The Roche Lake area has a group of lakes separated by hills, forest, and grasslands.   Some of the lakes are easy to get to, but many are accessed only by difficult 4WD tracks.   We chose to hike a loop route past 5 of these lakes.

We parked at the entrance area to Roche Lake and walked along a rough track to Black Lake.   Fishermen can drive this road, even though it has a series of deep puddles and rough sections.   The lake is reached in 1 km.    A campsite and launch sits at the west end, then the track continues along the north shore to the end of the lake.  Another campsite sits ideally next to the northeast shoreline.

The track gets rougher and rougher as it approaches Bog Lake.   In spite of its name, it is a nice little lake, although swampy areas surround it.   The track then turns south under the hillside and continues through the forest.   This would be a very challenging road for any vehicle.   An old trapper’s cabin can be found next to the track near the north end of Ernest Lake.

Our loop route veered off at the cabin, but we wanted to see Ernest Lake so we continued south to another campsite on the east shore of the lake.   Past this lake, the track ends at a crossroads of ATV tracks heading out of the park.   We retraced our route back to the cabin, then followed a less-traveled track across the end of some marshes, and along the west shore of Ernest Lake.

The track from Ernest Lake back to the main area is a good one, but deadfall now covers the route, fine for hikers, but impassable for bikes and motorized vehicles.  Part way along the track, a junction is reached.   The fork going south goes down to Bulman Lake, a route for another day.   We kept going northwest until we came to an open area near John Frank Lake.   We took a side route over to see the lake.

Retracing our route, we continued northwest across the power line and along a good dirt road to Roche Lake.

Forest, quiet lakes, marshy areas, wildlife, a rough and potholed track, 13 km of exploration.   We will return, probably on snowshoes during the winter.

Coordinates:

• Start – N50 29.468 W120 08.736

• Black Lake – N50 29.531 W120 07.995

• Bog Lake – N50 29.568 W120 06.672

• Junction (cabin) – N50 28.953 W120 06.674

• Ernest Lake (east campsite) – N50 28.671 W120 06.385

• Ernest Lake (west) – N50 28.647 W120 06.510

• Junction (Bulman Lake) – N50 28.271 W120 06.998

• John Frank Lake – N50 28.566 W120 07.930