This trail is the first equine-friendly trail and campground formally established on Vancouver Island.
Trail riding enthusiasts on Vancouver Island have ridden the route now officially designated the Salmon Brewster Horse Trail for many years. The trail, built on a historic logging grade, had never been properly mapped and did not have any amenities. As a result, it was used primarily by locals.
To encourage equestrian tourism on the Island, the Salmon Brewster Horse Trail and Campsites project completed a 40-kilometre multi-use trail linking equestrian campsites at each end. The trail travels through crown land, running from the junction of the Salmon and Memekay Rivers to south Brewster Lake. The five-acre Memekay Horse Camp has two horse corrals, a group shelter with picnic tables, outhouses, manure containment, non-potable water service, and 11 campsites that are approximately 70 feet in length to fit horse trailers and recreational vehicles. The 1.5-acre Brewster Horse Camp has more open camping and two larger horse corrals.
The Salmon Brewster Trail and Campsites, completed in 2013, are now a great recreational wilderness route destination for equestrians wanting to visit the area and explore the beauty of Vancouver Island. The added infrastructure supports best practices for environmental waste management and encourages longer stays. This trail is the first equine-friendly trail and campground formally established on Vancouver Island and will become part of the network of provincial equine trails in British Columbia.
Island Coastal Economic Trust approved funding for this project in 2013 through the Capital and Innovation program.
We work in reciprocal relationships with coastal communities across the ancestral territories of the Kwak̓wala, Nuučaan̓uɫ, Éy7á7juuthem, Ligwilda'xw, Pəntl'áč, She shashishalhem, Sḵwx̱wú7mesh, Hul’q’umi’num’, diitiidʔaatx̣, SENĆOŦEN, Lekwungen, and T’Sou-ke speaking peoples.
