The Menzies Bay Beach Trail runs through where the Lambs Lumber Company operated a logging camp. Logs were sorted and boomed in Goose Lake. The logs were then loaded on trains and transported by rail to their main camp at the north end of Menzies Bay. They had a large camp and a booming ground located there.
It was a very big camp. The Lamb Lumber Company Ltd. was incorporated in Vancouver in 1912 and was liquidated in 1960. Thomas A. Lamb and his family owned and operated the company throughout its life. They had rail lines all over the area, from Menzies Bay to Mohun Lake, that we still use as hiking trails today.
North Menzies Bay is now a popular hiking area. The estuary of Menzies Creek is pretty cool. If you look deep, you will see remains of old rail lines and the infrastructure that was needed to keep the wood moving. I have spent endless afternoons exploring the bay and never fail to see something new each time.
The Menzies Bay Beach Trail is a wonderful walk that is filled with wildflowers and interesting insects. In the fall, you can watch the salmon spawn in the creek. It’s not a long trail, but the forest is incredibly beautiful. This is a great place to go birding as the forest is full of birds. Once you reach the beach, you can continue to the narrows at Ripple Rock. Or you can go right and explore the estuary and forest above to look for pieces of history that are still visible.
You can head up the ripple rock trail until you reach the bluffs, where you can see a variety of interesting plants. I have always liked hiking around here. Once back on the beach, you can hike back to the creek, and as you hike along, you can see wild foods like sea asparagus. As you get back to the forest, you can feast on Salmon Berries and Huckleberries to your heart’s content.