Park overview
Kitimat River Park protects two parcels of small but highly productive old-growth Sitka spruce and red cedar forest on the natural floodplain and fluvial terraces of the Kitimat River. It also protects grizzly bear habitat and culturally modified trees.
Advisories
Safety info
- Bring your own drinking water as potable water is not available in the park.
- Backcountry areas are not suitable for dogs or other pets due to wildlife issues and the potential for problems with bears.
Camping
Wilderness camping is allowed, but no facilities are provided in this park.
Facilities
Accessibility information is available for this park.
Campfires are permitted, but firewood is not provided. We encourage visitors to conserve wood and protect the environment by minimizing the use of campfires and using camp stoves instead.
If you must have a fire, please burn only dead and down wood, and be sure to extinguish the fire fully. Dead wood is an important habitat element for many plants and animals and it adds organic matter to the soil.
Campfire bans may be in place. Before lighting a fire, check for bans or restrictions on BC Wildfire Service and on local or Indigenous government websites.
Activities
There are opportunities for salmon and steelhead fishing in Kitimat River, to the west of the park.
Anyone fishing in British Columbia must have an appropriate licence. To learn more, see the fishing and hunting guide.
The park is open to hunting but hunting opportunities are limited. Please refer to the British Columbia Hunting and Trapping Regulations for more information.
Kitimat River Park is located about 6 km north of Kitimat and is on the west side of Highway 37, between the power transmission lines to the north and the Snowflake Community Fairgrounds to the south. Access into the park is by foot. Use NTS Map Sheet # 103 I/2.
Visitor Information Centre:
Kitimat Visitor Information Centre
PO Box 214
2109 Forest Avenue
Kitimat, BC, Canada V8C 2G7
http://www.tourismkitimat.ca/
e-mail: info@tourismkitimat.ca
ph: 250 632-6294 or 1-800-664-6554
Park and activity maps
- Park map (165 KB PDF)
- Area map (2 MB PDF)
- Location Map
Learn more about this park
Park details
- Date established: May 20, 2004
- Size: 57 hectares
Nature and culture
History
Kitimat River Park was designated as a park on May 20, 2004, following recommendations from the Kalum Land and Resource Management Plan.
Conservation
Kitimat River Park is located in the CWHws1 biogeoclimatic zone (coastal western hemlock, wet sub-maritime subzone, Submontane variant). This zone occurs at low to mid-elevations. In general, it is one of the wettest areas in BC and typically has cool summers and mild winters. Mean annual precipitation ranges from 100 to 440 cm. The park is situated on an active floodplain of the Kitimat River. Vegetation differences throughout the park depend on differences in bench height and frequency of flooding. The soils in active floodplains are usually poorly developed.
High bench sites have seasonally fluctuating water tables, but only flood every few years. Forests are typically dominated by Sitka spruce, however red cedar, western hemlock and Amabilis fir are also present. The shrub layer is dominated by devil’s club. Small amounts of salmonberry, Alaskan and oval-leaf blueberry and young conifers are also present in the understory. Spiny wood fern, oak fern, foamflowers, twisted stock, and leafy mosses are also common in this plant community.
Middle bench plant communities have high and prolonged water tables that limit conifer establishment. The most common species in this area are black cottonwood, red-osier dogwood, red alder, and salmonberry.
The low bench plant communities are found adjacent to the river and back channels and are subjected to prolonged annual flooding, sediment erosion and deposition. The occasional black cottonwood is found in this area, but the most common species are willows along with red and Sitka alder.
Reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples
BC Parks honours Indigenous Peoples’ connection to the land and respects the importance of their diverse teachings, traditions, and practices within these territories. This park webpage may not adequately represent the full history of this park and the connection of Indigenous Peoples to this land. We are working in partnership with Indigenous Peoples to update our websites so that they better reflect the history and cultures of these special places.