Poland Lake

Poland Lake is an easy day hike on a well-established trail through pine forest in Manning Provincial Park. Poland Lake offers peaceful camping and opportunities for fishing. The campsites are nearby the lake. They have access to a bear cache, fire pits, outhouse, and a small shelter. Poland Lake is an ideal overnight trip in the shoulder seasons. In the cooler times of year, there likely won't be any mosquitoes. It's a great introduction to backpacking for youth or adults alike.

The Hike

To access the trail-head for Poland land, we followed the road past the Lightning Lakes area in Manning Park. We drove toward the ski resort until we saw the signs for Strawberry Flats parking lot. Once on the trail, it started with flat easy hiking. We saw a grouse along the way! (centre of the photo below)

After a short section of flat hiking, we ascended a dirt road that intersects with the ski runs of Manning Park ski resort.

We walked underneath the ski lifts.

After a steady ascent on the dirt road, we transitioned to single track trail.

On a sunny clear day, the views are beautiful.

The trail lead us to the southern end of Poland Lake. We had our first view of the lake.

The trail will took us around the shore toward the northern end of Poland Lake. There we found the campsites.

The campsites are quite spacious with a fire pit.

There are plenty of areas nearby the shoreline for fishing with a spin rod or fly rod. There are a few logs that we could walk out onto to reduce the odds of tangling our line in a tree.

As darkness settles over the lake, the views are beautiful.

Final Thoughts

Poland Lake is an excellent shoulder season hike on a clear sunny day. The hike provides beautiful views of nearby mountains, forest and possibly animals like bear and deer. The camping area provides all the necessities such as a bear cache, fire pit, outhouse, easy access to water, and opportunities for fishing. On this trip, we completed the hike in mid-October. I'd recommend a fall trip to Poland Lake.