Pine Park (Tranquille River)

Pine Park is an abandoned park about 1.2km up along the Tranquille River from the parking lot (not completely abandoned though, as it’s semi-maintained by the Kamloops School District to take groups of elementary kids there for salmon fry release every spring) that has an old washroom facility (locked), and an old covered picnic area with a table and chairs that is a great spot to stop for lunch. To get here, you need to follow Criss-creek Road/Red lake Road across the railway tracks past the Mara Canyon loop trail, and the parking lot is on the right. Expect to come across a few large puddles of water on the trail, created by watershed wetlands/beaver activity to get to the actual park. The whole trail to the dam (about 2.4km) is a great place for birdwatching, especially in May during the peak of spring migration, and also great for hiking/walking. The trail goes up further, a bit past Pine Park to an old small water dam, that years ago was used for the community of Tranquille/Padova when it was at its height. PLEASE BE RESPONSIBLE AND PACK OUT WHAT YOU BRING IN, THERE ARE NO GARBAGE CANS ON SITE.