Whonnock Lake, Rolley Lake and Hayward lake

I took my motorcycle off the beaten track yesterday in Maple Ridge. I stopped in at Cliff Falls on Kanaka creek and I take that back. They're not nicer than Cypress falls there's about the same. The reason is because you can't access the bottom of the falls from the main site so you can't really see them in full view. You have to access them from a secret point and walk up the creek.

Then I swung over to Whonnock lake. I've heard people talk ab out that before but I'd never been there. It's pretty small but they have a really nice playground for young children. There are lots of signs that say no swimming because of high fecal counts in the water but they have an area roped off for swimming and people were in the water with their kids.

Personally I'm not a fan of high fecal counts but you can get the same thing at some of the other Vancouver beaches and that's not from birds it's from sewage. Will Jamieson from paddlegear.ca was there offering free paddleboard rentals. That' kind of a really good idea. He lets people try them free in hopes that someone might want to buy one from his store. That's impressive marketing. Lots of frogs and water lilies in that lake.

Then I swung over to Rolley lake. That's another smaller lake like Buntzen lake in Post Moody beside Belcarra on Deep Cove. It's nice. No fecal count warnings and they have a campsite there. Evidently there's a nice water fall on the other side of the campsite.

After that I swung over to Hayward lake which is right beside Stave lake. Stave lake is very large and you can have power boats on it. Power boats are not allowed on these smaller lakes just canoes, kayaks and paddleboards. Inflatable paddleboards are getting quite popular because they're easy to transport. Hayward lake is right on the other side of the dam. There's a powerhouse on site that offers free tours. Stave lake is artificial in the sense that is was created by a dam just like Alouette lake. They're all connected to each other and form an intricate power generating grid. This is green energy and comprises a template for the future.