Family friendly guide to Manning Park
Updated: Nov 6, 2023
Getting there
Highway 3 is approximately 2.5 hours from Vancouver, and it offers a beautiful drive as you approach the park.
I would highly recommend researching and planning as much as you can before departing since there is no reception throughout the park. You can find cell service at the Manning Park resort area as well as the visitor center.
Camping
We explored all the campsites, and our favorites were Hampton, Lightning Lake, and Mule Deer.
We stayed at and absolutely loved the Hampton site. It offers clean washrooms and showers, nice roads for the kids to bike, a playground, and a bike skills park/pump track.
We prefer the sites along the mountainside, away from the highway. All the first-come, first-serve sites are well-sized and private. You’d likely have no problem snagging one if you arrive by Friday morning. They also have an overflow for campers who arrive at a full park.
The playground is wonderful and hidden in the middle of the campsite.
The bike park is amazing and suitable for kids of all ages. We met lots of families coming from other sites to visit the bike park
The washrooms in the center of the campsite have showers, which are free and clean. Flush toilets are also found scattered around.
I initially booked our campsite through BC parks but ended up switching to a first-come, first-serve site that we liked better. That was no problem with the park’s staff. One thing I’ll mention about the campsites in Manning Park is that the highway is generally right there, except if you’re staying in the Lightning Lakes site or Skyview (a new site with hookups, etc).
If we had our choice and were organized with booking four months out, we would likely pick one on the river at Mule Deer, but Hampton has a special place in our hearts.
Exploring
We spent a week exploring Manning Park. When we arrived, we visited the wonderful visitor center, right off Highway 3, with summer hours from 9-6. They are incredibly helpful there, and you can get a good sense of what the park has to offer. They also have a sani dump.
One of our days was spent at Lightning Lake. We brought our paddleboard, and the kids loved playing along the shore. We also did the Lightning Lake loop, which is a beautiful walk around the lake. It has no elevation gain and is suitable for kids. It’s a 10km loop.
We also spent a day fishing at the Monuments 78/83 pull-off. We walked along the trail and found a nice spot to enjoy. We brought chairs and snacks. It’s a catch and release area, and the kids had a great time catching the sweet little fish and watching them swim away again. Don’t forget your fishing license!
Our favorite activity, of course, was hiking!
Hiking
We love the little hikes scattered around the park. There are so many, and we can’t wait to explore more. Our favorite adventure was driving to the sub-alpine and exploring from the upper parking lot on Blackwall Peak Road. FYI - Wildflower walks are scheduled weekly from Friday-Monday & Wednesday at 11 am. Meet at the Naturalist hut in this upper parking lot. We definitely prefer midweek to avoid the crowds.
Our favourite hikes:
Paintbrush Nature Trail. A 1.5 km loop, accessible from the upper and lower parking lots on Blackwell road.
Heather Trail - We did a backcountry night at the Buckhorn campsite. 5km along the Heather Trail. I have a previous blog post where you can find more on this.
Lightning lake. 10km loop, no elevation gain.
Monuments 78/83 trail. Pull of from highway 3. Nice little trail that took us to a beautiful spot along the river.
Supplies
We had no problem finding what we needed as we started to run out of supplies. Gas and propane were available at the East Gate station. The Manning Park resort also offers a small store for supplies, popsicles, and a charming restaurant where we had dinner one night when it poured rain. They also have a bar, but, of course, that’s not kid-friendly. The resort itself is a sweet little spot to visit. It also offers cell reception and a small playground.
Overall, we had the best time exploring Manning Park, and we’ll definitely be back for a fall hike and winter ski.
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