Sproat Lake on Vancouver Island, with over 300 km of shoreline covered in forests of big trees and freshwater so clear you can see 10 meters deep. Vancouver Islands sproat lake is a popular vacation destination. The lake is located alongside the highway to Tofino, Ucluelet, and the Pacific Rim National Park.
Homes and cottages dot the lakeshore, but the majority of the shoreline is uninhabited and lined by beaches and mist-filled rain forests.
This lake is noted for its warm water and is favoured for fishing, swimming, water skiing, and windsurfing. In the summer, this popular camping destination is a busy place. One million visitors a year make the journey on the Pacific Rim Highway to experience the beauty of the west coast of Vancouver Island. The lake provides an enjoyable stop along the way.
As much as visitors are drawn west by the magnetism of Long Beach on the west coast, sproat lake provincial park has a fine beach of its own and much warmer water than the ocean.
Visit the prehistoric petroglyph, K’ak’awin, on the eastern end of the lake. Little is known about the age of the petroglyph, who carved it, or why, but you can easily imagine this rock carving depicting mystical marine creatures, perhaps ancient monsters of this lake. The petroglyphs are easily accessible and can be viewed from a viewing platform positioned over the water in front of the petroglyphs.
The gigantic martin mars water bombers use the lake for their runway as they thunder off to extinguish forest fires. The largest water bombers in the world, these aircraft can scoop up to 27 tons of water off a lake’s surface.
The enormous red and white water bombers are moored on sproat lake at the Coulson flying tankers visitor center on cherry creek road, which is open daily in July and August, with guided tours of the planes.