Just off the Hope-Princeton Highway in Manning Provincial Park there is a natural grove of rhododendron plants. This species known as Pacific or Western Rhododendron is only found in two other areas of British Columbia. The other two locations are near Nanaimo and Shawnigan Lake, both located on Vancouver Island. It is thought that this particular strain survived the last ice age.
We happened upon the Rhododendrons at the beginning of July, they were at the tail end of blooming.
There was still a fair amount of colour, we can only imagine the sea of pink blossoms present during the peak flowering in early June.
The trail is located approximately 9km’s from the western entrance to the park. Watch for the sign for Rhododendron Flats along the highway. It’s a easy 1/2 kilometer loop that takes less than 15 minutes.
Leigh says
Didn’t know that rhodos were growing wild in Manning. Love hiking that park.
Audrey says
This is the first time we have been to Manning. I knew about the wild rhodos on Vancouver Island because we lived near them, but just found out about these ones from the tourist information as we were going through. What a beautiful park, we would like to do some more exploring there. Any good hikes you recommend?