Hot springs in BC are sometimes not all they’re hyped up to be.
You can pay hundreds of dollars just to sit in a glorified hot tub swarming with tourists.
What a relaxing experience.
Luckily, on VanIsle, one of our favourite natural spas is back, and it’s gotten a deluxe makeover.
Maquinna Marine Provincial Park and Hot Springs has just been reopened by the Ahousaht First Nation. And for those who’ve been before, it’s a whole new treatment.
The natural geothermal hot springs have gotten a $1M upgrade in the form of a beautiful new cedar boardwalk trail. It makes your two-kilometre sweat session on the way up a more luxurious detox.
BC Parks worked alongside Ahoushaht’s Maaqutusiis Hahoulthee Stewardship Society (MHSS) to make the upgrade happen.
And the place is under unparalleled new management.
Tyson Atleo is a senior advisor to MHSS.
“Bringing the Indigenous culture into parks management for BC was a big deal. It resulted in acknowledging that Ahousaht deserved the opportunity to have some kind of exclusive access for its community members and all Nuu-chah-nulth,” Atleo told Westerly News.
“Even though we have been marginalized from the economic tourism economy, we are rebuilding that and we are aiming to benefit from that sector and we are doing so as a result of partnerships. We are very open to protocols with any tourism operator that is open to working with us,” he said.
The hot springs are a 1.5-hour boat ride northwest of Tofino. They’ve been closed for more than two years because of COVID protections.
Atleo said building the two-kilometre trail to the hot springs had two benefits. It meant good jobs for Ahousaht members, and it helped build trust between BC Parks and the Ahousaht nation.
“This was really critical for us. It got our people back into the hot springs, working on the trail, and feeling a sense of ownership and responsibility for this natural asset that we have,” Atleo said.
He acknowledged Ahousaht Guardians Coburn Webster and Malcolm Wells for their “consistent dedication” to the hot springs.
“They are the face of (Maquinna) now. They are there to represent Ahousaht and they will continue to work for us as guardians,” he said.
“We very carefully made a plan to re-open the Maquinna Marine Park with new access conditions,” he said. The new plan brings together ecological values, Indigenous culture, economics, and visitors.
In the past, there were zero restrictions for commercial tour operators taking guests to the hot springs.
“Some companies would ‘burn and turn.’ They would be dropping people off and returning with another load of guests. It led to just having a lot of people and just maxing out the capacity of the park,” said MHSS consulting advisor Sarah Reid.
At one point, one company did as many as 8,500 guests in one year.
Now, it only costs $3 to get into the hot springs. But tour operators and boats can only bring in a small number of people per day.
So it’s important to think carefully before you go.
Are you going because it’s “the thing to do?” Or are you going because you want to experience something special about the land?
