burke pinecone provincial park

[fuzzy]

hello

im new to hunting and live in the lowermainland. time being short and not having a quad has made me think that i should be investing some time in exploring pinecome park. i would far rather hike in or canoe and spend a night or 2 somewhere than drive for hours on end just to come home again and spend a couple hundred on fuel. im in my mid 20s and did a fair bit of backpacking with my dad in my teens i just need to get back in better shape. the time spent will be enjoyed regardless of harvesting an animal or not. can anyone point me in the right direction to minimize wasted time.

thanks
fuzzy

[ghost]

There are animals on Burke.Keep in mind that you have to be beyond Dennett lake to hunt.The bush is very thick.I will try my luck again this season.I have only seen the odd deer track,more bear sign.Lots of wild blueberrys.

[fuzzy]

so my best bet would probably be to canoe up widgeon crk then set off from there? i am having difficulty finding decent maps of the area on line. would one of those local visitor info centres have what i am looking for?

thanks
fuzzy

[ghost]

Canoing up widgeon could be a good option. I have not been up there in quite a long time.One other option would be to go up the quarry road side of Burke and hike for about 2hrs to get to dennett lake and then along burke ridge.I have thought about widgeon lake for hunting but have to make it there.

[gamer]

There has been a few threads on this park/area. There is definitley animals in there. I have seen bear and deer there lots of times. Access is the issue. Terrain is very steep and rough. I would not try to pack an animal back from Widgeon lake as that hike is very difficult. It is also a very popular place and there are loads of people there at all times of year.

[fuzzy]

where is the access from quarry road?? i took a drive down there and didnt see a definite trail head off the rd. i saw what coulda been a trail head close to a marker that says 12k and there is a bit of a car turnaround there.

also on quarry rd it just ends at a gate that says no trespassing. is this really so or is it just a sign that a local has put up to discourage people from going through here?

thanks for info

fuzzy

[rollingrock]

Canoing up widgeon could be a good option. I have not been up there in quite a long time.One other option would be to go up the quarry road side of Burke and hike for about 2hrs to get to dennett lake and then along burke ridge.I have thought about widgeon lake for hunting but have to make it there.

Two hours of hike with your gun and gear from Quarry? You must be in super shape. I've done a few times from Quarry. If you want to do a day trip up there, forget it. Take your time and bring enough supplies for at least 3 days up there. Keep in mind, the 'trail' from Quarry side gets cut off easily as soon as it starts raining. The only 'huntable' time up there is about one months. Once it hits October, you see snow up there...But it's a lot fun up there.

[pmj]

No shooting in Coquitlam. No hunting in the park. No tresspassing into the Coquitlam Lake water shed. Make sure you know where the boundries are. The gate on Quarry road is like is says : Private property.
Forget about trying to access from Widgeon crk side. It is a no hunting area with lots of people.
I would not bother trying to go in there too many things could go wrong. Lots of bikers and hikers in there. Make sure you flag your gut pile if you need to prove to the C.O. you made the kill in a legal area up there. When you hike out there will be lots of looky loos with cell phones.

[Bobby Jr]

I was planning on doing something similar. I keep thinking there are lots of opportunities here in the lower mainland area, you just need to hike hike hike. I'm thinking I wanna scout Burke alot this spring/summer, I mountain bike so getting up there shouldn't be too much of a problem.

This map should come in handy, I don't know why they don't make it more widely known:

http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/fw/wildlife/hunting/regulations/0910/docs/FVSAH2009WEB.pdf

Keep in mind you need the special license for hunting in these areas.

[fuzzy]

thanks guys

i actually have been looking at that fraser valley hunting area map for quite a while that is what gave me the idea of heading up burk mountain, and yes you can shoot if you hike up past the widgeon creek and falls area. As far as looking loos with cell phones i am pretty sure they dont work up there also i am a very reasonable and friendly person(to a point) who would have no prob talking to people if i was getting the " you are breaking the law" stink eye.

i have looked on the back roads mapbook and the park map sucks, i have looked on the parks site and the maps sucked there as well, does anyone have some suggestion as to where i could find decent park map or does one even exist?

thanks
fuzzy

[2x4x16]

The trail head up to Bennet lake I found was by fluke. From memory the trail head is about a couple clicks before the end of the road. there is a small turn around and a trial that appear to go up the hill, at one time there was some sort of post marking the trail. Look for a 6x6 post end - something that would have been part of an old trail marking sign. There is almost nothing on the west side of the road so this trail is not that hard to find when one is looking for it. follow the old road up the hill, you will see a trail marker and and an elevation sign. If I remember correctly there is about a 700 meter climb. All up and all down. Makes for a good training trail. I was a bout 3 hours up and down.
I agree with others comments not a good place to hunt out of. It fair way back to drag game out of and past too many people you will surely have to answer questions. Try and head up to Squamish about an hour drive and in hunt able terrain - a lot more to shoot at.

[Livinlarge]

I did the hike up to Munroe Lake from quarry road about 10 years ago and from what I can remember it took us about 4-5 hours with overnight packs. The trail is full of switchbacks and no easy task. There is a trail head almost near the end of quarry road. Its about 1/2 km before the quarry. Don't know if it still exists but there was a rescue cabin on Munroe Lake we ended up staying in.

So from what PMJ said there is absolutely no access to the coquitlam watershed area? There are lots of logging roads back there and looks like more huntable terrain than top of burke. Would it be ok to hike through the bush to these roads? Or are the roads surrounding the watershed off limits just as the lake is?

This would be a nice close place for me to also hunt since is live at the base of burke. Last year I saw two blacktail bucks in my area. One on Victoria drive, a nice 3 pointer in velvet and a spike in around the land clear around David.

They are absolutely in there, just gotta get around all the red tape to hunt them!

[rollingrock]

I did the hike up to Munroe Lake from quarry road about 10 years ago and from what I can remember it took us about 4-5 hours with overnight packs. The trail is full of switchbacks and no easy task. There is a trail head almost near the end of quarry road. Its about 1/2 km before the quarry. Don't know if it still exists but there was a rescue cabin on Munroe Lake we ended up staying in.

So from what PMJ said there is absolutely no access to the coquitlam watershed area? There are lots of logging roads back there and looks like more huntable terrain than top of burke. Would it be ok to hike through the bush to these roads? Or are the roads surrounding the watershed off limits just as the lake is?

This would be a nice close place for me to also hunt since is live at the base of burke. Last year I saw two blacktail bucks in my area. One on Victoria drive, a nice 3 pointer in velvet and a spike in around the land clear around David.

They are absolutely in there, just gotta get around all the red tape to hunt them!

4-5 hours of hike with pack and gear sounds about right. FYI, the park is open for hunting. But you need to know the bylaws and other legislations before you make your plan.

[Legi0n]

The Pinecone Burke Park is open for hunting but the District of Coquitlam does not allow firearms discharge up to Dennet Lake.
Yet one could use a bow or crossbow. There's plenty of deer in the area. Bears too.