Day Four Manning Park and Cascade Lookout

Day four began with us waking up at about 8:30am. The weather was still very chilly and you could see your breathe like it was wintertime! This campground certainly lives up to its cold name!

Tyler got up first and started preparing some tasty breakfast items on the camp stove. We had scrambled eggs, sausages and hash browns. Catherine ate more than usual but that was okay, as she needed her energy as were going to take a nature walk.

We took a short walk on the trail called Dry Ridge Trail. It is an extremely easy trail and sort of short. The park brochure said it would take about one hour, but it only took us about 35 minutes even with stopping to do some filming and to take some photos. The trail offers some decent views but nothing overly heart stopping. The park features many better walking or biking trails than this one. But it was still nice to get out on yet another nice and sunny day to stretch our legs out. This is a perfect trail for those with children or even senior citizens as the elevation change is slight. It also crosses other trails that you can find in the park.

Once back at the campsite we were greeted by our little bird friends looking for food, which we would not give them. Don’t feed the wildlife as it disturbs their natural behaviors and brings the little pooping buggers back again and again!

We took some time to prepare our lunch on the camp stove and it was at this time when a majestic raven made an appearance. It first swooped down the gravel road by our campsite, then it came back and landed in the neighbouring campsite where Tyler was able to snap a picture of it before it flew off following the river. The raven is revered amongst some of Canada’s native peoples. It is highly intelligent and is somewhat curious.

Speaking of the river, Tyler took the opportunity of during some downtime to splash around in the river – which was very cold but still very refreshing. Catherine couldn’t be convinced to do the same. We remembered what Benn Double N had said about the close by lookout point that would be perfect for a newlywed couple like ourselves. It is called Cascade Lookout. We tried to time our arrival there to coincide with the sun going down. The road to the lookout is paved and beyond that to the further trails it is tightly packed gravel.

Cascade Lookout offers views of all the mountains surrounding our campground including Mount Frosty and the Three Brothers. The view from the lookout is stunning. We stayed there for about 30 minutes before heading further up the road to the hiking trails. We walked a short distance on one of the trails and took some photos of the area meadows. On the way back down we came across some birds, a coyote, and two deer which we were able to capture some photos and video of. Tyler joked about eating the little birds and Catherine was less than impressed.

We wrapped up the night with a little food and a much more successful campfire. The campground was still near empty and the night was cold and clear allowing for a great view of the stars well into the night before it became too cold to stay out. Catherine was very cold overnight and Tyler tried his best to keep her warm.

Tyler says of day four – Day four was fun. It was cold when we got up but the sun quickly warmed things up and the short hike certainly felt good after a few days crammed into the car. Benn Double N was right about the lookout and it was most certainly worth the time to go there. I highly recommend the lookout as it gives a great view that you just don’t see from the campgrounds or highway through the park.

Catherine says of day four – The view from Cascade Lookout showed me how easy it could be to be lost in the mountains in Manning Park. I enjoyed seeing the raven, but didn’t much care for Tyler joking about eating the little birds. It was amazing how camouflaged they are. Tyler had to really point out where they were as I had trouble seeing them. The trail we hiked was short and very easy with some decent views. I can recommend this trail for those with young children or older people.

Tags: campfire, campground, cascade lookout, catherine, coyote, deer, dry ridge trail, hike, manning park, mount frosty, nature walk, raven, three brothers, trail, tyler