Upana Lake on Vancouver Island is a popular summer fishing spot with a great rainbow trout fishery, and the Upana caves are located nearby. The lake is located 17 km northwest of Gold River. This is a very pretty lake. Upana Lake is fairly close to the town of Gold River, and it has some good trout fishing in it. Take the road to Tahsis from town, and go up the head bay road for about 15 to 20 minutes. Once you reach the top of calla creek hill, you will cross over a concrete bridge deck. Shortly after that, you will see a small creek that runs under the road, you should pull over here and park off of the road as much as possible. There is a trail that runs beside the creek that will take you down to the lake. You can fish here as well as set up a rustic campsite.
I have pulled some nice rainbows from here and a friend pulled a very large dolly (3 kg) from here a number of years ago. There is such beauty in this area, with wonderful views to feast your eyes on. I have always enjoyed it here.
The scenery is quite breathtaking with mountains and valleys, rivers and streams, and then you also have the Upana caves just above the lake. These caves are pretty awesome. There is plenty of wildlife and birds to keep your camera snapping and your eyes will be filled with the wonder of the forests. You have a great chance of seeing bears, cougars, wolves, elk, or deer along with other smaller forest creatures like raccoons, squirrels, and pine martins and the birdlife is incredible. Birds from the very small hummingbirds right up to the majestic eagles arrive yearly. It’s a paradise.