Popular as a wilderness park, Schoen Lake Provincial Park offers peaceful and quiet camping opportunities and amazing recreational activities for RV vacationers. Located 12 km (7.5 miles) off Highway 19, via the gravel Davie Road, accessing this 88 sq. km. (34 sq. mile) provincial park by RVs and trailers along the gravel road can be bumpy.
Schoen Lake Provincial Park is one of the most beautiful parks on Vancouver Island and offers recreational opportunities such as wilderness hiking, biking on the park’s roads, boating, canoeing, kayaking, fishing for lake trout, wildlife viewing, nature and flora observation, swimming, skiing, snowshoeing, hunting, picnicking, photography, and many more.
There are nine RV campsites in Schoen Lake Provincial Park, all available on first-come first-served basis only. Although no RV hookups are available at the park, facilities and amenities such as picnic areas, group camps, pit toilets, firewood, boat launch, and winter camps are available.
Some of the interesting features of the park you should look out for include glaciers, old-growth forests, meadows, waterways, and small lakes.
Schoen Lake Provincial Park was established in 1977.
Accessing Schoen Lake Provincial Park which is 12 km (7.5 miles) off Highway 19, is via Davie Road, a gravel road which is rough and commonly used by logging vehicles. As a result, the drive up to the park may be bumpy. Within the park, you can get around on the local roads. There are no driving restrictions within the park.
RV campers at Schoen Lake Provincial Park have room to park their rigs and trailers at the designated campsites, even when spending the night at the park.
There are no direct public transportation services to Schoen Lake Provincial Park.
Schoen Lake Campground features nine pet-friendly campsites available for RVs and tents. All the campsites do not have RV hookup options and only pit toilets are available. Reservations are not accepted and the campsites are available on first-come first-served basis only. Trailer length limit at the campground is 32 ft (10 m).
Walk-in campsites are also available at the campground.
No maintained trails are available in Schoen Lake Provincial Park for RV campers to hike on, however, a number of rugged, unmarked routes in the park can be used for hiking, for example Schoen Creek Trail and Nisnak Lake Trail. Alternatively, adventurous campers can set out on the climb up Mt. Schoen, which is 1,802 m (5,912 ft) high and offers panoramic vistas of the lake as well as the surrounding area.
Cycling is also allowed on the roads in the park and riders are required to wear bicycle helmets.
If you have an appropriate fishing license and are camping at Schoen Lake Provincial Park, then you can enjoy fishing for lake trout in Schoen Lake. Cutthroat trout is the main fish species in the park, while rainbow trout and Dolly Varden are also present in considerable amounts. So, visit the park with your fishing gear to partake in the fishing adventure.
Schoen Lake is a beautiful place to canoe and kayak on. As you visit the park with your boats, canoes, and kayaks, you can set in at the boat launching area located at the campground and explore the entire extent of the lake. No rental facilities are available in the park, and the boat launch is best suitable for car-top boats.
Schoen Lake Provincial Park features diverse wildlife species and these provide good sights for RV campers and visitors at the park. For examples, wildlife such as Roosevelt elk, deer, black bear, cougar, and wolves are known to inhabit the park. You are advised to exercise caution when viewing wildlife in the park.
In addition, some parts of the park are open to hunting for specific species at certain periods.
No part of Schoen Lake is designated as a swimming area, but RV campers still enjoy swimming in the lake. With that in mind, all swimmers should be careful when swimming because no lifeguards are on duty at the park. In addition, swimmers are advised to stay clear of the log jam that covers the outflow of Schoen Lake into Davie River because of the unstable currents in the area.
There are amazing winter recreational activities at Schoen Lake Provincial Park, including backcountry skiing and snowshoeing. Although the park is often closed in winter, the area can be accessed via logging roads. Traveling such roads in the winter, however, may require use of a 4X4 vehicle.
