Porpoise Bay Park

What the place is like

Porpoise Bay Park lies at the southern end of Sechelt Inlet, about four kilometres north of Sechelt off Highway 101, and is reached by Sechelt Inlet Road ¹. BC Geographical Names places it on the east side of Porpoise Bay, just north of Sechelt, and gives its area as about 61 hectares ⁸.

BC Parks describes second-growth forest of Douglas fir, western cedar, western hemlock, maple and alder, sandy beaches for swimming (no lifeguards), forest trails along Angus Creek leading to a bridge and the estuary mudflats, and a cyclists' campsite that kayakers can also use ¹. The operator calls it a large campground and a family favourite, with a sandy beach, grassy fields, a playground and shower buildings ³.

The number of campsites today is not published on the pages we checked. The 1981 park master plan recorded 89 campsites and day-use parking for about 300 cars at that time; treat these as historical figures ⁷.

Visitor rules that shape the site

• Camping payment is cash only ¹.
• Generators are allowed only 9 to 11 am and 6 to 8 pm ¹.
• A clean air policy applies: campfires only at three communal fire sites, not at individual campsites ¹.
• Pets must be leashed at all times and are not allowed on beaches or in park buildings ¹.
• BC Parks recommends reserving ahead for July and August ¹.

These are visitor rules, not staff terms.

At a glance

Location

Southern end of Sechelt Inlet, about 4 km north of Sechelt, BC, via Sechelt Inlet Road

Property type

Provincial park with campground and day-use area

Owner

BC Parks

Operator

Swens Contracting Ltd. (Sunshine Coast Parks)

Relevant roles

Park attendant at operator level (2025 call, no park named); role at this park not confirmed

Current vacancy

Not confirmed

Working season

Not confirmed

Staff accommodation

Not confirmed

Personal RV required

Not confirmed

Access

Road (Sechelt Inlet Road); Sunshine Coast reached by BC Ferries Horseshoe Bay to Langdale

Nearest service community

Sechelt

Waterfront

Yes, on Porpoise Bay at the south end of Sechelt Inlet

Last reviewed

2026-10-09

Notices that may have changed

• The operator's homepage shows a notice that the Angus Creek trail at Porpoise Bay is under construction and remains closed. The notice is undated and was not repeated on the BC Parks page we read. (undated notice, seen October 9, 2026) ⁴
• The operator's homepage shows a 'We're Closed' notice directing off-season visitors to BC Parks or the reservations page. (undated notice, seen October 9, 2026) ⁴

Check with the operator before relying on these.

Working at the park

BC Parks names Swens Contracting as the operator and links to Sunshine Coast Parks ¹. The operator says it specializes in park facility operations for BC Parks and the Sunshine Coast Regional District ². Its history page says the company was founded in 1986 by Johan Swens, took the South region of the Sunshine Coast BC Parks contract in 2015, and that its work grew to include Porpoise Bay Park ⁵.

The operator's employment page says it is accepting Park Attendant applications for the Spring/Summer 2025 season and asks applicants to email a resume, cover letter and two references ². It does not name a park, list duties, pay, hours or accommodation ². That season has passed, so this is shown as a closed, operator-wide call, not a vacancy at Porpoise Bay.

An older operator website (published 2012, last modified 2014) refers visitors to the Park Attendant for firewood at Roberts Creek and Plumper Cove, not Porpoise Bay ⁶. A visitor testimonial on the operator's parks page praises Porpoise Bay staff as courteous and friendly, but it is undated and does not describe roles ³.

Not confirmed: whether a host, attendant, caretaker or manager is assigned to Porpoise Bay, duties, pay, hours, season dates and how many people work here.

Who owns, runs and hires

• Owner: BC Parks (Province of British Columbia) ^1,8
• Operator: Swens Contracting Ltd. (Sunshine Coast Parks) ^1,3,5

Roles with evidence

• Park attendant (advertised as "Park Attendant"): Operator-wide hiring only; this place is not named. Operator-wide call for Spring/Summer 2025 applications; no park named. Not linked to Porpoise Bay by any source found. ²

Past notices

Staff accommodation

No source we found describes staff accommodation, a staff pitch, utilities or whether a personal RV is needed. The showers, washrooms and other facilities described for the park are visitor facilities and are not evidence of staff benefits ³¹⁵.

Visitor facilities

The operator lists a sandy beach, grassy fields, a playground and shower buildings ³. A 2002 BC Parks brochure describes full camping and day-use facilities, including water, showers, flush toilets and a sani-station, and access to the inlet for canoes, kayaks and cartop boats ¹⁵. Check current services with BC Parks or the operator before relying on them.

Getting there

The Sunshine Coast is reached by the BC Ferries Horseshoe Bay to Langdale (Gibsons) route; Sunshine Coast Tourism recommends a ferry reservation and notes a Langdale Berth 1 closure from February 3 to 23, 2027 ¹². Check the BC Ferries site for current schedules. From Highway 101 at Sechelt, the park is reached by Sechelt Inlet Road ¹.

BC Parks gives the park as about four kilometres north of Sechelt; it does not say whether that is by road or straight line ¹. Between the BC Geographical Names reference points for Sechelt and the park centre the straight-line distance is about 4 km (calculated from their published coordinates) ⁸⁹. The road distance from Langdale is not confirmed here.

BC Transit runs routes 1 and 90 named Sechelt-Gibsons/Langdale Ferry, plus local Sechelt routes; the route page does not mention Porpoise Bay ¹³.

Connectivity

No dated connectivity test or published Wi-Fi offer was found for the park. The federal National Broadband Data and map show retail fixed broadband availability in 25 km² hexagons or road segments, and not every household in a hexagon may have the service shown; it does not cover mobile coverage ¹⁹. Treat any map as a coverage map, not a guarantee of a usable connection at a campsite.

Trees, birds and wildlife

Documented in the park by BC Parks: second-growth Douglas fir, western cedar, western hemlock, maple and alder; Angus Creek, used by spawning chum and coho salmon; an estuary with waterfowl and shorebirds; harbour seals and bald eagles seen year-round ¹. These are documented features, not a promise of sightings.

Historical park record (1981): the master plan placed the park in the Coastal Douglas-fir biogeoclimatic zone, described the sandy delta of Angus Creek and a tidal salt marsh at its mouth, and named waterbirds using the marsh including common loon, western grebe, surf scoter and goldeneye. It also recorded that a 1978 slide deposited gravel and debris in Angus Creek, sharply reducing returning chum spawners ⁷.

BC Parks asks visitors to keep a respectful distance from wildlife, stay on designated trails and keep out of the creek ¹.

Waterfront, paddling and fishing

The park is waterfront on Porpoise Bay at the south end of Sechelt Inlet, with sandy beaches and no lifeguards ¹. BC Parks names Porpoise Bay Park as a public access point for Sechelt Inlets Marine Park, whose sites are reached by boat or floatplane ¹⁶. BC Parks notes calmer paddling conditions are often in early morning and late afternoon, and that rentals are available outside the park at Tuwanek ¹.

Shore fishing is difficult because the water is shallow, and a valid licence is required ¹. Sechelt Inlet is in DFO tidal Area 16; read the current DFO Area 16 page, which lists subarea limits and shellfish closures, before fishing or harvesting ¹⁷. Angus Creek and other fresh waters fall under the BC Freshwater Fishing Regulations Synopsis (2025-2027) and DFO freshwater salmon rules ¹⁸. BC Parks points to the BC Centre for Disease Control for shellfish harvesting information ¹. See the Sechelt Inlet guide for more.

Weather and seasons

Regional description: Sunshine Coast Tourism describes a mild coastal climate, with summers typically warm and dry (highs of about 30 °C) and winters typically mild and moist (about 2 to 10 °C) ¹¹. This is a regional description, not a measurement at the park. A station-based 1991-2020 normals table has not yet been added; see the current ECCC weather for Sechelt.

Typical weather by month

Current conditions and forecast from Environment and Climate Change Canada. CampHostJobs does not copy forecasts, so you always see the official current one.

History and culture

The shíshálh Nation lists four main historical settlements, including tewankw near alhtulich (Porpoise Bay) ¹⁰. BC Parks notes that the shíshálh Nation frequented the area, with a major village at Sechelt ¹. The Nation's tems swiya Museum holds a large collection of artifacts, including cedar baskets and stone tools, and offers tours ¹⁰.

The park land was bought from the Crowston family in 1966 and the park was established on January 29, 1971 ¹. BC Geographical Names records its creation by Order in Council 357 in 1971 and conversion to statute under the Protected Areas of British Columbia Act in 2000 ⁸.

Sechelt and daily services

Sechelt is the nearest service community. Sechelt Hospital is at 5544 Sunshine Coast Highway ¹⁴. For groceries, fuel, banking, library, transit and other services, see the Sechelt guide.

Connected guides

• Served by: Sechelt About 4 km north of Sechelt (BC Parks; road vs straight line not stated)
• On the shore of: Sechelt Inlet On Porpoise Bay at the southern end of Sechelt Inlet