Each of the campsites at Paarens Beach has a picnic table and fire ring. Campsite reservations are accepted and first-come, first-served sites are also available.

Vehicle Accessible Camping Fee: $10.00 per party / night
BC Senior's Rate (Shoulder Season only): $5.00 per senior's couple/night

No wilderness, backcountry or walk-in camping.

No group campsites.

This park has a day-use/picnic area with picnic table tables, a playground, a change house and a log picnic shelter with tables and a wood stove. At 70 kilometres in length, Stuart Lake has a lot of shoreline to explore. Lots of sandy beach and a roped-off swimming area for the kids. Plenty of room for water sports with eight hundred metres of beachfront. Windsurfing is becoming a popular activity on Stuart lake. There are horsehsoe pitches, a volleyball net, and play equipment for kids, located in the grass field acorss from the beach.

Some facilities in the park are wheelchair accessible.

Cold water taps are located throughout the park. Taps are shut off during the off-season.

This park only has pit toilets - no flush toilets.

No showers.

No sani-station/dump facilities.

While campfires are allowed and campfire rings are provided at each campsite, we encourage visitors to conserve wood and protect the environment by minimizing the use of fire and using campstoves instead. Firewood can be purchased in the park or you may bring your own wood.Fees for firewood are set locally and may vary from park to park. Limited burning hours or campfire bans may be implemented. To preserve vegetation and ground cover, please don't gather firewood from the area around your campsite or elsewhere in the park (this is a ticketable offence under the Park Act). Dead wood is an important habitat element for many plants and animals and it adds organic matter to the soil.

There are no regularly scheduled interpretive programs at this park.

Visitors can enjoy excellent hiking trails in this area and the splendid view of Stuart Lake from the top of Mount Pope, just northwest of the village of Fort St. James. For your own safety and the preservation of the park, obey posted signs and keep to designated trails. Shortcutting trails destroys plant life and soil structure. Trail Information

There is a playground in the day-use/picnic area.

The beach area provides excellent swimming and sunbathing opportunities. There are 800 metres of natural sandy beach with a roped-off swimming area for children. There are no lifeguards on duty at provincial parks.

There are opportunities for canoeing or kayaking in this park; however, boaters are cautioned to keep a close eye on the weather as Stuart Lake is subject to sudden heavy winds which can transform the lake surface into dangerous whitecaps.

A concrete boat launch is located at the south end of the park. The park's boat launch opens up for you the renowned fishing of the whole Stuart-Trembleur-Takla Lake chain, 180 km of some of the finest rainbow fishing in the province.

Part of the Fraser River watershed, the Stuart-Takla chain of waterways is famous for its fishing. Twenty pound rainbow trout, lake char, and dolly varden can all be taken from Stuart Lake. Ling cod (burbot) and kokanee are also popular. A 27 pound rainbow and a 35 pound char have been reported out of Takla Lake as well. There are many smaller lakes within an hours drive of Fort St. James holding rainbow, whitefish, char, or kokanee. Anyone fishing or angling in British Columbia must have an appropriate licence.

Although Paarens Beach does not have any mountain biking opportunities within the park, the sport is gaining in popularity around the Fort St. James area. A small handout is available locally which can direct you to several popular mountain bike routes. Ask about the Whitefish Bay or Teardrop Road circuits. For the adventuresome biker the historic Nautley/Sowchea Pack Trail has recently been opened up. This 45 kilometre trail was used for generations as an early trade route between villages on Fraser and Stuart Lakes.

No horseback riding.