For anyone looking to canoe or kayak Northern Vancouver Island I would highly recommend following the Alice Lake Loop. This back roads loop touches on seven gorgeous back country lakes and two Rivers, Benson and Link. The Alice Lake Loop is popular with the locals and is made up of the Keough Main logging road, Alice Lake Main logging road and the West Main logging road forming the loop with a number of offshoots.
The Alice Lake Loop Tour is a fantastic opportunity to see a series of ancient Quatsino karst and limestone formations. On this tour there is 4 distinct viewing points of the Eternal Fountain, Devil’s Bath, the Vanishing River and the Reappearing River. The Eternal Fountain is a naturally occurring swallet, which is when a stream disappears underground. Further on the loop you will come across the Devil’s Bath which is the largest cenote in Canada at a size of 359 meters in diameter and 44 meters in depth. Next up is the Vanishing River and the Reappearing River; just as their names suggest this is where part of the Benson River disappears and flows underground for 2 km before resurfacing at the Reappearing River.
Lakes of the Alice Lake Loop
- Alice Lake
- Benson Lake
- Kathleen Lake
- Keogh Lake
- Maynard Lake
- Sara Lake
- Victoria Lake
External Links
Alice Lake Loop Recreation Sites
