Since our camp’s early days, the unforgettable Evans Lake Forest Education Centre experience has built on the contributions of so many.  In 1957, a Junior Forest Warden camp, originally located in Lighthouse Park, West Vancouver, had to be relocated due to increased public use of the area.  That search identified Evans Lake as an ideal location. With funding from the Hoo-Hoo Club #48 and various private contributors, construction began in 1959. By June 27, 1960, the first official camp session was held and camp opened successfully, welcoming 183 campers in its first summer. 

Over the next few years, Evans Lake continued to grow.  Our facilities expanded and our attendance increased significantly by 1962.  By 1963, Evans Lake began offering rentals to outside groups and, by the late 1960s, school groups started making Evans Lake their Home in the Forest for multi-day, immersive outdoor education.  Successive years brought new cabins, traditions, and trails, as well as campers that returned year after year.  Little by little—through games, exploring, curiosity, songs, stories and shenanigans—the campers, teachers, parents, staff, and community have made it the vibrant experience it is today.  

What we made, we made together. In 2024, we hosted 17,864 person/days of visitors (number of campers multiplied by the number of days they visited for).  After six decades of growth, over 50 groups spanning the Sea-to-Sky and Metro Vancouver fill every day from the end of March to mid-October.  During summer, we welcome 800+ children and youth to our Overnight Camps and have introduced a Day Camp program serving another 300+ campers.  The campers of past decades are returning with their families and new friends as part of our Family Weekends.  The recent launches of our all-gender cabin and the One-on-one Inclusion Support Program affirmed our commitment to welcome all campers.  The camp classics are still here, and the Evans Lake experience now also features an Arboretum with Sḵwx̱wú7mesh sníchim (Squamish language) names, and added activities like rock-climbing, paddle boarding, and low ropes.  What a long way we’ve come! 

The Evans Lake community members are the best champions of the work we do.  It’s their support that got us here and will propel us forward in the decades to come.  We thank the young Volunteer Work Crew members who lend weeks of their time to make Summer Camp a success.  We thank all foundations, granting organizations, community and alumni donors, as well as bidders for our Auctions.  We thank our volunteer Board members and committee members for lending their professional guidance.  We thank attendees of our Volunteer Weekends who help prepare camp at season’s start and close.  We thank recent partners—Houston Landscapes, A-Frame Brewing, and Boundary Consulting, to name a few—who have given us discounted rates for professional services and included us in paying-it-forward campaigns.  We thank current and past families who contribute generously to ourCampership Fund that subsidizes other families to help campers get to camp!  We thank the near 600 guests who attend our annualOpen Housefor a day of fun while we induct an alumnus of significance to the Friends of Evans Lake Rock.  And, as a place-based program, with deep gratitude, we acknowledge Skwxwú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish Nation)on whose territory this has all taken place. After 65 years of fun and friendship, we’ve begun the planning for deeper site renewals—and we’ll need all forms of your support to get there! 

​Evans Lake continues to inspire a love for the outdoors, fostering environmental education and leadership in youth. As we celebrate 65 years of operation, we remain committed to providing unforgettable experiences for future generations.  We hope you join us in celebrating this achievement together and find your own way to celebrate and support us in 2025 and beyond!