Devil’s Den lake is an obscure little lake you can easily hike around in an hour or so unless you really dawdle. It’s nestled at the foot of a range of big hills that form the south boundary of Sproat Lake. It is a 15 minute drive from Port Alberni. It’s perfect for a light afternoon excursion with the family.
The trail around it was built around a year ago by someone who put a great deal of work into it clearing brush and building decent bridges. No grant money went into this. The person or people who did it have done an excellent job out of the goodness of his heart. It is a beautiful lake and a beautiful hike. But, this was clearly done without any official sanction from the land owners. There are many such trails around the valley.
I have known about this lake for many years. I first used to take a very rough trail to the closest part of the lake, carved out by fishermen. There was a side trail that crossed (forded) the creek that drained the lake below the beaver dam. that held the lake at its current level. Then it went up to a rocky bluff that is covered in wildflowers in early May and provided a beautiful view of the lake and the mountainside beyond.
The Bluffs in1993







Bluffs in 1993
Later, I learned about another bluff just meters away through a brushy dip. the flowers there were even more spectacular. There you could find a bigger variety of them. Sadly, the fauna of both of these bluffs and others and others in the area are all being destroyed by Quad.s, or ATVs for the sake of joyriding. Not only that, they are being used to dump trash. The area has been used as a dump for quite a number of years. And it should stop.
The area around the lake falls within a large block of Crown Land and also includes two creeks and 4 ponds, as well as the lake. But this property also includes a 4X4Racing track, and a private gravel pit, and part of the local land fill. The road through the property
These bluffs have been driven over many, many times by ATVs, have had trash illegally dumped on them, and brought wrecked sofas on them to sit on and enjoy the view . Most of these bluffs may be irredeemably destroyed by now. I would like to see these vehicles banned and the trails they have made blocked.
The bluffs in 2023







