Morice Land and Resource Management Plan
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- Chain Lake Canoeing
- Hiking – all day and overnights
- Market Analysis
Location AnalysisVehicle Camping Combined with Short Walks and Water ActivitiesThe area south west of Houston is not well known outside of the region as a prime camping and short family type holiday location. The area has not been well marketed to those who have already decided to use Highway 16 for their visit to the Northwest. In comparison to the Southern Cariboo or Central Kootenays, the quality of the camping boating, short walks, and easy stays is not well known. Promotion to those who have already decided to come to the northwest, using Highway 16 for their visit is critical. Increased awareness will increase the use of the forestry campsites, small lakes and associated walking trails. If the marketing effort is successful then the impact will be felt in Houston for those providing supplies to campers and in the use of the forestry campsites. Eventually the heavier used sites could cover their own operating costs (e.g. Owen Lake and Morice Lake). Chain Lake CanoeingCanoeing between lakes is very popular in eastern Canada. It is not nearly as well know or as popular in BC. This area provides BC with another area where this enjoyable activity can be promoted. Currently, the Bowron Lakes chain – east of Quesnel is an example of a chain of lakes that has become a regional, provincial and international attraction. It is important to note that there is a daily maximum number of people able to start the chain each day and a daily maximum of those that area able to reserve (additional cost). For many of the days in July and August the limit is reached and interested parties are turned away. T Bowron Lake  he lake chains in the Morice are not at the scale or the level of recognition of the Bowron Lake chain but there is ample room to move it from current level of use to something much higher. As other options like the Bowron Lakes, reach their maximum carry capacity, the additional distance (or same distance if flights are involved) will be less of a barrier. The level of paddling knowledge and skill require are at the novice level, making the lake chains in the Morice accessible to a wide spectrum of potential users. The experience at Bowron Lakes shows that vehicle access from the nearest airport (Smithers or Prince George), overnight camping accommodation at the trail head, canoe, paddle, lifejackets, portage cart rentals and lodge type facilities near the trail head for access at the end of the trip are required and enjoyed.
Getting people to the Morice and in a canoe on one of the lake chains will require a substantial amount of time and coordinated resources. For a person coming by vehicle from Edmonton the difference between accessing the Morice and accessing the Bowron is approximately 1 extra hour. For a person coming by air through Vancouver the time is approximately the same. At least 500 of the people who came to the Bowron Lakes each year came from outside of North America. Hiking – all day and overnightsProviding quality day hiking opportunities for those visitors who have already decided to come to the Northwest and want to spend at least 1 day hiking in the mountains is a relatively easy task. The limitations are mainly access to the trailheads and then quality maps, guide books and signs. In situations where visitors do not have their own vehicles, commercial access that is readily accessed is required. The Northwest – the Morice included - has numerous quality day hiking areas because of the good access via logging roads or old mining roads. Often the lack of easy to access general information about trails, and then limited access to good maps, guide books and roads limits use of the hiking areas. Getting hikers to the Northwest requires successfully interacting with potential visitors prior to their decision to select a hiking area and then out competing many other better known areas including the Rockies, the coast mountains near Vancouver, the Selkirks/Monashees and the two main parks in the Central Kootenays. The relative absence of marketing materials, guides, transportation to trail heads, organized trails and packaged trips puts the Morice at a distinct disadvantage. Hungry hill Adventures and hiking trip possibilities on the BC North.ca Web site are examples of the type of business and marketing that is required to provide information to those interested in hiking to consider the Morice for a potential multi-day hiking trip. Market AnalysisVehicle Camping Combined with Short Walks and Water ActivitiesFor many living in the Northwest accessing other regions for holidays will be increasingly difficult because of relatively short vacations and increased cost relative to disposable income levels. Amongst these people the Morice is a ready-made opportunity. For those people visiting the Northwest, who come self contained (RVs or camping gear), again the Morice offers a potentially good location for an overnight or multi-night stay. The market link weakness is there is no direct link to increased use of recreation sites and increased income and thus an interest in increased marketing to build increased use. Where a direct link between use and benefits is hard to locate, obtaining commitments to build marketing funds is difficult at best. Chain Lake CanoeingThe only chain lake canoeing in BC that has a revenue stream is Bowron Lakes. Approximately 4000 people used the 6 – 10 day Bowron Lakes circuit from May through to September in each of the last three years. Each person pays a $60 fee (total revenue of $240,000) plus for many (up to 25%) they also rent a canoe and portage cart ($30,000 in revenue). In the vicinity, there are two lodges plus a provincial campground based on this lake chain. The Powell River Canoe Route (http://www.discoverpowellriver.com/ visitors/forestcanoeroute.html) is another route (90 kms) that is beginning to get more use and attention. It is only 5 hours from Vancouver and is useable for a full 3 seasons – advertised for up to 4 seasons. It does not have a revenue stream attached to it so the financial benefits accrue to those providing services to paddles including canoe and equipment rental operations. Clearly there is demand for moderate to easy multi-day canoeing experiences even if they are located many hours from significant markets. With Bowron Lakes often sold out, other secondary opportunities will receive more attention. Hiking – all day and overnightsIn the Smithers and Houston areas there is already significant demand and use of trails in to the high country. Good examples of these are Hudson Bay Mountain, the Babine Mountains Park and the Telkwa Range. Currently the only way to build a revenue stream attached to the users of these trails is to provide services including over night accommodation, guiding, and transportation to, and from, the trailheads. The advertised cost of the trips transported and guided by Hungryhill Adventures are $110/person for single days and $275/two day/person is much higher than lots of other similar locations for a two-day trip. Both of these rates are much higher than the $60 - $90/day advertised in the Okanagan or the Kootenays for similar one-day experiences or less than $200 for two-day trips. At this point the Morice has a regional reputation for backcountry hiking but very limited provincial, national or international reputation for backcountry hiking. The lack of marketing presence dramatically limits the demand for backcountry hiking in the Morice by people from outside the region. Download 1.06 Mb. Share with your friends:
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