Monck Provincial Park located a short 10-15 drive north of Merritt BC played host to a recent weekend away with friends. Driving up from Victoria, it was a pleasant drive. Leaving Early Friday morning and catching the 8 o'clock sailing out of Schwartz Bay, it was a pleasant drive through the Fraser Valley. The timing was perfect, which allowed us to miss most of the early weekend traffic out of Vancouver. My preferred route is taking Highway 99 south towards White Rock and then Highway 10 through South Surrey and Langley to Glover Road. From there, north back towards Highway 1. Although you still have the sometimes heavy traffic to contend with in Abbotsford, it usually gives you a good jump start to the day when your looking to get out of town.
It had been about 6 months since my last drive up Highway 5 (Coquihalla Highway) so I was curious how things have come along since the removal of the Toll Booth at the summit. It was looking great. There is clearly two lanes both directions. Road crews have replaced the green space between north and south bound traffic. Despite some repainting of the lines and continued restoration of the summit, traffic was moving rather smoothly. But do watch for the odd lane closure.
Once we arrived in Merritt, I made one of my usual stops at the Husky Station truck stop just off of where Highway 5 splits into 5A. If your looking for Pizza there's a Boston Pizza on the corner and of course the usual truck stop fare at Husky. Big parking lot for over sized vehicles and trailers, clean washrooms and a snack counter to satisfy almost any temptation. The drive to Monck was only 15 minutes up the road from here.
From the Husky station, you pull back out onto Highway 5A and head north about 5 minutes until you reach Monck Park Road. Take note, when you make your left had turn here (travelling North) take note of the incredible Osprey nest to your immediate left. You can't miss it with it brightly decorated red streamers. There's plenty of room to pull off to the side of the road and take a picture or two. If your lucky, like we were, there was somebody home in the nest which offered up some great pictures.
Following along Monck Lake Road you will eventually pull off when you reach the campground about 7 minutes North. Park is situated on the west side of Nicola Lake. A campground that is very dry, (typical for this arid climate), dusty and very windy. We were told the wind is usual for the area because of the wind tunnel effect through the valley between the hills. This was bit of a concern as one of the campers in our party had his awning snapped right out of its mounts. Tents also had to be tied down sufficiently to keep the wind from blowing the camp site away. Aside from that the weather was great which made for an enjoyable weekend. Monck Park offers a great spot for water sports. There were many boats on the lake towing the kids behind on water boards, canoeing and of course swimming. Although some of us found the water to be a little chilly, it didn't seem to keep people from getting in and having fun. The park also comes with a huge, nicely manicured lawn next to the beach, clean well kept picnic tables, washrooms and plenty of room for the dogs to run and the children to play.
The only complaint I had, was that park staff, seemed to be a little over attentive. Stopping by each of the sites frequently while making their rounds. Probably just a part of their routine for park maintenance. Two nights was enough for me, and I probably wouldn't go back just because of the wind and dust, but if you are looking for a quick overnighter on the way to other destinations either north or south, it is highly recommended.
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