELEVATION GAIN: Minimal