The Wild Plum Walk can be found in Esplanade Park which is beside the Government wharf parking lot in Heriot Bay. You drive through the wharf parking area, past the park sign, and down the short road to a small parking area where the walk begins. This 10-15-minute walk follows the coast north for 100 meters and crosses a few little bridges as it climbs up to Hyacinth Bay Road.
There are plenty of good wild plum trees along the route, both yellow and red plums to eat if you walk it at the right time of year. This trail allows you to avoid walking along the side of 2 busy roads; Cramer & Hyacinthe Bay, for a short ways.
En route along this walk there is a picnic table, a tire swing, and an old notched tree stump with a new tree growing from it. The notch shows where a logger in the distant past cut the notch with an axe to place a board into the notch, and then stood up on the board to saw down the tree by hand. This placing of the cut up higher on the tree meant that the log did not include the wider portion at the bottom of the tree.
ViewRanger view of Wild Plum Walk
Esplanade Park sign at the start of the Wild Plum Tree Trail beside the Heriot Bay Government Dock parking lot at the foot of Antler Road
Parking area
Bench at the start of the walk
Picnic table
First bridge along the walk
This painted rock indicates a side-trail to the beach, which rejoins the main trail after about 75 meters along this historic beach. First Nations people camped and ate shellfish on this beach as far back as 7,000 years ago and up to more-modern times
Ocean-side tree swing
Glimpse of boats moored in Heriot Bay from Wild Plum Tree Trail
Notched stump along the walk
End of Wild Plum Tree Trail across from 1547 Hyacinthe Bay Road (look for the back of the warning sign)
Painted rock, below, marks the entry of this walk from its Hyancithe Bay Road end