Island 22 Regional Park to Dewdney Regional Park
Island 22 Regional Park to Dewdney Nature Regional Park
Where the Fraser divides, reconnects, and comes fully alive.
Island 22 Regional Park → Dewdney Nature Regional Park
This is the Fraser at its widest and most alive—a powerful, braided river moving through the fertile heart of the Fraser Valley.
Launching from Island 22 Regional Park, you enter a vast network of islands, side channels, gravel bars, and backwaters that define the Fraser’s lower reach. During salmon season, this corridor becomes the heart of one of the world’s greatest spawning migrations. Salmon move upstream in staggering numbers, while protected white sturgeon—ancient giants of the river—hold in deeper runs below.
The river splits and rejoins repeatedly, offering both steady main channels and quieter braids where birds and wildlife gather. Bald eagles line the cottonwoods, herons stalk the shallows, and flocks of waterfowl raft in calmer eddies. The surrounding valley bottom is intensely fertile—working farmland framed by the rising slopes of Chilliwack Mountain and Sumas Mountain.
Midway through the journey, paddle past the Fraser River Ecological Reserve, an important protected area safeguarding critical riparian habitat. Nearby, Chiefs Landing marks a significant riverside site within the Bert Brink Wildlife Management Area—a haven for birds, fish, and seasonal wildlife concentrations.
As the Fraser bends westward, broad channels sweep across the valley floor, branching off into Nicomen and Strawberry sloughs, before narrowing slightly toward Dewdney Regional Park, where forested banks once again frame the river’s edge.
Paddlers are invited to end their day by joining in a Salmon BBQ at Dewdney Nature Regional Park, listening to presentations, and celebrating the progress of the Fraser River Challenge!
Why this stretch is special:
Paddle through the Heart of the Fraser salmon spawning corridor
Multi-braided channels and island networks rich with wildlife
Habitat for protected white sturgeon
Fertile farmland set against dramatic mountain backdrops
Salmon BBQ
This is a canoe journey through a living river system—where salmon return, sturgeon endure, birds gather in the thousands, and the Fraser spreads wide across one of the richest valleys in British Columbia.
Hul’qumi’num Treaty Group
Kwantlen
Semiahmoo
S’ólh Téméxw (Stó:lō)
Stz’uminus
Deroche
Dewdney
Greendale
Nicomen Slough
