Cariboo Chilcotin Coast Travel Guide - British Columbia by Cariboo Chilcotin Coast_British Columbia, Canada

Cariboo Chilcotin Coast Travel & Touring Guide 2012 www.landwithoutlimits.com

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Cariboo Chilcotin Coast Travel & Touring Guide

Welcome to the Cariboo Chilcotin Coast

Contents

the Cariboo Rolling Hills, Rivers & Lakes

the Chilcotin Great High Plateau — Frontier Spirit

the Coast Mountains, Old-Growth Forests & Inlets

Regional Map

Circle Route Driving Tours

First Nations & the Fur Trade

Cover Photo by Thomas Drasdauskis Cover Photo Location: Bowron Lake Writing: Mongol Media Editing: Ray Chatelin Final Editing: Amy Thacker, Brad McGuire, Geoff Moore, Kim Pratt and Cheryl Johnson Design & Layout: Jill Schick

Cariboo Gold Rush

Cowboys & Railroads

This Guide is dedicated to the memory of a dear friend of the Cariboo Chilcotin Coast region, Ursula Drasdauskis (February 24, 1952 - November 14, 2011).

Forestry & Mining

Arts & Culture

Guest Ranches & Rodeos

Biking, Hiking & Climbing

Fishing & Hunting

Touring & Camping Roland Stanke

88 Wildlife & Eco-Tours

Winter Experiences

Golf, Spas & Lakes

For accommodation reservations and travel information, call or click:

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within Greater Vancouver, call 604-HELLO BC (435 5622)

Agritourism

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For travel information, contact Cariboo Chilcotin Coast Tourism Association:

1-800-663-5885 | www.landwithoutlimits.com ©2012 Cariboo Chilcotin Coast Tourism Association. This Guide does not constitute, and should not be construed as, an endorsement or recommendation of any carrier, hotel, restaurant or any other facility, attraction or activity in British Columbia, for which neither Tourism BC nor the Region assumes any responsibility. Super, Natural British Columbia®, Hello BC®, Visitor Centre and all associated trademarks are official marks of the Province of British Columbia. All rights reserved. Unauthorized reproduction is prohibited. Admission fees and other terms and conditions may apply to attractions and facilities referenced in this Guide. Errors and omissions excepted. 1-800-663-5885

Directory Listings

104

Travel Information & Glossary

106

B.C. Map & Driving Distances

110

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Cariboo Chilcotin Coast BC’s Land Without Limits You’re about to enter into a breathtaking land, one that presents experiences and adventures without limits. Turn these pages for a brief glimpse into this diverse landscape of three distinct worlds - deserts and sandstone canyons; evergreen timberlands, deciduous woodlands and forests; ocean fjords, Alpine mountains and glaciers. All of which provide the perfect background for the physical and cultural activities found in the Cariboo Chilcotin Coast. Since our boundaries embrace virtually every kind of terrain and climate, we boast the most diverse activities of any region in the province. It’s a place where Aboriginal culture and contemporary lifestyles exist side by side, and where our ancient traditions and modern life have each carved out their place in an environment of dramatic vastness. Ours is a physical land drawing people to its overpowering radiance. We take enormous pleasure in showcasing that part of our character. Many resorts, guest ranches, festivals and events take advantage of an exciting wild west past that includes the history of our First Nations peoples, the fur trade, the gold rush and cattle ranching. Our coast line travels thousands of kilometers of secluded coves and inlets, pristine beaches and rocky shores and it’s where you’ll find what’s arguably the world’s best saltwater fishing and up-close experiences with sea birds, whales and porpoises. Welcoming First Nations Villages along the coast are rich in heritage and willing to share it. At many rivers and streams from the Coast through the Chilcotin and into the Cariboo, you can witness one of nature’s most remarkable feats when each year salmon miraculously migrate back to their birthplace to breed. The Chilcotin’s landscape is larger than life, stretching west where a golden plateau meets the peaks of the Coast Mountain Range. But, there’s more to us than just open skies and a rustic edge. While we embrace and proudly present it, we also have sophisticated resorts, championship golf courses, and offer a wide range of cultural, intellectual, adventure and artistic experiences. Hikers, mountain bikers, skiers, snowmobilers, golfers, campers, fishermen and sailors all make use of the region’s varied topography. But we’re also a world of small cities and towns where you can explore our cultural past, while enjoying present day activities.

Plan your adventure . . . 4

Cariboo Chilcotin Coast Travel & Touring Guide

David Jacobson

So, share with us this ongoing adventure and accept our well-known hospitality as you explore our remarkable “Land Without Limits”.

Chilko Lake

A Land Without Limits

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Rolling hills, rivers and lakes inspire both adventurers and historians to follow the original Cariboo Waggon Road, bordered by pioneer cabins, groves of aspen, clusters of Indian paintbrush and trout-filled waters. Along the way, discover historic sites, saddle up at a ranch, experience First Nations culture, head out on a mountain bike, explore welldeveloped trail networks, don snowshoes and cross-country skis in winter, experience the spine-tingling call of a loon and seek out the regionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s abundant wildlife. Welcome!

Brad Kasselman/Coastphoto.com

the Cariboo

On this great plateau, full of frontier spirit, discover a world where people are scarcer than wildlife and the landscape is larger than life. Stretching west beyond the Fraser River, a burnished golden plateau meets the peaks of the Coast Mountain Range. Explore our backcountry, fish in tranquil, isolated lakes, reach high alpine with a packhorse trek and raft churning whitewater. Remote and geographically diverse, the Chilcotin boasts incredible wildlife and natural phenomena in a land rich in First Nations culture and pioneering spirit. Welcome!

Jurgen Weyrich

the Chilcotin

Mountains, old-growth forests and a myriad of inlets entice, as a jumble of deep fjords and a scattering of emerald islands enchant. Welcoming First Nations villages, rich in heritage, speckle the coast. Beaches and isolated hot springs remain as pristine as they were centuries ago. Giant cedars grace mountainsides and rim wide valleys in this outdoor-adventure mecca. Fish the rivers, heli-ski the mountain peaks, don your hiking boots and be astounded by the mystical tranquility. Welcome!

Cariboo Chilcotin Coast Travel & Touring Guide

Michael Wigle

the Coast

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Brad Kasselman/Coastphoto.com

the Cariboo

Pavilion Lake 8

Cariboo Chilcotin Coast Travel & Touring Guide

the Cariboo

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Cariboo Chilcotin Coast Travel & Touring Guide

Brad Kasselman/Coastphoto.com

Amy Thacker

Thomas Drasdauskis Laureen Carruthers

David Jacobson

the Cariboo

his is both a spiritual and physical place of historic sites, ranches, First Nations culture, rolling hills, rivers and lakes that inspires adventurers, recreational explorers and historians to explore its complex pleasures.

era are still alive in ghost towns that have been faithfully restored and recreated. The great Gold Rush may have ended, but the sense of frontier adventure is still alive and well and is a major factor in the area’s ongoing growth of international tourism.

Bordered by the Cariboo Mountains in the east and the Fraser River to the west, The Cariboo consists of three distinct Cariboo country stretches from Lillooet regions; South, Central and North. The and Cache Creek in the south, to just heavily forested North Cariboo, where north of Hixon. The region, named after the major goldfields were once located, the woodland caribou once abundant is sparsely populated today but was here, was the first part of the B.C. In- once the most settled and powerful terior to be settled by non-indigenous district in B.C.’s Interior. people, playing a significant role in early The Central Cariboo, home to the reEuropean settlement of the province. gion’s largest settlement, Williams Lake, Follow the original Cariboo Wagon Trail, has a geography that ranges from dense bordered by pioneer cabins, groves of forests and mountain lakes to arid, lavaaspen, clusters of Indian paintbrush formed canyons and open plains. The and trout-filled waters. Explore well- diverse landscape of the South Carideveloped trail networks; hear the boo consists of rolling grasslands, open spine-tingling call of a loon and seek meadows, pine and aspen forests, semiout the region’s abundant wildlife; desert viewscapes, tranquil lakes and or don snowshoes and cross-country craggy, granite-walled river gorges. skis in winter. Hunker down at guest All three sub-regions are linked by the ranches that have European trained Cariboo Highway (Hwy 97), the majority chefs who can prepare a variety of of which parallels the legendary Gold cuisines unknown to early cowboys and Rush Trail. The many communities en gold miners. Or stop off at one of our route are named according to their dislively cities and enjoy one of the many tance from Lillooet (Mile 0) as one jourspecial festivals that embrace a variety neys north along the Cariboo Wagon of cultural celebrations. Trail. Evidence of this raucous “stampedIn the 1860s the region from Lillooet northward was the centre of a huge North American gold rush, with mining towns springing up like wildflowers after a rain. Today, the legends from that

er” heritage persists in such delightful places like the roadhouses at Hat Creek Ranch, 108 Mile Ranch, Cottonwood House, and in Barkerville, a restored heritage town where the Gold Rush is

re-created in full 1860s detail. Outdoor recreational opportunities proliferate the Cariboo, renowned for its hiking, biking, fishing, geocaching, wildlife-viewing, boating in summer, and snowmobiling, ice fishing and Nordic & downhill skiing in winter. For Wild West fans, there are many famous cattle and guest ranches, the B.C. Cowboy Hall of Fame and a busy circuit of both amateur and professional rodeos, including one of Western Canada’s largest, the annual Williams Lake Stampede.

The South Cariboo

The story of the South Cariboo is written in the numbers signposted along Highway 97’s once roadhouse towns. A roadhouse was located about every 21km/13mi on this historic 644km/400mi long route, considered the eighth wonder of the world in the 1800s. Travellers could journey its entire length by stagecoach in four days, providing they could afford $130 for a oneway ticket. Today, one of the Cariboo’s largest surviving roadhouses - Hat Creek Ranch is just 11km/7mi north of Cache Creek amid rolling, sagebrush-covered hills at the junction of Highways 97 and 99. The B.C. Heritage Site marks the crossroads where all major threads of the South Cariboo’s compelling history - fur trading, ranching, First Nations culture and gold - intersect. Though most of the remaining roadhouses are long gone, a few have

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Experience It! • Stay at a Guest Ranch in a region with more than 60% of all Guest Ranches in B.C. Enjoy family time in beautiful rural landscapes while trailriding, telling stories around a campfire and taking in unique offerings like horse whispering demonstrations. • Pan for Gold in one of many rivers and streams found throughout this incredible region. The experience is one of a kind. Visit Quesnel, the Gold Pan City, to learn more about gold panning history in B.C. • Make some tracks on the 30 km/18mi of well-maintained and groomed Cross-Country Ski Trails at Bull Mountain, only 16km/9mi north of Williams Lake. It was the site of competition during the 2002 BC Winter Games. • Picnic at Chasm Provincial Park near Clinton to view the colourful lava flows formed millions of years ago. Explore the trails, try your hand at geocaching and see if you can guess where the 1860s roadhouse guests may have gazed over this ‘grand’ canyon.

• Get into some serious mountain biking, or familyfriendly soft adventure mountain biking in a region that has it all! The trails in an around Williams Lake, 100 Mile House, Quesnel and Wells are just the tip of the iceberg!

geoffmoore.ca

• Ponder some pioneer history at the privately owned 83 Mile House Farm Equipment Museum, located just north of 70 Mile House, off Hwy 97. You’ll see a vast collection of wagons, sutters, buggies, as well as unique antiques and tools used in days gone by.

Cariboo Chilcotin Coast Travel & Touring Guide

the Cariboo

Mitch Cheek

evolved into villages and towns where modern-day travellers can still trace the region’s gold rush past through a landscape that appears airlifted out of an old western. Indeed, nestled on the Fraser Plateau between the heights of the Coast and Rocky Mountain ranges, the rolling grasslands of the South Cariboo remain firmly rooted in cowboy culture, with a plethora of guest ranches offering daytrips and getaways for both tenderfoots and experienced riders. The region’s significant wilderness assets also lure adventurers and wildlife lovers, while those who feel most complete with rod and reel in hand find nirvana on Highway 24, the legendary Fishing Highway with 125-plus lakes weekend getaway or a quick day trip out nature by following the trails in the new loaded with rainbow trout, lake trout of the city for family adventures. Easy Lillooet Hiking Guide. access for mountain biking, backpackand kokanee. For the less extreme visitor, play a round ing, boating and all other sun activities of golf at the Lillooet Sheep Pasture Lillooet make Lillooet a perfect playground in Golf Course, complete with resident “Guaranteed Rugged” describes the spring, summer and fall. Winter brings sheep, or take a stroll along the banks mountainous terrain surrounding unprecedented ice climbing, heli-skiing of the Fraser River for rock hounding. Lillooet and the lifestyle enjoyed by and snowmobiling in the back country. Enjoy the sculptures of jade on the Jade people who are actively engaged in living. The landscape is rugged; rocky, Lillooet embraces culture and traditions Walk along Main Street. Take a ride on steep, and sometimes scary, in a fun of the St’át’imc (stat-lee-um) First Na- the Kaoham rail shuttle on Fridays as it kind of way. Roads are carved out of tion. Take a cultural tour with Xwisten skirts the pristine waters of Seton Lake the mountainsides overlooking the Fra- Tours (hoysh-ten) to experience authen- on its way to Seton Portage; the same ser River. An occasional bump, bruise or tic St’át’imc history and food. The Lilloo- tracks are used by the internationally broken finger nail can happen. Lillooet et Apricot Tsaqwen (cho-com) Festival renowned Rocky Mountaineer. Visit the is part of the experience and thrill of celebrates local culture and is a huge hit Miyazaki House, built in the 1890s, and feeling alive, living life to its fullest and with visitors and locals alike every July. view its historic architecture and Dr. Come out and enjoy the live music, a Miyazaki’s original office. This is also the enjoying every second of it! Lillooet is located 225km/140mi north variety of food and a free street dance in place to be every Friday night through July and August for the summer concert of Vancouver, via Whistler on the Sea to downtown Lillooet. series. For the wine connoisseur, a visit If treasure hunting sounds more your Sky Highway, and 270km/168mi south to Fort Berens Estate Winery is a must, style, you may want to try geocaching of Williams Lake. Lillooet has a variety of where you can sample award winning in Lillooet. Search out over 100 different restaurants and offers affordable lodgwines and tour the vineyard. geocaches in the area to find hidden ing, including B&Bs and campsites, maksecrets. Get up close and personal with Lillooet has plenty to offer the advening it a great hiding spot for a romantic

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Festivals & Events • Apricot Tsaquem Festival – Themed dinners, outdoor music and cook-offs. Lillooet. July 20 – 22 • Billy Barker Days – Celebrate the onset of the Cariboo Gold Rush. Family friendly events. Quesnel. July 19 – 22 • Williams Lake Stampede – Pro rodeo events, parade, street party and tons of family fun. Williams Lake. June 29 – July 2 • 7 Summits Bike & Hike Challenge – Grab your friends and participate along with the pros, as they tackle 7 summits in one day. Wells. September 15 • Free Fishing Weekend – Grab the rods, bait and don’t forget the kids. Pick up your free family fishing licence at Visitor’s Infomation Centres. June 15-17 • Jack Gawthorn Memorial Sled Dog Race – Mushers flock here to wow the crowds and hope to capture the $6,000 purse. 108 Heritage Site. January 13 – 15 • Cariboo Goldrush Cross Country Ski Marathon – Attracts up to 1,000 nordic ski enthusiasts annually. 108 Mile House. February 4 • Father’s Day Pow-Wow – Hand drumming contest, Princess Pageant and ceremonial feast. Williams Lake. June 17 • Arts on the Fly Music & Dance Festival Top performers in jazz, indie folk, punk rock and other genres. Horsefly. July 13 - 14 • Unlikely Paddlefest – Thrilling, entertaining, quirky paddling adventures. Likely. Mid-September • Artswells Festival of All Things Art – Four day infusion of over 100 musical performers, independent film screenings, workshops, live theatre and more! Wells. August 3 – 6 • Xatśūll Heritage Village – Summer welcoming gatherings, or daily heritage tours. Learn about the Secwepemc Nation and their traditional way of life. Various summer dates. • Gold Panning Championships – Official celebration of 150th Anniversary of Billy Barker’s legendary gold strike and the start of the Cariboo Gold Rush. Barkerville. August 11 - 12

Brad McGuire

• South Cariboo Garlic Festival – Garlina the mascot struts her stuff alongside food vendors and a battle for Master Garlic Chef. Lac la Hache. August 25 – 26

Cariboo Chilcotin Coast Travel & Touring Guide

the Cariboo

A great alternate route from Vancouver will bring you north on Highway 1 up the Fraser Canyon. Visit Hells Gate (54km/33.5mi north of Hope) and ride the aerial tramway down to the crashing waters of the Fraser River as it rushes through the narrow 35m/110ft gorge. This area is one of the best places in Canada for white-water river rafting. Further north, at the confluence of the Fraser and Thompson Rivers, is the community of Lytton and the junction to Highway 12, where you will continue northwest to Lillooet. Clinton Located at the junction of two routes to the Cariboo gold mines - from the coast and Lillooet by way of Seton Portage’s wooden railway; or by the Cariboo Wagon Road through the Fraser Canyon - the town of Clinton was once known as 47 Mile House when, in 1863, England’s Royal Engineers built a rest stop here for weary travellers.

Thomas Drasdauskis

ture seeker, while the stories of its past glory during the 1860s Gold Rush ensure that the cultural-historian traveller will also be entertained and inspired. Plan a visit to Lillooet’s unique Museum and Visitor Centre, where you can learn about the Cariboo Gold Rush and other fascinating stories.

adventure hub, providing active experiences in a landscape noted for its wildlife and incredible geological variation, such as nearby Chasm Provincial Park. Created by glacial melt cutting into lava flows, this 8km/5mi long, 300m/984ft deep box canyon features rock layers in spectacular shades of orange, pink, yellow and purple.

Tour the local heritage buildings, explore one of the nearby provincial parks, search antique shops for rare items, or enjoy In the 1870s, it was a cattle-ranch town, a soap-soda and Ep- one of the nearby high-end guest ranches where you can ride som salts distributor in the early 1900s, and a bush and sawmill the high country, cross-country ski, pan for gold and be pamtown in the 1950s. Today, Clinton continues many of its origin- pered by exquisite cuisine and spa treatments. Clinton is near al traditions and exudes a charming character. It is an outdoor Marble Range, Big Bar Lake and Chasm Provincial Parks, pro-

The

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Did You Know? The North Cariboo has a volcano: the Nazko Cone, a potentially active basaltic cinder 75km/47mi west of Quesnel. The tree-covered cone rises 120m/394ft above the Chilcotin-Nechako Plateau.

Scientists from around the world, including NASA, have been flocking to Pavilion Lake and Kelly Lake, to study the strange coral-like structures found in their depths. Some of these growths are up to 4m/13ft high, up to 11,000 years old and are covered in mysterious microbes not found anywhere else on earth!

Lac Des Roches, located on the eastern portion of Highway 24 (The Fishing Highway), is the most photographed lake in British Columbia. Its beauty and tranquil setting can be easily accessed from the west end of the lake.

Queen Victoria named the village of Clinton in 1863. It is fitting that they kick off Heritage Week with the Clinton Annual Ball each May, thought to be the oldest continuous annual event held in North America.

Cottonwood House Historic Site has a 3.4km/2mi multi-use trail network and is the latest in a region-wide initiative to make the Cariboo Chilcotin Coast the top wilderness wheelchair accessible tourist destination in Canada. Other gentle-grade wheelchair accessible trail networks can be found throughout the Cariboo, Chilcotin and Coastal regions.

Roland Stanke

2012 marks Barkervilleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 150th Anniversary! Many festivals and events scheduled May through September, so make sure you plan to visit and be part of their history and celebrations.

Cariboo Chilcotin Coast Travel & Touring Guide

the Cariboo

viding excellent access for visitors to explore their many geological features while also enjoying fishing, camping and wilderness hikes.

ing “Handcrafted Log Home Capital of the 108 Mile Ranch holds a dark North America”. One local company de- past. Agnes, her husband, Jim, signed and built the popular Canadian and son-in-law, Al Riley, were pavilion at the 2006 Winter Olympics operators of a hotel here from in Turin, Italy. The self-professed “Inter- 1875 to 1885. They supple70 Mile House national Nordic Ski Capital” also boasts mented their income by relievWhen 70 Mile House was established the world’s tallest pair of cross-country ing southbound prospectors in 1862 as a hostel for Cariboo Wagon skis and has one of the most active of their gold. Stashed gold has Road work crews, the residents probturned up at several modernNordic clubs in B.C. ably had no idea that in the next 150 or day construction sites and it’s so years, the area would become one of A stop at the South Cariboo Visitor widely believed there are tens of thouthe Cariboo’s major guest ranch areas. Centre may reward you with additional sands of dollars in gold nuggets still In 1865, when the telegraph line went recreational opportunities. From the buried in the area. Perhaps you should through, the crude, one-room log Centre enjoy an easy stroll along the try your luck. structure - by then known as Graham’s paved, wheelchair accessible, walkway House - was compared by one travel- of the 100 Mile Marsh Wildlife Sanctuary Canim Lake ler of the time to a robber’s cave where and keep any eye out for various bird One of the largest lakes in the Carithe landlord slept on the liquor counter species throughout the year. boo, 37km/23mi long Canim Lake is to guard the miners’ “pokes,” said to be One of the area’s more tangible just 35km/22mi northeast of 100 Mile cached behind a secret panel in the bar. attractions is the 108 Mile Ranch Historic House - surrounded by meadows, Unlike most of the local roadhouses, it Site, a collection of lakeside heritage mountains and rolling, forested hills, continued to function until it burned to buildings that includes the largest log with resorts dotting its shoreline and the ground in 1956. barn of its kind left in Canada. The site a vast pebble beach that is a remnant Today’s 70 Mile House caters to travel- also features refurbished log buildings of the glacial age. In summer the enlers journeying the historic Gold Rush and period implements and tools. tire area is hugely popular for hiking, Trail, Highway 97. It is also a key turn- If one believes the tale of Agnes McVee, canoeing, boating and fishing against a off point for the Green Lake Recreation Area - one of the most popular destinations in the South Cariboo for water A L W A Y S T H E S M A R T C H O I C E sports of all kinds and, along with nearby Watch Lake, a habitat for thriving waterfowl and raptor populations. Several family-run ranches continue the tradition of guest-house hospitality, offering a wide selection of outdoor activities that include hiking, horseback riding, fishing, snowmobiling, mountain biking and canoeing. 100 Mile House Originally a fur trading station on the Hudson’s Bay Company Brigade Trail (Kamloops to Fort Alexandria), 100 Mile House by the early 1860s was an important stagecoach stop on the Cariboo Wagon Road. While it was destroyed by fire in 1937, one icon of its pioneer past remains: the Barnard Express and Stage Line Coach now displayed outside the Red Coach Inn. Cattle ranching and the forestry industry sustained 100 Mile House after the gold rush ended, and today it is the main service and commercial centre for outlying communities and industries. With a population of only 2,000, it claims a couple of lofty titles, includ-

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backdrop of magnificent waterfalls, volcanic cones near Spanish Creek and ancient native pictographs and pit houses at Deception Creek. Winter brings fabulous backcountry skiing, snowmobiling, skating and snowshoeing. Lac la Hache Long before the lure of wealth brought fur traders to this area, the Secwepemc (shi-HUEP-muh-k) and Chilcotin (chilko-teen) First Nations moved through the region. The Secwepemc established pit houses near the present-day village of Lac la Hache, and the Chilcotins named the lake Kumatakwa, Queen of the Waters. Today, Lac la Hache is one of the most popular lakes off Highway 97, particularly with anglers, power boaters and water-skiers. The community has been dubbed “the longest town in the Cariboo” for how its fishing resorts, ranches and vacation homes dot the lake’s 19km/12mi long shoreline. Winter brings crisp, sunny days for ice fishing or fun on the slopes at Mt. Timothy. Interlakes/Fishing Highway Highway 24, stretching from 100 Mile House to Little Fort between the junctions of Highways 97 and 5, is renowned as “The Fishing Highway”. Rolling hills and pine forests boast hundreds of lakes nestled in tranquil, scenic settings where the day’s catch might include rainbow trout, lake trout and kokanee. This is also ranch country, popular for trail riding. Near the west end of Highway 24 is Lone Butte, a peaceful little village named for the solitary volcano plug that rises skyward. Enjoy an invigorating hike up the “butte,” or research

Williams Lake and District ChamBer of CommerCe

John Wellburn / Rider: James Doerfling

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Williams Lake Visitor Centre

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Cariboo Chilcotin Coast Travel & Touring Guide

launch, this nature sanctuary for birds and small wildlife is laced with trails. The nature house, in particular, is popular with both visitors and locals.

the Cariboo

the community’s historic past. Lone Butte is a good home base for touring and exploring the restaurants, cafés, shops, lakes, resorts and guest ranches spread the length of “The Fishing Highway”.

Named after Chief William, a Shuswap chief from the area, the city is located at the junction of Highways Adrenaline junkies are lured by the trails snaking through 97 and 20, at the north end of its namesake lake and the sienna hills around Williams Lake, an area Bike magazine has been one of the Cariboo Chilcotin’s major crosshas dubbed “the Shangri-La of mountain biking”. To the east, roads since the turn of the 20th century. Even prior to memorable fishing and kayaking can be found in the Horse- the arrival of the first white settlers, the area was the fly area. Time it right and you can spot grizzlies fishing river- columneetza, or meeting place, for the Secwepemc side for salmon. The salmon migrate by the millions up the (shi-HUEP-muh-k) First Nation. Quesnel River to spawn in the Horsefly and Mitchell rivers. Enjoy a walk among quaint shops, retail stores and art As with much of the Cariboo, the area has a long-time re- galleries, many feature local art and First Nations gifts. Locally lationship with the Gold Rush. Prospectors and merchants owned restaurants are found on nearly every side street. The poured into the Central Cariboo in 1859 after the news of a city boasts golf courses, a magnificent log Visitor Info and big gold strike on the Horsefly River, 65km/40mi east of Wil- Tourism Discovery Centre and a delightful 12km/7.5mi trail liams Lake. The following year, William Pinchbeck, a tough stretching from downtown to the Fraser River – the River police constable from Victoria, arrived to keep law and order Valley Trail. and found himself juggling jobs as lawyer, judge and jailer 150 Mile House while building a homestead and rest house with restaurant, If planning to head for the nearby fishing lakes you’ll find all saloon, general store and horse-racing track. Race days here of the needed outlets for food, gasoline, camping and supattracted hundreds of spectators, including one memorable plies in this access area south of Williams Lake. It’s an importcontest in 1861 when the stakes were a whopping $100,000. ant intersection for travellers heading east to Horsefly, Likely

The Central Cariboo

Pinchbeck was a busy man. His roadhouse, already famous for its White Wheat Whiskey (from Pinchbeck’s own distillery at 25 cents a shot), suffered no lack of business; he had two families, one with a native maiden and a second with an Englishwoman; and he also came to own almost the entire Williams Lake River Valley. Pinchbeck’s grassy gravesite above his former ranch is one of the most famous in the Cariboo, overlooking the Williams Lake Stampede Grounds, site of one of Canada’s largest professional rodeos. Forestry and mining may be the most important financial drivers in the region, but cowboy culture is still king here.

or following the historic Gold Rush Trail.

When Thomas Davidson, the owner of the first ranch established in the Williams Lake area, went looking for a larger

Williams Lake Boasting a population of more than 11,000, the “Hub City of the Cariboo” is the largest in the region, with a distinctive western-frontier personality. That cowhand character is most evident when it hosts the Williams Lake Stampede over the Canada Day long weekend (July 1). Professional rodeo stars from around the globe compete for big-purse money amid distinctive home-grown events such as the Mountain Race, wild-cow milking competitions and chariot races. But, cowboys and rodeos are not its only attraction. It’s a mountain biking hub, with three dedicated areas: the Westsyde Ridge and Desous and Fox mountains being its major attraction. With all three featuring tracks ranging from double-track beginner to epic cross-country and steep, gnarly down-hills, many riders contend that the area offers the best wilderness biking in B.C. The community also boasts excellent wildlife-viewing opportunities. Birders make a beeline for Scout Island, a nature sanctuary at the west end of Williams Lake composed of two islands connected to the mainland by a causeway. In addition to a beach area, nature house, picnic ground and boat 1-800-663-5885

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Brad Kasselman/Coastphoto.com

Fraser River near Big Bar Cariboo Chilcotin Coast Travel & Touring Guide

in the North Cariboo. The prospectors, When the Cariboo Wagon Road was led by American Peter Dunlevy, were completed in 1865 the community was guided by native Long Baptiste and the bypassed, and fell into decline. By the gold was easily visible, having been ex- mid-1870s, most of the residents had posed by sockeye salmon during gravel- left, though a thriving community of churning spawning. The party picked up Chinese prospectors and merchants 2,835 grams of nuggets in a week - and temporarily remained to support a so began the great gold rush of 1859 widely dispersed mining community. into B.C.’s Interior. These days, the easy- McLeese Lake to-find gold nuggets are long gone, The small resort community of McLeese leaving the area’s approximately 1,000 Lake was originally known as Mud Lake, residents to work in the forestry, ranch- and then renamed in the 1880s after a ing, mining and tourism industries. resident from nearby Soda Creek. Well known throughout the region, Robert Likely McLeese owned a sternwheeler, hotel There’s much to like about this town and store and was the postmaster of that sprouted into existence in 1859 on nearby Soda Creek for 25-plus years. the province’s historic Gold Rush Trail. Located about 150km/93mi northeast of 150 Mile House at the west end of Quesnel Lake - the deepest fjord type lake in North America - the economy here is mainly mining and forestrybased. There’s intriguing evidence of past mining ventures, particularly at Cedar Point Provincial Park with its early

while the lake is transformed into an awesome outdoor skating rink and idyllic ice-fishing hot spot.

The North Cariboo

the Cariboo

piece of property in 1861, he moved mining equipment. Once a rendezvous 22km/14mi east to build his large, two- point for the Hudson’s Bay Fur Brigade, storey roadhouse and lucrative business the park campground is a departure selling produce and hay to the gold- area for exploring a network of old mining settlement of Quesnelle Forks. mining trails. Likely is one of the park’s When the Cariboo Wagon Road came main access points, providing a public through in 1863, the site became the boat launch to Quesnel (kwe-nel) Lake, 150 Milepost from Lillooet. Today, the driving access to Quesnelle Forks and 1,275 resident are based mostly on small local information. acreages and ranch holdings along Quesnelle Forks Highway 97. Quesnelle Forks is a hauntingly striking ghost town open to the public and acHorsefly cessible by a dirt road from Likely, just Outdoor lovers head here for fabu9km/5.5mi away. Visitors can wander lous camping, hiking, fishing, kayaking, through the original log cabins and mountain biking and backcountry skiheritage graveyard, the only evidence ing. Horsefly, the gateway to Quesnel of the thousands of past residents who Lake, Horsefly Lake and the Cariboo lived here in the late 1800s. There are no Mountains, also hosts uniquely enterentrance fees or employees, no souvenir taining events, including a May Day shops or cafés, just compelling glimpses long-weekend celebration, September and fragments of the past. Salmon Festival, Fall Fair, Horsefly Follies live theatre, numerous sporting events, In the early 1860s, gold fever was and an Arts on the Fly Music, Arts and rampant at the confluence of the Dance Festival. You’ll want to visit the Quesnel and Cariboo rivers, and “The Pioneer Museum too, which also serves Forks” quickly became a rowdy camp as the Visitor Info Booth. with 5,000-plus residents. Even after The first gold in the Cariboo Gold Rush the gold seekers moved farther north, was discovered in the Horsefly River the community’s key location made it a in 1859, three years before Billy Barker major entryway to the goldfields and it made his big strike on Williams Creek remained a busy hub.

Barely a decade after its start, the Cariboo Gold Rush of the 1860s came to an end and its prospectors fled. Still, with paddle-wheelers now plying the Fraser and Interior lakes and a railway to come, the region’s newly settled farmers and ranchers stayed on. Soon a new wave of modern-day adventurers followed, seeking their own golden dreams in the North Cariboo, a region as rich in untrammelled wilderness as it once was in gold. Just east of Quesnel in the Cariboo Mountains, Bowron Lake Provincial Park, one of the world’s top five canoe circuits, arcs over 10 glacial lakes connected by channels, rivers and short portages. By hard-core water-rat standards, the route is a slam-dunk in terms of difficulty, one of the big reasons some 65,000 paddlers a year tackle it. Some 100km/62mi west of Quesnel, the waters of Nazko Lake Provincial Park buoy the rare and endangered American white pelican. To the northeast, Blackwater River is the most outstanding dry fly-fishing destination in North America: virtually every pool or riffle nurtures hard-fighting rainbow trout.

Feel like a walk in the woods? The Blackwater is also the Nuxalk-Carrier Grease Trail’s (Alexander Mackenzie Heritage Trail’s) eastern entry point. Extending 420km/261mi westward to the Pacific, this historic trail was once the Nuxalk (nu-halk) and Carrier First Nations’ primary communication, transport and trade route. Here in 1793, famed explorer Alexander Mackenzie traced its unmapped terrain to become the first European to reach the Pacific Ocean by Modern-day travellers come for Mc- land. Although few of today’s intrepid Leese Lake’s rugged scenery and re- explorers tackle the entire route, that mote wilderness setting. Water sports takes three weeks to complete, many and fishing are hugely popular, along follow sections either by foot, on horsewith hiking, camping, horseback riding back or by ATV. and off-roading in the surrounding hills. Quesnel In winter, hiking trails become snow- During the Cariboo Gold Rush, European mobile and cross-country ski routes settlers flocked by the thousands into 1-800-663-5885

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1 Stop - 2 Great Attractions!

Quesnel Visitor Centre

1.800.992.4922 www.quesnelchamber.com

Quesnel & District Museum and Archives 250.992.9580 www.quesnelmuseum.ca

• Information on Quesnel & Area • Wireless Hotspot • Exhibits and Souvenirs Helping celebrate Barkerville’s 150th Anniversary

703 Carson Ave. Off Highway 97 Quesnel BC 22

Thomas Drasdauskis

This summer, you are invited to The Party of the Century (and a half)! Come celebrate the 150th Anniversary of Barkerville and the Cariboo Gold Rush and see why living in the past has never been this much fun! 1-888-994-3332 • www.barkerville.ca

the city that served as the gold seekers’ rade, children’s festivals and the sights supply depot. Today, the North Cariboo’s and sounds of the Quesnel Rodeo, the main urban centre is popularly known as largest amateur rodeo in B.C. “Gold Pan City,” a claim to fame writ large Barkerville across the 5.5m/18ft high monument at A number of boom towns mushroomed the town’s northern entrance. to life during the Cariboo Gold Rush. But Many intriguing reminders of the city’s Barkerville, a ramshackle collection of gold rush heyday are scattered through- buildings squeezed against the bank of out downtown’s 30 heritage sites in- a mountain creek, was the largest and cluding the original 1862 Hudson’s Bay most resilient. Still, by 1958, when the Company Trading Post. More historical provincial government declared it a B.C. curiosities can be viewed at the Quesnel Heritage site, the town had been virtuand District Museum and Archives (at ally deserted, and the last residents were the Visitor Centre), rated one of the top relocated as work began on restoring community museums in B.C., with one of the town’s heyday “splendour.” North America’s most significant collecThis National Historic Site is B.C.’s besttions of Chinese artifacts. known heritage destination and the Modern-day Quesnel is ideally situated largest historic site in western North at the confluence of the Fraser and Ques- America, full of colour and vitality, nel rivers, a celebrated launch point for with cemetery tours, stagecoach rides, outdoor adventures, including world- theatre plays, saloons serving quaffs of class mountain biking, camping, fish- root beer, a photo studio, café and bakery ing and some of the region’s top snow- and a well-preserved 19th-century mobiling getaways including adrenalin Chinatown. Interpreters roam the streets pumping hill climbs and wide-open clad as historical characters, greeting trail touring. Ever-growing urban green newcomers as if they’d just arrived spaces include Alex Fraser Park, flower on the Barnard Express stagecoach. extravaganzas such as the “Petunia Mile” Walk past more than 120 restored and and the Heritage Rose Garden’s 200-plus reconstructed buildings, as “locals” set floribunda and tea roses. Enjoy a healthy off to work at the mine or otherwise lifestyle by picking up your own person- bring a bygone era to life in wraparound al walking guide to visit these and other sound. See and hear what it was like sites - ask about it at the visitor centre. to be a blacksmith, a school teacher, a seamstress - even a child - 150 years Quesnel’s most famous “living history” ago. Don’t miss the 150th Anniversary highlight is Billy Barker Days, commemcelebrations in 2012! orating the rowdy era of the 1860s. The 150-plus events over four days embrace Wells pie-eating duels, stage shows and street The mountain town of Wells, a host comconcerts, stock-car racing, colourful pa- munity to Barkerville and only a five

Cariboo Chilcotin Coast Travel & Touring Guide

the Cariboo

Fast-forward 80 years and Wells may have fewer than 300 year-round residents, but its many heritage buildings have been restored, including the grand Wells Hotel, the Sunset Theatre and the only wood-framed flat-iron building in B.C. Other architectural landmarks sport bright rainbow colours in a nod to the town’s vibrant arts scene. The Island Mountain Arts Society’s celebrated arts school offers classes in the visual, literary and performance arts, with connections to an International Celtic Harp School and annual arts festivals.

Brad Kasselman/Coastphoto.com

minute drive away, was built as a company town for Fred Wells’ Cariboo Gold Quartz Mine, when the promise of more gold in the Cariboo gave many an opportunity to escape the unemployment of the depressed 1930s in what was then northern B.C.’s largest community and cultural centre.

The region’s outdoor adventures include the popular 7 Summits Bike & Hike trek that lures mountain bikers from across North America. Along with stunning vistas, the area has hundreds of kilometres of trails to suit all users, including hik- The first permanent European homesteader settled locally ing, mountain biking, cross-country skiing and snowmobil- in 1903, and by the 1920s, trading posts had been built in ing – accessible right from town! Jack O’Clubs Lake, within Nazko, Kluskus and Ulkatcho for trading furs and dry goods walking distance of downtown, boasts tranquil afternoon with the Carrier, homesteaders and ranchers. Modern-day canoeing. In winter, try hut-to-hut cross-country adventures First Nations highlights include an impressive roster of native in the Mount Murray Area, sled dog adventures and the re- artists specializing in carvings, leather- wood- and beadwork, nowned Gold Rush Trail Sled Dog Mail Run. Straddling the watercolours, stained glass and cross-stitch. ◆ Trans Canada Snowmobile Trail, the Wells network of “sledder” trails links you to Quesnel, Likely and the Prince George snowmobile clubhouse. Bowron Lake Provincial Park Bowron Lake Provincial Park covers 121,000hec/298,997ac, big by any standard, as are the snow-capped Cariboo Mountains that rim this wilderness expanse. But it is the park’s most unusual physical feature that is the key to its popularity - a rectangular-shaped water-system and wildlife sanctuary that forms a 116km/72mi canoe circuit unique in North America. Where else can one paddle for 10 days without backtracking yet end where one began? No other canoe circuit boasts the same combination of mountain scenery, lakes and diverse wildlife populations. The former home of the southern Carrier, Athapaskan and Dene Nations, who built kekulis (kik-will-ees), or pit houses, close to where Kibbee Creek flows into Bowron Lake, is now an international attraction - one so popular that canoeists must reserve their “paddle slots” well in advance.

Connected to the World! Introducing Canada’s Newest Gateway! Prince George is connected to the world through Air Canada’s Star Alliance Partners and WestJet. Visit us online today at www.pgairport.ca for more information.

Nazko Nazko is a small First Nations community 100km/62mi west of Quesnel where the main draw is the surrounding valley, one that stirs the soul of even the most travelled person. The valley lies within the traditional territory of the Carrier people, who once traded widely with neighbouring tribes, exchanging eulachon oil, dried meats and obsidian along the Nuxalk-Carrier Grease Trail. Here in 1793, explorer Alexander Mackenzie was guided by the Carrier on an epic journey that made him the first European to reach the Pacific Ocean by land. 1-800-663-5885

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Jurgen Weyrich

the Chilcotin

Chezacut plateau Cariboo Chilcotin Coast Travel & Touring Guide

the Chilcotin

1-800-663-5885

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Cariboo Chilcotin Coast Travel & Touring Guide

Steve Ogle

geoffmoore.ca

Cariboo Rivers Fishing Adventures Karl-Hans Kern

Albert Normandin/Tourism BC

Karl-Hans Kern

the Chilcotin

elcome to British Columbia’s last frontier – a vast, undulating open and spectacular land located between the Coast Mountains and the Fraser River. Unlike the Cariboo, the Chilcotin was never invaded by swarms of goldcrazed prospectors, so consequently it developed much differently. It’s a world of few roads, little industry and few people, the majority of who are First Nation. It has an impressive diversity of wildlife, including Canada’s largest population of bighorn sheep, rare white pelicans, trumpeter swans, bears, wolves, mountain caribou and hundreds of wild horses. This makes it the perfect place for anyone wanting to explore the Canada of their imagination. The region is linked to the Central Interior by Highway 20 that crosses the Coast Mountains and the Chilcotin Plateau 456km/283mi from Williams Lake to Bella Coola. It connects wildly different landscapes ranging from grassy plateaus and vast meadows to dramatic canyons and high mountain peaks. Not a single traffic light breaks its entire length, though there may be brief stops for ranging cattle and wandering moose or bears. Roads off the highway provide access to excellent views of the Coast Mountain Range, as well as to significant backcountry lakes, specialty resorts and lodges.

Much of the region is composed of the high-elevation 50,000km²/19,305mi² Chilcotin Plateau where thousands of cattle roam. Yet there is tremendous geographical diversity here, from hot, dry grasslands to ice-covered heights of more than 4,000m/13,123ft, where glaciers descend to azure-blue lakes. Towering above those glacier-carved valleys is the highest peak that lies entirely within British Columbia 4,016m/13,176ft Mount Waddington. Three major river systems, the Homathko, Klinaklini and Dean, run westward through the Coast Mountains, while the southeast is drained by the great Chilko, Chilcotin and Fraser river systems. The grassland canyons found on the Chilko and Fraser are desert landscapes similar to those seen in the south-western United States. Nothing reflects the spirit of the region more than the completion of Highway 20, at one time known as the Freedom Road because its completion freed up access to the west coast. Until 1953, the road ended at Anahim Lake, 137km/85mi short of Bella Coola because the provincial government refused to extend it - claiming the mountainous terrain was too difficult. So local volunteers working from opposite ends with two bulldozers and supplies purchased on credit, finished the job. It is this sort of dogged

determination and independent spirit that is a key component of the Chilcotin character. It remains today. The rustic road couldn’t really be considered a highway when it was first completed (it took more than 9 hours to drive from Bella Coola to Anahim Lake), but it was enough to convince the government to take over maintenance and improvements in 1955. Those who settled this isolated region had to be tough - like Nellie Hance, who, in 1887, became the first white woman to travel into the Chilcotin by journeying 485km/301mi riding side saddle on horseback to reach her husband Tom’s trading post near Lee’s Corner (also known as Hanceville). Others were not only tough but, perhaps, a little crazy. Rancher Norman Lee, after whom Lee’s Corner was named, set out from his spread in May 1898 with 200 head of cattle on a 2,500km/1,553mi trek to the Klondike goldfields. None of his cattle survived the journey, but Lee did, arriving in Vancouver five months later with a roll of blankets, a dog and one dollar. Borrowing enough money for the train to Ashcroft and a horse to ride home, Lee was soon ranching again and by 1902 was well on the way back to prosperity. His descendants are still ranching in the Chilcotin today.

1-800-663-5885

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Experience It! • The Bridge River Valley area, near Gold Bridge and Bralorne, is a world class snowmobiling destination. The East Hurley, Noel Valley and Kingdom Lake areas provide unlimited sledding options right from your door. Ride the Taylor Basin zone, near Tyaughton Lake, where there is a historic mining cabin. Slim Creek is unquestionably the biggest area around for sledding but be warned, there is 35km/22mi of road riding just to access the trail head. Extra gas is a must! • Truly appreciate the incredible expanse of one of Canada’s last remaining wilderness areas on a Flight-Seeing Tour. Float planes and helicopters fly over glaciers and icefields, as well as Hunlen Falls, Canada’s 3rd highest free-falling waterfall. • Bring your camera to Farwell Canyon, about a 45 minute drive west of Williams Lake. Walk and hike among the canyon’s hoodoo rock formations, and if you’re lucky, you may spot and snap pictures of the area’s population of California bighorn sheep.

• The Chilcotin is a hunting and fishing paradise. Here you can enjoy idyllic hunting and fishing vacations on your own, or better yet, by employing seasoned guiding and outfitting specialists in the area.

John Wellburn

• Chilko Lake is one of the largest lakes by volume in the province of British Columbia because of its great depth, and is the largest lake above 1,000m/3,281ft. Hiking, boating, fishing and nature photography are all popular around this beautiful, turquoise hued lake.

Cariboo Chilcotin Coast Travel & Touring Guide

David Jacobson

the Chilcotin

The communities of the Chilcotin are strung along Highway 20 like beads on a necklace, each one with its own story and general store. These hospitable and historic stores continue to play an important role in the region as community centres and meeting hubs while functioning as multi-purpose shops. A good example is the A.C. Christensen General Store in Anahim Lake, which claims, “If we don’t have it, you don’t need it!” As white settlers arrived, most of the First Nation Chilcotin chiefs were friendly

The Historic

Riske Creek

Toll Free 1-888-659-5688

Country Inn Bed & Breakfast Est. 1940 - Located in beautiful Chilcotin Grasslands

10 cozy bedrooms Relax in front of the fireplace Gourmet cooking, private licenced dining room Hook-ups, campsites & showers

welcome@chilcotinlodge.com www.chilcotinlodge.com

and cooperative, particularly when treated with equality and respect. Many of the First Nations worked with settlers as ranch hands, cowboys, packers and guides. Others started their own freight companies using teams and wagons, or homesteaded ranches while their wives sewed and sold moccasins and gloves made from tanned deer and caribou hides, and robes made from marmot fur. Today, Stetsons and cowboy boots are standard apparel in the Chilcotin, a land where the cowboy still rules. The region’s first cattle spreads - such as

ESCOTT BAY RESORT ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦

fishing accommodations canoeing horseback riding pack trips camping

The outdoor adventures possible here are particularly spectacular, from aerial

Anahim Anahim Lake Lake

Eagle’s Nest Resort Elegant suites and cozy log cabins. Great meals in our lakeside dining room. Breathtaking views, exceptional birdwatching, hiking, fishing, boating and the beauty of the wilderness.

Anahim Lake, BC Phone: (250) 742-3233 Toll Free: 1-888-380-8802 escottb@xplornet.com

the Gang Ranch in the southeast, the largest cattle ranch in North America in its heyday and now owned by a Saudi sheik - were established to provide beef for Cariboo gold-rush towns in the early 1860s. Today, ranching remains a key economic driver. Tourism is also an important mainstay, and in many cases both go hand in hand with numerous working ranches, some hosting vacation adventures, pack trips, cattle drives and trail rides.

www.escottbay.com 1-800-663-5885

Toll Free 1.800.742.9055 www.eaglesnest-resort.com | www.landwithoutlimits.com

Festivals & Events • Annual Nimpo Lake Poker Run - Anyone with a snowmobile is welcome. Family friendly, well marked trails. Nimpo Lake. Feb or March • Eagle Lake Artisan Fair – Locals showcase their products for sale. Eagle Lake. May 26 • Dean River Canoe Races – Paddlers battle it out from Nimpo to Anahim. May 13 • Tatla Ski Challenge – A fun event for active, winter folk. Tatla Lake. January 21 • Anahim Lake Stampede - Fun with a gymkhana, parade, rodeo events, beer garden, dances & barbecue. Anahim Lake. July 7 - 8 • Annual Puntzi Lake Fishing Derby – A fun event in the heart of summer, open to all! Puntzi Lake. July 6 - 8 • Tatla Lake Gymkhana – Events include barrels, poles, scurries, keyhole, stakes, games, lemonade, hangman, potato, ribbon races. Tatla Lake. June • New Year’s Ice Party – Ice bar, rink sports, bonfire and fireworks. Nimpo Lake December 31 – January 1 • Snowmobile Waterskipping – Wild, wacky and fun event where the bravest of the brave (or foolish) attempt to ride snowmobiles on the Dean River without stopping, or sinking into cold waters. Anahim Lake. May 27 • Tatla Lake Fall Fair - Clown & balloons, surprise games, petting zoo, horse & buggy rides and more! Tatla Lake. September • Nemiah Valley Rodeo – The Mountain Race, a breakneck plunge down Mount Nemiah’s steep face, is not to be missed! August 4 - 5

David Jacobson

• Alexis Creek Daze – A family fun day with activities for all ages. Alexis Creek. July 14

Cariboo Chilcotin Coast Travel & Touring Guide

Anglers, meanwhile, head for the lake country of the west Chilcotin, where float planes can be chartered for flyin adventures in remote locales many travellers only dream about. Superior fly fishing is also found on the Blackwater River in the region’s north and on the Upper Dean River near Anahim Lake. While the majority of the Chilcotin is accessed off Highway 20, the South Chilcotin is most easily approached from Vancouver via Lillooet off Highway 99 past Whistler to Cache Creek; or by Highway 12 from Lytton and the Fraser Canyon. The communities of Dog Creek and Alkali Lake have backcountry access via Big Bar-Jesmond out of Clinton, or various points along Highway 97. Those with a serious thirst for adventure can follow the Fraser River north from Lillooet via a series of back roads through amazing country to the Chilcotin’s Highway 20, or head westward toward the Bridge River Valley area, near Tyaughton Lake, for spectacular adventure seeking possibilities. Seton Portage Once the site of a unique railway system, Seton Portage is a historic rural community located 25km/15.5mi by boat (78km/48mi by road over Mission Mountain) west of Lillooet, between Seton Lake and Anderson Lake. During

Mark Nichiporuk/CCCTA

the Chilcotin

sightseeing over the huge Homathko Ice field (south of Tatlayoko Lake), to heliskiing the deep powder of the southern Chilcotin Mountains, to multiday loop treks through the rugged beauty of Ts’yl-os (sigh-loss) and Tweedsmuir Provincial Parks. Thrill seekers charge down the fast-moving Chilcotin River, rated among the most challenging of white-water rivers in North America. A tributary of the Chilcotin that flows from Chilko Lake, the Chilko River, is equally famed for its rapids, most notably a section called the White Mile. Providing one of the world’s most exciting rafting adventures, it is the longest continuous stretch of class 3-plus white-water on the continent. Of course, for those with less time - and perhaps less courage there are shorter “soft-adventure” whitewater excursions available.

the Fraser Canyon Gold Rush of 1858 to 1860, nearly 30,000 prospectors following what was then known as the “Lakes Route” from the Lower Mainland, swept through the narrow strip of land connecting the two fjord-like lakes. A wooden rail link was built connecting the two lakes. The flow of humanity was so intense that the shorelines of the two lakes were named after the two busiest London Underground stations of the day: Wapping and Flushing.

Snowmobiling on local spectacular glaciers is an irresistible draw for winter enthusiasts and our phenomenal heliskiing keeps backcountry skiers coming back for more. The Bralorne Pioneer Mine produced more than four million ounces before

Besides fishing, hiking and boating, Seton Portage’s main attraction is a chance to ride the rails to Lillooet on the Kaoham Shuttle train. It winds along the shores of turquoise-coloured Seton Lake through the third-longest tunnel on the CN Rail line and past the nearby Bridge River hydroelectric development, which in 1948 was the largest power project ever undertaken in B.C. Gold Bridge Nestled in the Bridge River Valley among the towering peaks of the South Chilcotin Mountains, 105km/65mi west of Lillooet, Gold Bridge sprang to life during the Great Depression with the opening of a large gold mine in nearby Bralorne in 1932. History buffs still find plenty of old ghost towns and abandoned mines to poke around in, while those more inclined to explore the outdoors appreciate the valley’s fishing, hunting, rock hounding and rugged mountain beauty. Nearby lakes have resorts along their shores and heli-biking is a popular activity. 1-800-663-5885

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Did You Know? Anahim Peak is a volcanic cone located northwest of Anahim Lake. It was formed when the North American Plate moved over the Anahim hotspot, similar to the one feeding the Hawaiian Islands. It is one of several volcanoes in the Anahim Volcanic Belt that stands out, rising from the Chilcotin Plateau, between the Rainbow Range and the Ilgachuz Range, near the headwaters of the Dean River.

Tatlayoko Lake Community Parkâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s multi-use access trail network, built with donated conveyor belting from Gibraltar Mine, is just one project in the region-wide initiative to make the Cariboo Chilcotin Coast a top tourism destination in terms of wilderness accessibility for wheelchairs, walkers, scooters, strollers and even skateboards!

Beautiful, turquoise colored Carpenter Lake (officially Carpenter Lake Reservoir), in the mountains just west of Lillooet, is a man-made lake, 50km/31mi in length. It was designed in the early twentieth century as part of a BC Hydro power project by the firm of Sanderson and Porter.

Michael Wigle

The only nesting colony of American white pelicans in B.C. is located at Stum Lake in White Pelican Provincial Park. From this Chilcotin nesting site, these large white birds feed on fish in shallow lakes â&#x20AC;&#x201C; sometimes hundreds of kilometres away, including Alkali Lake, Dragon Lake and Williams Lake.

Cariboo Chilcotin Coast Travel & Touring Guide

Mitch Cheek

the Chilcotin

it closed in 1971, making it the richest gold mine in Canadian history and prompting the construction of a complete town, with schools, churches, post office, houses, recreation halls and hunting lodges. The mine had been abandoned for many years, but on May 27, 2011, celebrated its grand reopening due to high gold prices and is now producing gold once again. There has been new mining activity in the area with other recent discoveries between the Bralorne and King mines, opening up significant new mineralization. Nearby, Gold Bridge remains the valley’s key commercial centre. Alkali Lake While geographically located in the Cariboo, the communities of Alkali Lake and Dog Creek, which between them embrace several fishing lakes, are linked to the Chilcotin by proximity and landscape. It’s also the location of one of the most touching stories in B.C.

For more than 35 years, the Esketemc (es-ket-em) First Nation People have invited Alcoholics Anonymous members from around the world, to their annual Pow Wow Arbor for a rodeo and conference to share inspirational stories. Alcohol addiction almost destroyed the Esketemc a half-century ago. How they saved themselves and how the community took control of their lives and created an atmosphere of dignity and hope, was made into a film in 1985. The film, The Honour of All, is still shown at international festivals.

ranch stayed in the family until 1908, when it was purchased by Englishman Charles N. Wynn-Johnson. He was the grandfather of Charles N. “Chunky” Woodward, who later became the multimillionaire owner of B.C.’s iconic Woodward’s department store chain and a world-champion cutting-horse rider. At the peak of its operation, the

B.C.’s oldest ranch was established in this attractive valley in the south-western Cariboo by a German-born settler named Otto Bowe, who, in 1858, built a “stopping house” alongside the original river trail that made its way through the Cariboo to the northern goldfields. Bowe married a daughter of the Alkali Band Indian chief and had four children with her. Bowe’s 10,117hec/25,000ac 1-800-663-5885

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TAke your TrAvels To The nexT level wiTh An AuThenTiC ABoriginAl CulTurAl experienCe.

Alkali Lake spread had more than 4,000 head of cattle and horses and employed dozens of working cowboys. The ranch, now 14,973hec/36,999ac, continues as a working ranch. Dog Creek, another ranching community in the area, rose to prominence in the 1860s with a flour mill, lumber mill and five hotels. Little is left of the historic settlement, but there are still several ranches in the area, many employing First Nations cowboys from the two nearby reserves. Riske Creek Just south of Riske Creek near the confluence of the Fraser and Chilcotin rivers on Farwell Canyon Road, Junction Sheep Range Provincial Park, a 4,573hec/11,300ac preserve, shelters about 500 California bighorn sheep, one-fifth of the world’s population. Naturalists come here to study the bighorns and watch them scale the steep sandstone riverbanks. Black bears, coyote, foxes and cougar also roam the surrounding region. Riske Creek is a small community set amidst sweeping grasslands on the eastern border of the Chilcotin, 47km/29mi west of Williams Lake.

Across British Columbia, there are countless ways to experience the art, culture and traditions of our Aboriginal people. From museums and interpretive centres that tell our stories, to artists and performers that share our creativity, you’ll discover enriching festivities and welcoming people in every corner.

Visit www.AboriginalBC.com and order a free Aboriginal BC Visitor Guide.

The town is named after Polish pioneer and settler L.W. Riske, who built a saw mill and flour mill during the 1860s from which he sent supplies and produce to the Cariboo goldfields. The history of the area can be re-lived by visiting the Chilcotin Lodge and restaurant. Built in 1940 as a hunting lodge, the pioneer-style log building is one of the last remaining authentic lodging facilities in the Chilcotin. Nearby Farwell Canyon’s desert-dry limestone and sandstone walls feature hoodoos and other intriguing water-carved formations. Hikers can view ancient pictographs on the cliff faces here and experience the thrill of watching First Nation fishermen dip-netting for salmon in the late summer. Hanceville About 50km/31mi west of Riske Creek, a roadside plaque describes the legendary Yukon cattle drive of Norman Lee, who, as mentioned earlier, set out from his Chilcotin ranch in 1898 with 200 head of cattle on his disastrous 2,500km/1,553mi trek to Dawson City. Lee wrote a chronicle of the misadventure (which later became a book entitled Klondike Cattle Drive) and set up shop at Lee’s Corner. Today, Lee’s “town” is known as Hanceville, though there is still a store and café here called Lee’s Corner Store. Travellers can take a couple of interesting trips from the community, venturing southwest to Taseko Lake or the Nemiah Valley. Taseko Lake is a four-season playground offering camping, hiking, wildlife viewing and snowmobiling. Nemiah Valley The area of the Nemiah Valley that lies in the traditional

Cariboo Chilcotin Coast Travel & Touring Guide

the Chilcotin

territory of the Xeni Gwet’in (honey koteen) First Nation is home to one of the last remaining herds of wild horses found in North America. The results of recent DNA tests suggest these mustangs are genetically linked to the horses brought to the American continent hundreds of years ago by the Spanish.

Alexis Creek The community, 20km/12.5mi west of Hanceville, is named after Chief Alexis of the Tsilhqot’in (tseelh-coht-een), who was chief during the time of the Chilcotin War. Nearby are Bull Canyon and Battle Rock, the sites of fierce intertribal battles fought between the Chilcotin, who were defending their territory, and invading Shuswap and Bella Coola tribes. The site of the plateau’s eastern Hudson Bay trading post, Alexis Creek today continues to be a service centre for the east Chilcotin. Stock up on supplies before heading out along the glacialgreen waters of the Chilcotin River. Puntzi Lake and Redstone Well known for biking and hiking trails, canoeing, kayaking, fishing and hunting, Puntzi Lake (60km/37mi west of Alexis Creek and 11km/7mi off the highway at Chilanko Forks) is also a major draw for bird watchers. The American White Pelican uses the lake as a food source in early spring and throughout the summer, while Trumpeter Swans feed in the fall until the lake freezes over. The nearby Chilanko Wildlife Management area is a protected marshland home to 50 bird species in the summer, caribou in the spring and is an excellent moose habitat. A number of fishing resorts and serviced RV campsites are located around the lake. Activities here are typically spring, summer and fall focused, so the lake’s kokanee and rainbow trout get a reprieve during winter snowmobiling season.

David Jacobson

Though there are no official tours, local guest ranches and B&Bs can assist with coordinating wild horse adventures. The remote valley, not connected to the rest of the Chilcotin by road until 1973, is home to members of the Xeni Gwet’in First Nation and assorted ranchers, with a number of wilderness hunting and fishing lodges throughout the area.

Redstone, a small First Nations community 36km/22mi west of Alexis Creek on Highway 20, supports your outdoor activities, and is home to the Redstone store, a key stop for fuel and supplies for your Highway 20 journey. The old cemetery also provides a great photo opportunity. Tatla Lake Located on the western edge of the Chilcotin grasslands, 108km/67mi west of Alexis Creek, Tatla Lake is where Irish settler Robert Graham started the area’s ranching legacy. After purchasing the Tatla Lake place from Benny Franklin in 1902, the Grahams built a fine new house and, in 1930, a new store. The house is now the Graham Inn, located next to the Tatla Lake Manor, and specializes in serving excellent meals to hungry highway travellers. The community provides access to excellent mountain hikes, Nordic ski trails and offers access to several resort and guiding operations in the area. Tatla Lake is also the gateway to three major mountain valleys: West Branch, Chilko and Tatlayoko, which extend southward, with secondary road access. As well, nearby Bluff Lake is a

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Steve Ogle

Niut Range Cariboo Chilcotin Coast Travel & Touring Guide

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the Chilcotin

fixed-wing flight-seeing and helicoptertour access point for several awesome wilderness destinations - including the massive Homathko Ice field and Mount Waddington, at 4,016m/13,176ft the highest peak in the Coast Range.

breathtaking Pantheon Range. Remote Big Stick Lake, Clearwater Lake and One Eye Lake all offer excellent canoeing and fishing. Hunters can embark on flyin guided expeditions for moose, bear, mountain goats and wolves.

Another popular side trip from here is sprawling Ts’yl-os (sigh-loss) Park, located 60km/37mi south of Tatla Lake. Bounded by the rugged peaks of the Coast Mountains to the west and the Interior Plateau to the east, the park’s natural wonders include 80km/50mi-long glacier-fed Chilko Lake, the largest natural high-elevation lake in Canada. Prominent fishing is found here, too, with large rainbow trout and notable Dolly Varden.

Nimpo Lake Known as “the float plane capital of B.C.,” it’s a major launch point for aerial sightseeing tours and fishing fly-ins to the western Chilcotin’s pristine wilderness lakes and rivers. From here, adventurers can access isolated cabins nestled in scenery that is unmatched for its dramatic settings. Back-dropped by towering Mount Kappan, Nimpo Lake also features terrific rainbow trout fishing and was the venue for the 1993 Commonwealth Fly Fishing championships.

Kleena Kleene This tiny settlement is just 31km/19mi west of Tatla Lake on Highway 20. Nearby Clearwater Lake is a departure point for float plane flights into remote fishing lakes and rivers and for exploring the region’s alpine wilderness. Travellers can survey the area and enjoy fabulous views from the lookout point of Perkins Peak (2,819m/9,249ft), hike to beautiful Klinaklini Falls, or heli-hike the

For day-hikers, numerous trails in the area combine a good workout with excellent bird-watching and other wildlife-viewing opportunities. Nearby ranches offer riding tours, cattle drives, hiking and fly-in fishing, plus yoga and organic homegrown meals. In winter, the entertainment options include sleigh

rides, snowshoeing, snowmobiling and cross-country skiing. Anahim Lake Located 135km/84mi east of Bella Coola, this is the site of a long-established Chilcotin settlement that expanded in the 1940s and 1950s when the Carrier Peoples moved here from their remote villages. The community is the eastern gateway to the southern portion of Tweedsmuir Provincial Park and its phenomenal wilderness recreation opportunities. Anahim Lake has the Chilcotin’s main airport, with scheduled flights connecting to Vancouver. Local lodges and resorts cater to both guided and self-guided fishers, hunters and hikers as well as those who prefer organized pack trips and mountain helirides. Float planes can be chartered for a myriad of nearby wilderness adventures, while guided horseback and hiking treks can easily be arranged to explore the surrounding backcountry of the Itcha and Ilgachuz mountains and dramatic Rainbow Range of Tweedsmuir Provincial Park, where peaks of eroded lava and fragmented rock display a spectrum of

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Rainbow Range, Tweedsmuir Provincial Park Cariboo Chilcotin Coast Travel & Touring Guide

the Chilcotin

vivid red, orange, lavender and yellow. The town’s most famous attraction is the Anahim Lake Stampede - an old-fashioned western rodeo that has been staged here every July since 1938. Its most notable celebrity is Carey Price, star goaltender for the NHL’s Montreal Canadiens.

A local curiosity is Anahim Peak, a spectacular pillared cone of volcanic rock rich in obsidian, an important trading commodity for the Chilcotin people, who once used it extensively for weapon making. First Nations history permeates this region, and visitors can view the remains of large wooden “culla culla” houses at Ulkatcho on Gatcho Lake and at Natsadalia Point on Anahim Lake. ◆

Brad Kasselman/Coastphoto.com

Price, who practically grew up on horseback when not playing hockey, is also a skilled cowboy and won the rodeo’s team-roping competition at Anahim Lake in July 2010. He and his partner subdued the steer in seven seconds to take home the $634.27 prize.

Meet the ‘Team’ behind-the-scenes We’re passionate about this Land Without Limits we call home. We welcome and invite you to visit, play and live in the Cariboo Chilcotin Coast region. Building partnerships and putting you in touch with our operators is what we are all about.

1-800-663-5885 www.landwithoutlimits.com If your business is seeking tourism exposure, contact us to discover promotional opportunities available through partnerships with the Cariboo Chilcotin Coast Tourism Association, Tourism British Columbia and the Canadian Tourism Commission. Amy Thacker, CEO/Travel Trade amy@landwithoutlimits.com

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the Coast

Tallheo Hot Springs, South Bentinck Arm near Bella Coola Cariboo Chilcotin Coast Travel & Touring Guide

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Cariboo Chilcotin Coast Travel & Touring Guide

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David Jacobson

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BC Ferries/Tourism BC

Michael Wigle

Julie Rosendo

the Coast

ong before the Norwegian Explorer, Thor Heyerdahl, became famous for his expeditions in and across the South Pacific, he explored British Columbia’s mid-coast, researching the life styles and origins of the indigenous people who live here. As a result of his investigation, he was later able to theorize about similarities among the British Columbian First Nations people and those who lived on far-removed Pacific islands. And that gave rise to his theories - and later explorations - about indigenous peoples around the Pacific having related roots. Even though his theories were never fully accepted by anthropologists, his life’s work began in the inlets, islands, and mainland of this craggy coastline and directly led to his legendary explorations. While time has changed some ways of life along the mist-shrouded fjords of B.C.’s mid-coast, the same mystical elements that drew Heyerdahl still call out to the casual visitor. Of course, Heyerdahl wasn’t the first non-native person to explore these shores. In 1793, an intrepid 29-year old Scotsman named Alexander Mackenzie accompanied by seven French Canadian voyageurs and two First Nations porters - paddled into the Dean Channel near present-day Bella Coola. That event completed the first crossing of North America from the prairies to the Pacific. Before returning east, the explorer scrawled an inscription on a rock

using a reddish mixture of bear grease and vermilion: “Alex Mackenzie, from Canada, by land, 22nd July, 1793.” That rock still bears his words, permanently inscribed by surveyors who followed. Mackenzie could not have picked a more awesome spot to conclude his epic journey to the Pacific Ocean. The mist-draped coastline is lined with towering, snow-crowned peaks, massive ice fields and some of the world’s longest fjords. Old-growth stands of cedar and spruce cover the land, and rich salmon streams weave through the valley bottoms, providing food for the magnificent creatures that inhabit the coast - killer whales, eagles, wolves and bears, including the mysterious white Kermode, or Spirit Bear. Explorers from Russia, Britain, France, and Spain also came to this region in the last quarter of the 18th century, motivated by the chance of trade, although Spain was here to protect its then territorial waters. Getting here by ship is much easier now than in either Mackenzie or Heyerdahl’s time. BC Ferries has a passenger and vehicle run from Port Hardy on northern Vancouver Island to Bella Coola with stops at communities along the way. It passes through dramatic and spectacular fjords. The vessel, the Queen of Chilliwack, has a small licensed lounge, a gift shop and pay showers. Service is friendly, and a staff

member is there to help with travel plans. There are no overnight cabins, but the ship does have reclining seats. Those travelling with a small tent can set it up on the outer decks with approval from a crew member. Ports of call along the route may include Bella Bella, Namu, McLoughlin Bay, Shearwater, Klemtu, Ocean Falls, and the Hakai Pass area – all of which have their own stories to tell. Continuing along B.C.’s “Coast Cariboo Circle Tour”, from Bella Coola, Highway 20 leads across the Chilcotin Plateau to the Cariboo, and other routes lead to the Lower Mainland and elsewhere. One major advantage of this trip is that you do not require a four-wheeled vehicle. The region’s remote solitude and wild beauty has long drawn artists, photographers, naturalists and travellers looking for big adventures and the freshest of seafood. The ocean around Bella Coola offers unforgettable sea kayaking and wildlife viewing adventures. Paddlers can depart from numerous coastal locations, including Bella Bella, to spend a week or so exploring the tiny coves and narrow passageways of the central coast. To the south, just 10km/6mi west of Namu, the 123,000hec/303,940ac Hakai Luxvbalis (looks-bal-ease) Conservation Area is considered one of the finest kayaking playgrounds on the coast. Paddlers find twisting passages to explore, intriguing island clusters and beaches perfect for strolling and

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Experience It! • Tallheo and Eucott are two of the central coast’s wild Hot Springs, where you will enjoy remarkable settings, while soaking up the holistic benefits of the minerals in the waters. • Trek the trails and roads in and around Ocean Falls, or challenge yourself hiking up and around Link Lake. Stroll around the remains of the old town for a more relaxing venture. • Photograph renowned 10,000year old petroglyphs at Thorsen Creek, just west of Hagensborg. Norwegian explorer and writer, Thor Heyerdahl, has suggested that the inhabitants of Easter Island originated here, as the weathered rock etchings on this canyon face greatly resemble the Polynesian stone carvings of Easter Island. • Stroll through the ancient cedar forest in Snootli Creek Park, just east of Bella Coola, where dense, interlocking branches of these massive cedars form an almost impermeable forest canopy over the park’s “easy” trails. Also in the area is the Snootli Creek Hatchery, where you can see and learn about chum, chinook and steelhead.

• Plan a visit to Klemtu, where you will learn and hear about grand stories of the Kitasoo and Xai’xais First Nation peoples. The Big House and the wooden boardwalk – the longest in North America when built in the 1960s – are also major highlights.

Eric Berger/Bella Coola Heli Sports

• Power through the powder of the Central Coast Mountains. Bella Coola offers heli-skiing operations flying into the spectacular Coast Range glaciers, where the angulated terrain is perfect for spring and summer corn-snow skiing and boarding.

Cariboo Chilcotin Coast Travel & Touring Guide

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the Coast

camping. Thanks to BC Ferries’ unique Discovery Coast Passage service, paddlers can pre-arrange to be dropped via “wet launch” to penetrate otherwise difficult-to-reach areas. To the southwest, fishing enthusiasts flock to luxurious lodges along Rivers Inlet and Knight Inlet, two of the most famous sport fishing destinations in B.C. with an impressive history of producing some of the largest chinook salmon in the world. Trophy coho are in the 9kg/20lb range; consistent catches of steelhead, pink, chum and sockeye sal-

mon provide further variety. Giant halibut weighing up to 90kg/198lb cruise the floor of the inlet; and near the reefs, ling cod weighing up to 27kg/59.5lb can be caught. Heading north from Knight Inlet to Klemtu are names that echo with fishing enthusiasts as worldclass destinations, enticing places such as Hakai Pass and Shearwater. Long before white explorers arrived, First Nations of the central coast thrived, living off both land and ocean and trading with interior tribes. More than one third of the Coast’s population

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today is First Nation. In Bella Coola, the Nuxalk (nu-halk) are well known for the carvings, masks and paintings that can be seen throughout the valley. The two main towns in the Bella Coola Valley - Hagensborg, a community settled by Norwegians from Minnesota in 1894, and Bella Coola, the service hub for the region - are located 17km/10.5mi apart at the western end of Highway 20. This section of the valley has 10,000-year-old petroglyphs, historic hiking trails, a salmon hatchery, galleries specializing in West Coast na-

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Festivals & Events • Bella Coola Valley Festival of the Arts – Collection of various artisan mediums showcased for locals and visitors alike. Bella Coola. April • BC Outdoors Magazine’s Fish-In Derby – Join the magazine’s editor, Mike Mitchell, along with guest Rod Pelley of the Anaheim Ducks for some spectacular saltwater fishing. Shearwater. July 20 – 23 • Tweedsmuir Park Ski Marathon A 25km/15.5mi race in the scenic Rainbow Range of Tweedsmuir Provincial Park. February • Discovery Coast Music Festival – Pack up the family and groove to rock, blues, jazz, folk and more, backdropped by the stunning valley scenery. Bella Coola. July 20 – 22 • Valley Ridge Riders Gymkhana Equestrian events in Snootli Creek Park. Bella Coola Valley. Monthly summer events. • Nuxalk Potlaches – Stories, song, dance, ancient readings, as well as guided wildlife, cultural and hiking tours. Summer season • Father & Son Fishing Derby – A great family bonding event with big prizes for big catches. Shearwater. June 15 – 18 • 27th Annual Bella Coola Valley Rodeo – Bull riding, bronc busting and “cow pattie bingo”. Bella Coola. June 30 – July 1 • Salmon Derby – Live music, tall tales and prizes for the biggest catch. Ocean Falls. August • Farmers Market – Growers and buyers connect over fresh, locally produced produce and seafood. Bella Coola. Sundays, June 1 – September 30

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• Fall Fair & Logger Sports Festival Enjoy the fall fair produce and events, as well as the thrill of watching the Logger Sports participants battle it out. Bella Coola. September

Cariboo Chilcotin Coast Travel & Touring Guide

The Bella Coola Valley is also the heart of a regional farming revival spearheaded by the Bella Coola Community Supported Agriculture Project. At the immensely popular farmers’ market on Sundays, June through September, visitors can mingle with the locals, purchase regional specialties (including “new” heritage varieties of fruits and veggies, local honey, homemade jams and jellies and other goodies) and find a sampling of the outstanding arts and crafts available in the valley. Several local farms also welcome visitors for specialty tastings and educational tours, while throughout the region, worldclass seafood - including giant prawns, Dungeness crab, several species of salmon, halibut, Pacific cod, and tuna - lure foodies off the beaten track. The landscape northwest of Bella Coola is some of the most isolated in the province. Across a 3,000,000hec/7,413,160ac

area, there are only 1,900 residents populating five towns. The region lies within the Great Bear Rainforest, the largest remaining tract of unspoiled temperate rainforest left in the world. Several ancient First Nations cultural sites can be found here, as well as a striking array of wildlife. The ocean harbours killer whales, porpoises, humpback whales, seals, sea lions and dozens of seabird species. The forests are alive with black-tailed deer, wolves and bears - grizzly, black and the Kermode (or Spirit Bear), a rare, white-coated variation of the black bear that is sacred to B.C.’s First Nation people. The main haunt of the Spirit Bear is Princess Royal Island, a primordial expanse of wilderness accessible only by boat or air. Aside from the Tsimshian (sim-SHE-an), who once inhabited a coastal village here; few humans ever entered the island’s inland rainforest. Today, that has changed as guided tours offer kayakers and boaters a privileged, close-up view and a chance to also see

the majestic, powerful grizzly. Take a guided tour to drift through the grizzly’s backyard while experienced guides provide interpretive tours.

the Coast

tive art and outdoor adventure companies offering grizzly bear tours, eco-tours, river drifts and flight-seeing excursions.

Also off the beaten track is the Fiordland Conservancy, a provincial marine park set deep in the inner channels northeast of Klemtu. The preserve encompasses Kynoch and Mussel inlets, two glacially gouged fjords where sheer granite cliffs rise more than 1,000m/3,281ft; pristine beaches, including some particularly scenic spots near Lady Douglas Island, dot the region. Higgins Passage is an intricate waterway with traditional First Nations sites amidst a multitude of maze-like islands, twisting passageways and cascading waterfalls. Entering the Coast region from the east by road is an entirely different experience - one definitely not for motorists who suffer from a fear of heights. Highway 20 descends from Heckman Pass

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Did You Know? Arriving from Hawaii, Cpt. George Vancouver anchored in Restoration Cove in the Burke Channel May 28th to June 19th 1793 conducting the first survey of B.C.’s central coast. The Saloompt Forest Interpretive Trail on the north side of the Bella Coola River is just one of the integrated trail system projects in a region-wide initiative to make the Cariboo Chilcotin Coast a top tourism destination for physically challenged travelers and their mobility in wheelchairs, scooters and walkers. The eulachon (or “oolichan”) was a smelt fish prized by First Nations because it was the first food source to return to their communities after the long winters. Local pioneers called it the “candlefish”. It was a key trade item for First Nations and a core element in developing the “Grease Trail”.

Hakai Pass in the Hakai Luxvbalis Conservancy Area is world-famous for its unsurpassed salmon fishing. Huge runs of chinook, coho, sockeye, chum and pink salmon crowd through Hakai Pass from the open Pacific Ocean headed for the rivers and streams where their life began. Special features like lagoons and reversing tidal rapids, beaches, all-weather anchorages, tombolos, and an intricate network of coves, inlets and channels make it an ideal area for boaters, anglers, scuba divers, naturalists - and experienced sea kayakers. 48

Michael Wigle

The Dean River is renowned internationally as a world-class Steelhead fishing destination. There are several lodges and guides in the area that will help take this adventure off your bucket-list and add to your most memorable of lifetime experiences.

Cariboo Chilcotin Coast Travel & Touring Guide

the Coast

into a 30km/19mi stretch of sharp hairpin turns and switchbacks with grades of up to 18 percent - but that’s just the dramatic stuff. In reality the road only narrows on the hairpins and most of it is quite wide and offers good sightlines.

The park contains stunning terrain, notably the multi-hued peaks of the Rainbow Range with an astonishing spectrum of reds, oranges, yellows and lavenders created by the area’s heavily mineralized volcanic lavas and sands. The weathering effects of glaciers on these volcanic mountains combined with the warm and wet influence of the Pacific has also resulted in lush alpine meadows and a tremendous abundance of beautiful wildflowers. The highway through the Bella Coola Valley parallels the ancient trading route, or “grease trail”, taken by Alexander Mackenzie on his way to the sea in 1793. Long before Mackenzie’s arrival, the Nuxalk (nu-halk) people thrived here alongside the salmon-filled rivers. The valley was part of a trade corridor between coastal and interior native groups, where furs and leather were exchanged for salmon and eulachon oil. The oil was obtained from the rendered fat of the small herring-like fish that was valued for its calories and vitamin content. It was then transported along the so-called “grease” trails. Hagensborg In 1894, about one hundred Norwegian colonists from Minnesota moved to the Bella Coola Valley and founded a settlement called Hagensborg, located on Highway 20, just 16km/10mi east of Bella Coola. They chose the area because the landscape reminded them of their Norwegian homeland, with its long fjords snaking to the sea. The region’s farming, lumber and fishing industries began shortly thereafter, and the town’s first school was opened in a large communal tent in 1895. Some of that Norwegian heritage is still visible today in Hagensborg’s Norwegian Heritage House. Built at the turn of the 20th century by settler Andrew Svisdahl, it’s a time capsule from the past, furnished in traditional Norwegian fashion and displaying the household tools of that time. Augsburg United Church, built in 1904 as a Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran Church, still welcomes parishioners, and its cemetery relates the poignant history of the Norwegians who journeyed so far to this unknown valley from the United States. The area surrounding Hagensborg offers a number of hiking trails, including the Lost Lake Trail on the north side of the Bella Coola River that leads hikers to tiny Lost Lake and its picnic site with its great views of the valley and Nusatsum Mountain. The well-marked and wheelchair-accessible Saloompt Interpretive Trail follows the Bella Coola River to an old-growth forest with picnic tables and benches.

Doug Neasloss/Spirit Bear Lodge

At the bottom of the highway’s infamous “Hill”, one can access 980,000hec/2,421,632ac Tweedsmuir Provincial Park. Aside from its outstanding scenery, Tweedsmuir is a magnet for outdoor recreationists, offering fishing, hiking, heli-skiing, horseback riding via wilderness trails, camping and canoeing the Turner Lake Chain. Hunlen Falls, Canada’s third highest freefalling waterfall, at the north end of Turner Lake, is another major attraction, plunging 260m/853ft to disappear in a cloud of spray before entering the Atnarko River.

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The Bella Coola Airport, also located at Hagensborg, provides chartered and daily scheduled flights to and from Vancouver, as well as, to local glaciers, fishing areas and coastal destinations. The community also makes an excellent jumping off point for excursions into Tweedsmuir Provincial Park. Though the outdoor recreational opportunities in Tweedsmuir are almost unlimited, this is a true wilderness park - and only the heartiest of adventure seekers should venture into the park’s backcountry. Anyone exploring the back country might employ the services of a professional guide to make their experiences truly memorable. Bella Coola Rich in clean air, glacier-fed rivers, fresh mountain streams and magnificent wildlife, Bella Coola - the name of both the small town and the valley - is a favourite destination of naturalists, artists and photographers. The town waterfront boasts an eclectic collection of fishing and pleasure boats, cannery sites and tidal flats. The historic Kopas Store, on the corner of Mackenzie and Dean streets, has a delightful folksy ambience along with a wide selection of B.C. books, First Nations jewellery and art, fishing licences, marine charts and maps, plus goods and giftware. Clayton Falls, accessible from the road and a short walking trail, has striking hard granite formations worn by water. It’s also a gathering place for salmon in a major spawning year.

Michael Wigle

A few minutes east along Highway 20 is the Nuxalk (nu-halk) community of 4 Mile. Styled after the traditional long house, and with stately totem poles erected in front, the 4 Mile School is close to the highway and its design is an innovative three-dimensional work of art. Also within this community are several art galleries and the entrance to the expansive petroglyph site, which has ancient rock carvings depicting cultural and mythical beliefs embedded in the Nuxalk culture. Some local residents are descendants of those who lived in the community that Alexander Mackenzie dubbed “the friendly village” at the end of his grand journey.

Situated at the western edge of the valley across from towering 2,438m/8,000ft Cariboo Chilcotin Coast Travel & Touring Guide

Brad McGuire/CCCTA

the Coast

high Mount Nusatsum, Bella Coola was once the site of a Hudson’s Bay furtrading post. The Nuxalk Nation lived throughout the valley for centuries. However, in the late 1860s, after a smallpox epidemic decimated the population, survivors gathered on land close to the mouth of the river and the Hudson’s Bay post that now comprises the nonreserve part of town. Today’s population of roughly 900 thrives on fishing, logging and growing tourism, and has become a full-service hub for the area. It is also a key gateway to the 64,000km²/24,710mi² Great Bear Rainforest and is the only port between Vancouver and Prince Rupert with inland access to the Interior of B.C. The Snootli Creek Fish Hatchery (just off Highway 20, 5km/3mi west of Hagensborg at the head of North Bentick Arm), has guided interpretive tours for families highlighting the hatchery’s work. It raises trout and salmon (chum, sockeye, chinook and coho), and replenishes fish stocks in the area. Visitors can also connect with nature via Snootli Creek Regional Park’s ancient cedar grove, just east of Bella Coola. Here, interlocking branches of massive, ancient cedars form an almost impermeable forest canopy covering the park’s four “easy” 200m/656ft to 2km/1.2mi trails. Walkers stay relatively dry even when it rains. Namu Looking for a ghost town? Well, maybe not all that many ghosts can be found in the region, but, there is a sense of

past cultures and industries inhabiting the land. One of those stories of boom and bust can be found in this small, now abandoned community. At the confluence of the Burke Channel and Fitz Hugh Sound, 95km/59mi southwest of Bella Coola, the town of Namu (a Heiltsuk (hel-sic) First Nations word that means “whirlwind”) stands as a reminder of past success and misplaced optimism. Between the 1930s and 1980s, when B.C. Packers operated a cannery here, Namu was a hub of activity for commercial fishers along the central northwest coast. During the height of the local fishing season, it supported a population of up to 400 cannery workers, fish processors, maintenance personnel and their families - with enough children to fill a four-room schoolhouse. The ice plant and cannery, café, laundry and

general store and business offices were located on waterfront piers. Along the beachfront and on land above central Namu, linked by boardwalks, were the managers’ lodgings and bunkhouses. However, high transportation costs and low fish prices in the 1980s forced the plant to switch from canning to fish pro-

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Pacific Ocean, Milbanke Sound Cariboo Chilcotin Coast Travel & Touring Guide

the Coast

cessing with the fish being shipped south to Vancouver and west to Japan for canning. When BC Packers sold Namu, in the early 1990s, an unsuccessful attempt was made to establish a resort here. Alas, it failed.

Shearwater Approximately 50 full-time residents live in Shearwater, located on Denny Island, 5km/3mi from Bella Bella. The current town-site was developed for an anti-submarine bomber-reconnaissance unit in 1941. The unit was disbanded in 1944, and the site was later purchased and developed into a full-service marina and fishing resort. Today, all that remains of the original air force base is the hangar, the airstrip and a few bunkers. In addition there is now a fish plant, bed-and-breakfast accommodations, resort lodgings, fishing-charter operators, moorage for pleasure boaters, a small store and post office and regular water taxi service to Bella Bella. Sport fishing is the community’s major asset. Surrounded by calm, protected waters, Shearwater is home to all five species of salmon. The local chinook top 32kg/70lb, while coho can reach 11kg/24lb. Abundant local bottom fish include ling cod, red snapper and rockfish, with halibut weighing up to 91kg/200lb. Shearwater also provides access to excellent eco-adventure opportunities. Bella Bella The large eagle head painted on its Native Cultural Centre marks the fishing and forestry community of Bella Bella. Also known as Waglisla, the town is the former site of the Hudson’s Bay Company’s Fort McLoughlin established in the 1830s. Home to the Heiltsuk (hel-sic) First Nation, population of 1,400, it is the largest First Nations community on B.C.’s west coast. The village is located on Campbell Island, about 3km/2mi north of McLoughlin Bay where BC Ferries’ Queen of Chilliwack docks. The town’s services include a bank, large general store, police station and the only hospital and pharmacy on the island. South of Bella Bella, the pristine waterways of Hakai Pass are known worldwide for trophy-salmon fishing. Here, anglers find some of the biggest catches on the B.C. coast: huge runs of chinook, coho, sockeye, chum and pink salmon churn through the currents. Fishers can also drop a line for halibut, snapper and ling cod. The wildlife parade is just as impressive: orcas, humpbacks, grey whales, dolphins and eagles all make stops at Hakai Pass. Wildlife lovers may even spot sea lions, seals, wolves and deer along the shore. The resorts and floating lodges in the Hakai Pass area host excellent guided wildlifeviewing tours and fishing packages, with accommodations ranging from rustic to luxurious.

Doug Neasloss/Spirit Bear Lodge

Today the town-site continues to be visited and used as a stopover point by coastal travellers and fishermen, and the ancient shell midden (a midden is a mound containing shells, animal bones and other refuse that indicates the site of a human settlement) makes it a continuing source of curiosity for archaeologists who have discovered local evidence of cultures dating back nearly 10,000 years. Such research shows that Namu is the earliest radiocarbon-dated site on the B.C. coast.

Ocean Falls Fishing Lodge

Ocean Falls offers World Class Salt Water

and Trout Fishing. And, we have guides and gear for both.

ish Fun Food F in the spectacular West Coast Wilderness. www.oceanfallslodge.com 250-289-3293 1-800-663-5885

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Doug Neasloss/Spirit Bear Lodge

Ocean Falls A remote community at the head of Cousins Inlet, 88km/55mi northwest of Bella Coola, Ocean Falls was once the site of the largest pulp and paper mill in the province. But, as with several communities along this unforgiving landscape, the town has seen better days. Much has been demolished, and many of the original buildings are in decay. Nevertheless, Ocean Falls maintains a small residential community and social network of former residents and remains a very popular stop with boaters travelling the Discovery Coast and Inside Passage. In recent years, the area around Ocean Falls has also emerged as an eco-adventure hub, with terrific hiking, freshwater and saltwater fishing and wildlife viewing. The mill, operated from 1912 to 1980, supported a thriving town with a population of close to 4,000, its own school system, an orchestra, a musical and dramatic society, a hospital, one of the province’s largest hotels and a swimming pool where several champions trained. In fact, the town’s swimming club sent seven swimmers to the Olympic Games from 1948 until the 1960s and won the Canadian National Men’s Championship for four consecutive years between 1962 and 1965. The closing of the mill ended all that, though, with most of the townsfolk leaving to begin new lives elsewhere. Downtown has a good-sized government dock, fresh water for boaters and plenty of interesting nooks and crannies ashore to explore. In summer BC Ferries’ Queen of Chilliwack docks on its Port Hardy to Bella Coola route, doubling the town’s population. 54

Cariboo Chilcotin Coast Travel & Touring Guide

Klemtu Klemtu is an isolated community located in a pristine cove on Swindle Island, 228km/142mi northwest of Bella Coola. Enclosed by the Great Bear Rainforest, the village sits on the doorstep of Princess Royal Island, home of the legendary white Spirit Bear. Klemtu’s population of 420 is composed of two First Nations groups who speak completely different languages: the Kitasoo (kit-ah-soo), the southernmost Tsimshian (sim-SHE-an) tribe, and the Xai’xais (hay-hace), the most northerly branch of the Heiltsuk (hel-sic) First Nation. By 1875, the population of the two groups had declined so precipitously that they joined together to establish a settlement nearer the region’s main shipping routes. The new community underwrote its economy with money from cutting cordwood for coastal steamers, for which Klemtu became a refuelling stop. The community’s key economic driver is fishing, and most residents live along the waterfront and its wooden boardwalk - the longest in North America when it was built in the 1960s. Commercial activities are centered around the public Transport Canada wharf, where services include a well-equipped general store, café, post office, modern fuel facility (with a full range of marine and auto fuels) and community health clinic. Klemtu’s monumental “Big House” is constructed of red cedar and emblazoned with the village’s clan emblems (raven, eagle, wolf and killer whale). It is used for celebrations, traditional dances and memorials that allow residents to reconnect with their past and bring ancient traditions alive.

the Coast

Klemtu’s Swindle Island is inaccessible by road, however BC Ferries services the town on the Discovery Coast and Inside Passage routes (please check BC Ferries website for current schedules) and Pacific Coastal Airlines also offers convenient daily flights from Vancouver and Port Hardy. ◆

Michael Wigle

The surrounding area abounds with superb wildlife-viewing opportunities, and the local waterways are ideal for both fishing and kayaking. Experienced paddlers rent kayaks or bring their own for independent exploring through the surrounding labyrinth of scenic inland fjords. One local tour company, owned and operated by the local First Nations band, has opened a stunning modern lodge to house visitors while offering eco-cultural and wildlife-viewing tours that include trips to Princess Royal Island and the Fiordland Conservancy marine park. Visit with a hereditary chief as you ply the rich ocean waters and learn the coastal story of creation.

Bringing the coast within reach. Discovery Coast Circle Tour Package includes:

• One way ferry from Vancouver to Vancouver Island

• One way ferry from Port Hardy to Bella Coola

• 8 nights, 5 destinations • Grizzly Bear tour (seasonal) For current pricing, please visit bcferries.com/vacations Experience the all-in-one convenience and amazing value of BC Ferries Vacations. Book from over 50 unique vacation packages today. 21011222 Inside Passage_CCCT_v2.indd 1

Three easy ways to book: • bcferries.com/vacations • 1 888 BC FERRY ext 3 • BC Ferries Vacations Centre at the Fairmont Pacific Rim 1010 Canada Place, Vancouver, BC

1-800-663-5885

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Houston Burns Lake

Endako

Fraser Lake

François Lake

Cariboo Chilcotin Coast British Columbia, Canada Tahtsa Lake

Ootsa Lake

Whitesail Lake

N 20

Eutsuk Lake

Kilometres

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Namu

Rivers Inlet

Lake

Mt. Waddington 4016m (Highest Mountain in B.C

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Kingcome Inlet rlo

Port Hardy

Bluff Lake

UPPER KLINAKLINI PROTECTED Middle AREA

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Sapeye Lake

Silverthorne Mountain 2896m

Discovery Coast Passage Ferry Route (seasonal)

Kleena Kleene

Monarch Mountain 3533m

Rivers Inlet

Calvert Island

Clearwater Lake

Dawsons Landing

Nimpo L

Charlotte Lake

Turner Lakes

Mt. Saugstad 2908m

u h So Smit

Hunlen Falls

Gold Rush Trail Gold Rush Trail

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Hakai Pass

Nimpo Lake

Heritage Discovery Coast Cariboo Coast & Cariboo Lakes Trails Lakes & Trails Ranchlands & Rivers Ranchlands & Rivers

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British Columbia BritishRoutes Columbia Circle Circle Routes Heritage Discovery

Hunter HAKAI Island

River a Cool Hagensborg Bella

Anahim Lake

Cariboo Chilcotin Coast Region Coast Region Parks Parks

Bella Coola

Airport Floatplane Base Floatplane Base Visitor Centre Visitor Centre Info Booth Info Booth Cariboo Chilcotin

Shearwater

Firvale

Railways Ferry Routes Ferry Routes Airport

Denny Island

Campbell Island

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60 km of gravel surface road from Anahim Lake to the bottom of the H

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Waglisla (Bella Bella)

LUXVBALIS CONSERVANCY AREA

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ITCHA ILGACHUZ PROVINCIAL PARK

TWEEDSMUIR PROVINCIAL PARK Heckman

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Ocean Falls

Price Island

Anahim Peak 1876m

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CO C OA O OAS AS A S ST T

Sound

Swindle Island

SIR ALEXANDER MACKENZIE PROVINCIAL MARINE PARK

Klemtu

Charlotte

FIORDLAND RECREATION AREA

Nuxalk-Ca Alexander Mack

De an

DEAN RIVER ESTUARY PROTECTED AREA

KITASOO SPIRIT BEAR CONSERVANCY

Aristazabal Island

Moose Lake

Kimsquit

Queen

Princess Royal Island

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KITLOPE HERITAGE CONSERVANCY PROTECTED AREA

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Gil Island

Tetachuck Lake

Kenny Dam

Klina klini River

Morice Lake

Str ait

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Port McNeill

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The Cariboo Chilcotin Coast delivers. Adventures of a lifetime. Every day.

it To Victoria

PRINCE GEORGE

Vanderhoof

Stoner

Finger Lake

r ilako Rive

Blackwater

Ten Mile Lake 26

Bouchie Lake

Chilanko Forks

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Tatlayoko Lake

Chaunigan Lake

Big Creek

NUNSTI PROVINCIAL PARK

Tsuniah Lake

Mt. Queen Bess 3313m

Chilko Lake

CHI

LCO

Taseko Lakes

TIN

2833m

rid

RAN

Seasonal Road

Lake

100 Mile House

MOOSE VALLEY PROVINCIAL PARK Snag Lake

Dog Creek

Lone Butte

FLAT LAKE PROVINCIAL PARK

Watch Lake

Jesmond Big Bar

EDGE HILLS PROVINCIAL PARK Tyaughton Lake

Pavilion 99

Birken Mount Pemberton Currie 99

Whistler

GARIBALDI PARK

STEIN VALLEY NLAKA’PAMUX 12 HERITAGE PARK

Lillooet Lake

r Lytton

Sun Peaks Ski Resort

To Banff/ Calgary

Kamloops Lake

KAMLOOPS

Logan Lake

Spences Bridge

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Loon Lake

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Bonaparte Lake

Lillooet

Riv e

Little Fort

Ashcroft

Gold Bridge Bralorne Seton Portage

Clearwater 5

Sheridan Bridge Lake Lake

Cache Creek

Hat Creek Ranch

D’Arcy Gl

Deka Lake Bridge Lake

CHASM PROVINCIAL PARK

Clinton

Ste in

Inlet

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PARK

Mahood Lake

PROVINCIAL PARK

70 Mile House

MARBLE RANGE PROV. PARK

BIRKENHEAD LAKE PROVINCIAL PARK Lillo

GRAY PROVINCIAL

Green Lake

Big Bar Lake

Carpenter Lake

ge Ri r ve

WELLS

Canim Lake Lac la Hache TAWEEL 108 Mile Ranch Sulphurous

Alkali Lake

Murtle Lake

Clearwater Lake

Spring Lake

Springhouse

Black Dome

SOUTH CHILCOTIN MOUNTAIN PARK

Canim Lake

Timothy Lake

CHURN CREEK PROTECTED AREA

BIG CREEK PROVINCIAL PARK

TS’YL-OS PROVINCIAL PARK Mt. Warner

Homathko Icefield

Mt. Timothy Ski Hill

JUNCTION SHEEP RANGE PARK

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Big Timothy 2157m

150 Mile House

Gang Ranch

Nemiah Valley

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Big

Taseko River

Choelquoit Lake

Chi

Tatla Lake Horn Lake

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Eagle Lake

Williams Lake

Eureka Peak 2426m

CA C A BO ARI ARIBOO BO OO O

Dugan Lake

Till Lake Alexis Creek Raven Lake Hanceville (Lee’s Corner) Riske Creek t

Tatla Lake

Xat’sull (Soda Creek)

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Horsefly

Azure Lake

Puntzi Lake

Redstone

Horsefly Mountain 1793m

PELICAN PROVINCIAL PARK

Lake

Big Lake

Chezacut

Hen Ingram Lake

Horsefly Black Lake Creek

Bootjack Lake

Tyee Lake

Fir Lake

NAZKO Stum Lake LAKE PARK WHITE

Nazko Lakes

Owen Lake

Quesnel Likely Lake

McLeese Lake

CH C CHILCO HILCOTIN H HILCO IILCOT IL TIN

Keithley Creek

River

Hobson Lake

Seasonal gravel road from Likely to Barkerville

Tzenzaicut Lake

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Mitchell Lake

Yanks Peak

Quesnelle Forks

Tête Jaune Cache

Marmot Lake

Puntataenkut Lake

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Puntchesakut Lake

Fraser

arrier Grease/ kenzie Heritage Trail

Nazko

Dragon Lake

CARIBOO MTNS. PROVINCIAL PARK

Fishpot Lake

Barkerville

Mt. Agnes 1983m

Quesnel

Bowron Lakes

Wells

Troll Mtn. Ski Hill

Blac

Cinema

To Jasper/ Edmonton

KLUSKOIL LAKE PROVINCIAL PARK

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BOWRON LAKE PROVINCIAL PARK

Mt. Murray 1989m

Batnuni Lake

Euchiniko Lake Lakes

ed e Hill

Hixon

Hanham Boat Lake Lake

Mt. Robson 3954m

WEST TWIN PROVINCIAL PARK & PROTECTED AREA

Tatuk Lake

FRASER RIVER PROVINCIAL PARK

N.Thomp n River so

FINGER-TATUK Naltesby PROVINCIAL PARK Lake

River

Nech ako Rive

Merritt

To Vancouver

To Kelowna 97C

To Vancouver

1.800.663.5885

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Nisga'a Memorial Lava Bed Park

Tourism BC

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Heritage Discovery Circle Tour

Coast Cariboo Circle Tour

Distance (complete route): 2,425 km (1,500 mi.)

Distance (complete route): 1,835 km (1,140 mi.)

Distance (CCC section): 600 km (360 mi.)

Distance (CCC section): 720 km (425 mi./lane portion only)

Time (complete route): 7 to 14 days

Time (complete route): 7 to 10 days

Highlights: Gold Rush Trail, Inside Passage ferry, First Nations, Coast Mountains, cowboy culture

Highlights: Grasslands and big skies, coastal villages, First Nations, volcanic mountains, Gold Rush Trail, Discovery Coast ferry

tarting in Vancouver, head east to Hope, then north following the Fraser Canyon to Lillooet to visit a local winery, pan for gold, go river rafting, or stroll the town’s Jade Walk for spectacular examples of this steel-hard stone that has such importance to local First Nations. Cowboy country is coming up next, starting with the town of Clinton.

Keen to try out a guest ranch? The options are endless. Some are opulent resorts with swimming pools, hot tubs, a golf course and spa. Others are designed to lift amateur cowhands into the life of a cowboy from the best vantage point possible: the saddle of a horse. Many of these ranches are working spreads, and guests can roll up their sleeves and work up a sweat doing chores, relax and watch the show, or sign on for trail rides through big-sky country, taking in the mountainand-grassland vistas before camping around the fire or tucking into a cozy log cabin. En route, keep an eye out for deer, bears and eagles on the historic Cariboo Wagon Road. Stop at the 108 Mile Heritage site and learn about the gold rush. Carry on to Williams Lake, home of the Williams Lake Stampede, Museum of the Cariboo Chilcotin and some of the finest mountain biking in the province. Quesnel is lake country; camping, fishing and canoeing are all on offer. Detour east to the thriving arts community of Wells, and don’t miss historic Barkerville with its 125 restored historic buildings, two cemeteries and countless artifacts from days gone by. Last but not least, mosey on back to Quesnel for a series of adventures on renowned fishing lakes and rivers. Continue north along this circle route to Hixon for a leisurely walk to Hixon Falls, before heading to Prince George, then west to Prince Rupert and the ferry to Port Hardy on Vancouver Island.

Cariboo Chilcotin Coast Travel & Touring Guide

epart from Port Hardy with a BC Ferries sailing to Bella Coola, perhaps stopping in communities such as Shearwater and Klemtu, traditional home of the Xais’Xais (hay-hace) and Kitasoo (kit-AH-soo). Fish for salmon or seek out a rare, white kermode in the Kitasoo Spirit Bear Conservancy. Travel the celebrated “Freedom Highway” (Hwy. 20) through the Coast Mountains to Tweedsmuir Provincial Park, B.C.’s largest, to explore the volcanic Rainbow Mountains. Outdoor adventures abound: camping, fishing, canoeing, hiking, mountain biking, outstanding river drifts and wildlife viewing. Next up is the town of Tatla Lake, gateway to Chilko Lake, the largest high-elevation freshwater lake on the continent — followed by Alexis Creek. At Riske Creek, detour to Farwell Canyon for hoodoo rock pillars, then on to Junction Sheep Range Provincial Park to photograph bighorn sheep. It’s then east again, to Williams Lake, site of the Williams Lake Stampede and B.C.’s Cowboy Hall of Fame. Got your mountain bike? Local trails include Ridge Bypass, Comer Drop and Missioner Loop, plus Pit Drop and Brake Check for more advanced riders. No bike? Rentals are available, or river raft the Chilcotin, Chilko or Fraser rivers and get that adrenaline flowing. Then drive south on Highway 97 to 100 Mile House and its Barnard Express BX stagecoach, before continuing on to the cowboy town of Clinton. At one of the area’s many guest ranches, go for a trail ride, enjoy home-cooked meals and pamper yourself with a spa experience, or join a working cattle roundup and get some grit in those teeth. Finally, continue south toward Lillooet to explore the many outdoor experiences offered in this area that’s branded “guaranteed rugged,” and then on through to explore the Vancouver, Coast & Mountains region.

PRINCE GEORGE

QUESNEL

McBRIDE

WELLS

Jasper National Park

Bowron Lake Provincial Park

BARKERVILLE VALEMOUNT SODA CREEK WILLIAMS LAKE

Moose Valley Provincial Park

LILLOOET

BLUE

Blue River Black Spruce Provincial Park

Wells RIVER Gray Provincial Park

100 MILE HOUSE CLEARWATER

93 MILE

CLINTON

Mount Robson Provincial Park

Cariboo Mountains Provincial Park

LITTLE FORT

CACHE CREEK ASHCROFT

REVELSTOKE KAMLOOPS

Lakes and Trails Circle Tour

Ranchlands and Rivers Circle Tour

Distance (complete route): 1,500 km (925 mi.)

Distance (complete route): 725 km (450 mi.)

Distance (CCC section): 600 km (375 mi.)

Distance (CCC section): 300 km (180 mi.)

Time (complete route): 7 to 10 days

Time (complete route): 4 to 6 days

Highlights: Rivers, lakes, ranches, Gold Rush Trail, deserts, fishing, water sports

Highlights: Ranches, rivers, deserts, grasslands, Gold Rush country

egin this Lakes and Trails circuit in the City of Kamloops then head west to Cache Creek for a tour of historic Hat Creek Ranch with its restored roadhouse and Shuswap village, complete with pit house (overnight here if you like). Continuing north, Hwy. 97 winds through guest-ranch country, anchored by the cowboy town of Clinton. Head northeast for a genuine cowboy adventure, one that can last anywhere from a few hours to a few weeks — courtesy of a packhorse trail ride into the backcountry, a perfect way to both experience the region’s Wild West culture and take in its big-sky landscape and astounding diversity of wildlife. Beginners can learn to ride a horse; amateur cowhands can muck about on a working ranch or join a cattle drive. Continue on to 100 Mile House, with a detour via Moose Valley Provincial Park’s 12-lake canoe chain. Time it right, and travellers can arrive in Williams Lake for July’s annual Williams Lake Stampede. Missed it? Learn about the local history at the Museum of the Cariboo Chilcotin, home of the Cowboy Hall of Fame. Or get a better understanding of First Nations culture at the Xat’sūll (hats-ull) Heritage Village at Soda Creek, with authentic sweat lodge ceremonies and native storytellers spinning ever-evolving yarns that can reach back thousands of years. Continue north to Quesnel and nearby Cottonwood House Historic Site (just east on Hwy. 26), a preserved roadhouse from the gold rush days. Keeping to Hwy. 26, stop by the artsy village of Wells, then carry on to Barkerville, the biggest live-history recreation in Canada, with a host of interpreters in traditional garb showcasing life in the 1860s. Finally, head west again on Hwy. 26 toward Quesnel for the many outdoor adventures in this area, or carry on toward Prince George and beyond, to trace the remainder of this circle route returning to the gateway of Kamloops.

he gateway to the Cariboo Chilcotin Coast for this tour that begins in Hope is Lillooet, on the banks of the mighty Fraser River. This is true desert country. Take the Jade Walk through town and learn about local traditional First Nations fishing methods. Lillooet is the official start of the “Cariboo Wagon Trail,” and right around here, gold panners once fanned out in search of nuggets.Even today, what you can find, you keep! Drive northeast to Cache Creek and the Hat Creek Ranch to ride an original stagecoach, listen to cowboy poetry and, at the onsite Shuswap Village, experience what life was once like for the region’s indigenous peoples. Camp here in a miner’s hut, a teepee or a kekuli (kik-will-ee) — a First Nations pit house dug out of the ground. The cowboy town of Clinton is next, a community renowned in part for hosting the longest continually running event of its kind in Canada: its Annual Ball, which features westernstyle dancing in true cowboy fashion. This is also guest ranch country. Opt for luxurious resort ranches with swimming pools and spas or stay at a working cattle ranch and help out with the chores — riding, roping and herding. Take a trail ride across a pristine landscape that is home to moose, bears, wolves and beaver. Just up the road a-piece is Hwy. 24, the legendary “Fishing Highway” that accesses more than 100 lakes teeming with rainbow trout, trophy lake trout and kokanee. Backcountry lodges here offer cozy accommodation as well as insider tips on the best fishing spots and how to mine them. At the junction of Hwy. 5, turn north to explore Wells Gray Provincial Park or continue south on the circle tour to visit Sun Peaks, Kamloops and the grasslands of the west Thompson Okanagan. Circle Tours — Tourism BC 1-800-663-5885

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Thomas Drasdauskis

Which trail will you take?

Two Sisters, near Bowron Lake Cariboo Chilcotin Coast Travel & Touring Guide

1-800-663-5885

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Cariboo Chilcotin Coast Travel & Touring Guide

Doug Neasloss/Spirit Bear Lodge

Museum of the Cariboo Chilcotin/Archives

geoffmoore.ca

Museum of the Cariboo Chilcotin/Archives

Brad Kasselman/Coastphoto.com

Museum of the Cariboo Chilcotin/Archives

Doug Neasloss/Spirit Bear Lodge

First Nations

or thousands of years, the Cariboo Chilcotin Coast has been home to several different yet interdependent aboriginal societies. Major groups of the Interior include the Chilcotin (chil-ko-teen), whose traditional territory is the high-altitude Chilcotin (chil-ko-tin) Plateau; the St’at’imc (stat-lee-um), from southwest of the Fraser; the Carrier, who occupied the sub-boreal northern parts of the Cariboo Chilcotin; and the Secwepemc (shi-HUEP-muh-k), whose historical territory lay east of the Fraser River. On the Pacific Coast, the major First Nations groups were the Nuxalk (nu-halk) of the Bella Coola Valley, the Tsimshian (sim-SHE-an) of the outer coast and the Heiltsuk (hel-sic) in the coastal area near Bella Bella. Despite the local First Nations’ centuries-long habitation in the region, little of their history has been recorded and yet they have played a major role in the province’s development. From the 1700s through 1800s, native residents were essential to early explorers and European settlers, providing canoes, food, guides, translators and information. Alexander Mackenzie, for example, would never have successfully completed his historic 1793 trek had indigenous peoples not directed him along the Nuxalk-Carrier Grease Trail through the northern Cariboo to the Pacific shores near Bella Coola. This route was used for centuries by coastal natives trading valuable eulachon oil with the province’s Interior

tribes. The oil, from a small, herring-like fish, was transported in cedar boxes and the trail got its name from the oils that were dropped along the route. Fur Trading and Gold In the early 1800s, fur-trading companies built the first forts in the region in order to trade supplies for natural resources with local bands. But even before these trading posts were built, First Nations in the Interior participated in the fur trade by bartering pelts with natives on the Coast – who, in turn, traded them to Europeans arriving by sea. After the forts were established, local First Nations brought their furs directly to the trading posts to bargain for goods and supplies. By the mid-1800s, with the beginning of the gold rush and European settlement in the region, the fur trade era was coming to an end, and relations between

 

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the two cultures were greatly altered. The native population was devastated by smallpox epidemics and other European diseases, and would soon lose control of much of their traditional lands. Still, there was surprisingly little bloodshed and the few conflicts that occurred were short-lived.

Highlights • Tour an active First Nations archaeological site with a 2,000 year old pit house community including cache pits (root cellars used for storing berries, dried fish, and other small food items). Some pit houses were connected by underground tunnels possibly leading to houses of extended family. Visit the Lillooet Visitor Centre for more information. • Cruise the Fraser by Jet Boat through rapids and past bizarre hoodoo rock formations. En route, First Nation guides share traditional knowledge about medicinal plants and local lore, with explorations of ancient village sites, pictographs, petroglyphs and abandoned mines. • Be awed by the masks of artist Silyas “Art” Saunders, In 1999 he became the first international artist awarded the prestigious Native Artist Fellowship from The National Museum of the American Indian in New York City.

1-800-663-5885

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PRINCE GEORGE

First Nations Peoples

Main highway (paved)

Traditional language groups and territories

Secondary roads

(unpaved) Morice Lake

Ootsa Lake

Railways

St’at’imc

Stoner

Tahtsa

FerryLake routes

Tetachuck Lake Eutsuk Lake

Names in English

Kluskus

Tatla Lake Choelquoit Lake

Namu ini River

Rivers Inlet Dawsons Landing

Rivers Inlet

Chaunigan Lake

Tatlayoko Lake

Tl’etinqox-t’in (Tlay-tin-cox-teen)

Stone

e Riv

Taseko River

Kleena Kleene

Tsi-Del-Del

Chi l co ti

Tatla Lake

Clearwater Lake

Redstone

Chi lko

r Bu

Chilanko Forks

Charlotte Lake

Redstone

Puntzi Lake

Yunesit’in (Yunesit’in)

Nemiah

Xeni’Gwet’in (Huni-ko-teen)

Kli nak l

eC ha nn el

So un d

ba nk eS ou nd

Shearwater

Island

Turner Lakes

Anaham

Chilko Lake

und h So Smit on Cauti

Taseko Lakes

Riske Creek

Sugar Cane T’exelc (Kle-Hull)

Lac la Hache

Canim Lake

Tsq’escen’ (Tses-Ken)

100Mile House

Canoe Creek

Dog Creek

Pavillion

Ts’Kw’aylaxw (Skwylax)

High Bar

Llenlleney’ten (Tlhen-tlhen-ey-ten)

Chasm

Clinton

rlo tte

t In let

St ra

Port McNeill

Johnst one S trait

Going to a Pow Wow? Attending a Pow Wow is an opportunity to share a unique and memorable First Nations experience. Watch for highway signboards and local event postings during your next visit, for upcoming opportunities. These inclusive events are welcoming of all! The positive energy of a Pow Wow rejuvenates and inspires. When attending, please be respectful of this time-honoured spiritual celebration and experience its First Nation ( ) traditions with an open heart and mind. ]

Tips • Listen to the host and follow instructions. • Stand and remove head coverings during the grand entry, flag ceremonies, invocation and closing ceremonies. • Request permission before taking photographs. • Do not make recordings of drumming without the consent of the head singer. • Refer to the dancers’ clothing as regalia; it is not a costume. • Refrain from touching ). the dancers’ regalia. • Do not sit in reserved dancer seating areas. • Do not turn down an invitation to participate, particularly an invitation from an elder. • No alcohol or drugs are permitted at Pow Wows.

Cariboo Chilcotin Coast Travel & Touring Guide

Loon Lake

Hat Creek Ranch

Bonaparte

St’uxwtews

(Shtuck-tous)

Cache Creek

Seton Lake Lillooet

Lillooet

KAMLOOPS Fountain

Tsal’alh (Che-lath)

Cayoose Creek

Xa’xlip (Ha-hlip)

Sekw’el’was T’it’q’et (Teet-qwet) (Sec-wal-was)

Bu t e In let

Little Fort

70 Mile House

Kingcome Inlet

ni gh

Bridge Lake

Stswecem’c (Stweh-kem)

Xgat’tem (Hite-tem)

Xwisten (Kwis-ten)

VANCOUVER19 ISL AND

CARIBOO

Bridge River

Port Hardy

[

Esketemc (Esket)

Clearwater Lake

Horseﬂy

Alkali Lake

Tl’esqox (Toosey)

Cape

Discovery Coast Passage Ferry Route (seasonal)

150 Mile House

Williams Lake

Azure Lake

Horseﬂy Lake

Deep Creek

Cme’temc (Kem-eh)

Hobson Lake

Quesnel Lake

Likely

Xat’sull (Hats-ull)

r ive nR

Stuie

Nimpo Lake

Quesnelle Keithley Creek Forks

lR ive r

Soda Creek

Chezacut

(Ul-catch-oh)

Nimpo Lake

Mitchell Lake

Esdilagh (Es-dil-ah)

Nazko Lakes

Ulkatcho

Anahim Lake

tin

nd Sou ens Que Calvert

Kilometres

Bella Coola

Hagensborg

Nuxalk Be (Nu-Halk) n

Heiltsuk (Hel-sic)

LUXVBALIS CONSERVANCY AREA

Firvale

Bella Coola

Bella Bella

Hunter HAKAIIsland

Ri ver

Price Island

il M

Sound

COAST

Barkerville

Alexandria

CHILCOTIN

A ck

Charlotte

Swindle Island

th Sou

d re Lo

an De n an

Klemtu

Aristazabal Island

Queen

Kimsquit

Lhtako Dene (Lah-taco Dene)

er ko Riv

Princess Royal Island

ne es Qu

Nazko (Naz-ko)

ad Ro Tsacha Lake West

Wells

Quesnel

Nazko Na z

und

Lhoosk’uz Dene (Cloos Cuz Denn)

er Ri v

Bowron Lakes

Fr aser Ri ver

Names in Native language (Pronunciation)

Ri ver

Blac k

t er wa

er N. Th o Ri v m pson

Lake

Communities with tourism products or cultural/ heritage tours

So año Caam

Hixon

Nuxalk-Carrier Grease/ Alexander Mackenzie Heritage Trail

Whitesail Cariboo Chilcotin

Bi g Cr eek

Secwepemc First Nations communities

Campania Island

Riv

Nuxalk

Heiltsuk

Tsilhqot’in

r R i ve r

lo Wil

Dene

Fr a se

a Tob

I nl

Lytton

Merritt

99 1

Several Chilcotin communities were eventually named after local chiefs, including Anahim Lake, Alexis Creek and the Nemiah Valley. Local tribes also became involved in early industries, particularly with ranching in the Chilcotin and southern Cariboo, where their horsemanship and wilderness survival skills were highly prized. Today, many natives continue to work in ranching and are key participants on the local rodeo circuit, including Anahim Lake’s stampede and the Bella Coola, Redstone and Nemiah Valley rodeos. Today’s First Nations Modern-day aboriginal groups also remain highly involved in the region’s fishing, logging and transportation industries and, most recently, tourism. The aboriginal tourism sector in B.C. is the most developed in Canada and considered to have huge growth potential. One such success is the award-winning Xatśūll (hats-ull) Heritage Village just north of Williams Lake, on grassy benchland above the river canyon. Members of the Secwepemc (shi-huep-muh-k), or Shuswap, First Nation share storytelling by village elders, cleansing sweat lodge ceremonies, educational wilderness walks, salmon lunches and overnight accommodation under the stars in pit houses or teepees. Be sure to call ahead with your reservation for Xatśūll experiences. The Heiltsuk Cultural Education Centre at Bella Bella is the place to delve into the research and preservation of the language and culture of the Heiltsuk (hel-sic). They, along with other coastal peoples such as the Kitasoo (kit-ah-soo) and Xai’xais (hay-hace) at the isolated village of Klemtu on Swindle Island, grew rich and powerful on the bounty of the sea. In the

Murtle

Doug Neasloss/Spirit Bear Lodge

First Nations

Thorsen Creek Valley near Bella Coola, ancient petroglyphs honouring the power and mystery of nature are still visible on rock faces near waterfalls and caves, where guided tours are now offered by the Nuxalk (nu-halk). Though a visit is not usually on tourist itineraries, the Acwsalcta grade school is a showcase for indigenous arts, including a magnificent totem pole carved by a teacher and three students. Erected in 2002, it is the first Nuxalk totem pole raised here in 38 years.

sites, pictographs and petroglyphs 8,000 to 10,000 years old, traditional fishing spots and abandoned mining sites. Catch the Nemiah Pow Wow, held annually the last weekend of July, to enjoy a colorful display of regalia and dancing. Join the Xeni Gwet’in (honey ko-teen) at the annual summer elders gathering, where elders and youth come together to teach and learn traditional games, stories, hunting and gathering, and all are welcome.

Those interested in First Nations art also seek out Bella Coola’s Petroglyph Gallery for works by world-famous Silyas “Art” Saunders and his son Skip. Appointments can be booked at the visitor centre to meet with Art in his workshop at the Silyas Gallery, located just east of town. As well, the local Petroglyph Gallery sells prints, paintings, carvings, clothing and other Nuxalk and First Nations artwork and gifts, and visitors can book workshop visits with renowned up-and-coming local carver and hereditary chief Noel Pootlass.

In the Chilcotin, the Nazko lands are known for the work of celebrated Carrier First Nation artists (particularly with leather- and beadwork, watercolours, wood art, stained glass and cross-stitch). In the south, no fewer than 11 different communities make up the St’at’imc Nation (stat-lee-um), whose traditional territories were located in and around the ancient gathering place now known as Lillooet. Here, Xwisten (hoysh-ten) guides offer award-winning experiential tours that include guided walks along the banks of Fraser to view “fishing rocks” and the traditional wind-dried method of preserving salmon still practiced, with explorations of the extensive archaeological site’s 80 pit houses, dating back thousands of years.

Meanwhile, hikers with a historical bent traverse the ancient Nuxalk-Carrier Grease Trail, also known as the Alexander Mackenzie Heritage Trail. Three weeks are required to trace the entire route, but various sections can be accessed for shorter jaunts; the scenic 80km/50mi portion across Tweedsmuir Provincial Park reportedly takes less than a week. (For more detailed info, refer to the In the Steps of Alexander Mackenzie Heritage Trail Guidebook, found at popular bookstores and some visitor centres.) Some 100km/62mi northwest of Bella Coola in the wilds of the Great Bear Rainforest, Kitasoo-Xai’xais (kit-ah-soo-hay-hace) First Nation guides lead multi-day boat and kayak tours of this spectacular and remote area complete with lodge accommodations. In a vastly different landscape to the east, near Williams Lake, jet boats travel where roads can’t go: through rapids and past bizarre hoodoo rock formations as aboriginal guides share ancient knowledge about medicinal plants, flora and fauna and local lore during explorations of ancient village

The neighbouring Cayoose Creek Band offers interpretive walks of the Lower Seton spawning channel, while just five minutes from downtown, Lillooet is the site of a traditional s7istken (shesh-ken), or pit house, built by the T’it’q’et (teetqwet). Built from earth and timber, such structures usually housed up to 20 people and featured two entrances: one on ground level, one in the roof (which also released smoke from cooking fires). Also not to be missed is the Seton Lake Band’s Kaoham Shuttle: a travelling window into the past and a convenient way to view local wildlife, including bear, deer and bighorn sheep. The train is available on Friday, with a scheduled double run, as it skirts the shores of Seton Lake past numerous historical sites, including a First Nations cemetery balanced precariously between the tracks and crystalline shores of the lake. ◆ 1-800-663-5885

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Cariboo Chilcotin Coast Travel & Touring Guide

Museum of the Cariboo Chilcotin/Archives

geoffmoore.ca Thomas Drasdauskis

CCCTA

Thomas Drasdauskis

Cariboo Gold Rush

old fever spread like an uncontrolled epidemic when, on August 17, 1862, prospector Billy Barker found a major gold deposit at Williams Creek in the northern Cariboo. News of the strike soon brought excited hordes of fortune seekers into this remote wilderness from across Canada, the U.S. and overseas. The wood-planked town of Barkerville sprang up almost overnight near the creek, joining Richfield and Camerontown, two short-lived boom towns where mining crews toiled round the clock to haul golden ore from the earth. By 1865, a wagon road connected the southern regions with the goldfields, and Barkerville’s population had reached 10,000, one of the largest settlements in western Canada, and at the time, considered to be the largest community west of Chicago and north of San Francisco! Many of the region’s early miners were Chinese immigrants, who worked white prospectors’ abandoned mines and tailings by washing sand and gravel from rocks that were then neatly piled on the Fraser River’s shores. (These “Chinese rocks” are still visible today.) By the mid-1860s, thousands of Chinese lived in Barkerville and several other gold rush towns, including Stanley, Van Winkle, Quesnel, Antler, Quesnelle Forks and Lillooet, where Chinese miners took millions out of Cayoosh Creek. Mining was not these immigrants’ only labour, though; they also operated stores, laundries and lodging houses

and worked as cooks. Though only a handful of prospectors struck it rich, the Cariboo Gold Rush completely changed the face of B.C. Roads and bridges were built, stores and mills opened and ranches founded. In the 1930s in the Chilcotin Mountains, another gold rush followed and the Bralorne-Pioneer Mine near Gold Bridge became the richest gold claim in Canada. The Bralorne and other mines sites in the region can still be visited today. Travellers can easily retrace the route once journeyed only by mule trains, oxen carts and stagecoaches from Lillooet to Barkerville. The historic “Gold Rush Trail” has many places along its route to stop, explore, and to get a feel of what it was like back then. Many of today’s communities along this route have historical connections to the gold rush era. Some began as roadhouses where stagecoaches stopped, travellers could overnight and horse teams would feed and water. One of the era’s last surviving stagecoaches is in 100 Mile House outside the Red Coach Inn. Clinton’s museum, a red-brick building, once served as a schoolhouse and then later as a courthouse. At the 108 Mile Ranch Historic Site, pioneer buildings include a 1908 log barn which was built to house a herd of 200 Clydesdale horses. In the northern Cariboo, the former gold-rush supply centre of Quesnel hosts Billy Barker Days, a four-day festival commemorating the region’s most famous gold seeker. At the Gold Trail’s end is the restored heritage town

of Barkerville, where guided tours bring the lore of the gold rush to life. Period interpreters roam the streets dressed as historical characters; Judge Matthew Begbie (known in his time as the “hanging judge”) hands out frontier justice; visitors pan for gold; and roar at the antics in the Theatre Royal’s live musicals. And, with 2012 marking the 150th Anniversary of the Gold Rush Trail and its famous terminus in Barkerville, there has never been a better time to visit this place of national heritage and importance, as there are plenty of special family-friendly activities and events planned from May through September. ◆

Highlights • With the current price of gold on world markets, panning in streams and rivers in this great region could make for a most “precious” vacation! Pick up a copy of the Guidelines and Regulations for Recreational Gold Panning in British Columbia at one of the Cariboo’s visitor centres. • Explore Barkerville’s Lee Chong Company Store & Chinese Museum, housing a collection of artifacts illustrating the important role of the Chinese in the development of British Columbia.

1-800-663-5885

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Cariboo Chilcotin Coast Travel & Touring Guide

Museum of the Cariboo Chilcotin/Archives

David Jacobson

geoffmoore.ca

Museum of the Cariboo Chilcotin/Archives

Cowboys & Railroads

o you thought that being a cowboy was just about riding and roping, did you? Well, it’s a lot more complex than that. B.C.’s cowboys are said to combine a Mexican vaquero’s skills, equipment and clothes; a U.S. frontiersman’s grit and resourcefulness; a First Nations’ respect for nature; and a British gentry’s sense of manners, law and order - all topped off with the cowboys’ unique brand of humour. The description may sound more like that of a mythical figure than real-life flesh and blood, but there is no doubt that the cowboy, as a romantic icon, is deeply entangled in the local history and culture. When the first white settlers swept across the region in the 1860s, cowboys worked as “drovers,” driving herds of cattle north from the U.S. to supply hungry miners in the goldfields around Barkerville. Some of these hardy souls quickly realized it made more sense to raise cattle closer to market and stayed on to establish great, sprawling ranches on the grassy rangelands near the Fraser River. More than one third of the province’s 800,000 beef cattle are still raised in the area today. Many will be surprised to learn that virtually all of the drovers and cowboys in these frontier days were First Nation, many of whom were related to Caucasian ranchers through marriage. The natives were superb horsemen and knew the territory better than any outsider. Because at the time both

ranchers and natives spoke Chinook, the trade language perfected during fur-trade times, communication was not an issue. In fact, in B.C. more than any other ranching area in North America, natives were treated as equals and key partners in the cattle industry. In fact, the same holds true today, especially in the Chilcotin. Though ranchers struggled in the years after the gold rush, the industry was reborn when railway tracks were finally laid here in 1919. Owners of Cariboo and Chilcotin ranches now had easier access to more heavily populated southern markets and were encouraged enough to enlarge their herds. Communities such as Williams Lake, then a sleepy backwater, suddenly boomed when the Pacific Great Eastern Railway (now CN Rail) established a local station. Seemingly overnight the town became a central shipping point with stockyards that could hold up to 2,400 head of cattle at a time. Williams Lake remained the end of the line until the railway pushed north to Quesnel in 1921. It would be more than 30 years before the line reached Prince George in 1952. Today, ranching still thrives in the Cariboo Chilcotin. But it is a tough business, and the cowboys who work these ranches, like their frontier descendants, are a hardy breed wearing a mantle of freedom and independence barely diminished over time. That aura of romance has only grown in recent years with the increasing popularity of

cowboy poetry and music, art forms showcased at festivals organized by B.C.’s Cowboy Heritage Society. The rich cowboy heritage and lifestyle of the Chilcotin, where the local economy is still heavily reliant on ranching, is also celebrated in several books, including those of local cowboy Rich Hobson, whose accounts of his early ranching days inspired the CBC TV series Nothing Too Good for a Cowboy. As for what is thought to be the first formal rodeo in B.C., it was an impromptu event staged in Williams Lake by local cowboys showcasing their horsemanship to celebrate the construction of the railroad in 1919. Today, the Williams Lake Stampede, which attracts professional competitors from throughout Western Canada, the U.S.A., and some as far away as Australia, is the cornerstone of the region’s thriving rodeo and festival circuit. ◆

Highlights • Visit the “BC Cowboy Hall of Fame” at Williams Lakes’ Museum of the Cariboo Chilcotin. • All Aboard! Take in breathtaking rail scenery on the Rainforest to Gold Rush route. Travel in luxury between Whistler and Jasper, enjoying stunning views of coastal rainforests, desert landscapes, ranchlands, and spectacular Mount Robson, with an overnight in Quesnel.

1-800-663-5885

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Cariboo Chilcotin Coast Travel & Touring Guide

geoffmoore.ca

Museum of the Cariboo Chilcotin/Archives

Pioneer Log Homes

Museum of the Cariboo Chilcotin/Archives

Forestry & Mining

here do movie stars, politicians and Internet moguls go for log homes built to their personal specs? The same place as 2010’s Winter Olympics podium builders - the Cariboo Chilcotin Coast. Our resource extraction companies are leaders in innovation and the implementation of sustainable, environmentally responsible practices.

Today, abundant high-grade spruce, pine and fir products make the region one of the largest lumber-producing areas in Canada, and though the more recent pine beetle infestation has had a significant impact, imaginative ways have been developed to use the resulting “blue pine.”

The local commercial logging industry began in earnest in the 1860s, with sawmills needed to produce lumber for gold-rush boomtowns. On the coast, however, one could argue that forestry has been around much longer, for this is where B.C.’s First Nations developed a system for peeling planks from giant, still-standing cedar trees to construct their “longhouses.” Examples of these “culturally modified trees” can be seen around Klemtu and Bella Coola.

With the discovery of gold in the Cariboo in the mid-1800s, it was mining that started the rush to the Cariboo Chilcotin Coast. Modern-day prospectors still live the dream panning for nuggets in creeks and streams throughout the region. Gold Bridge, near Lillooet, is a longstanding favourite with the amateur pan-and-swish crowd. Numerous regional museums also offer fascinating ways to relive the storied past of both local mining and forestry, with excellent archives illustrating the pioneering spirit of those early days.

Value added industries like the successful log home building industry create long-term employment and a stable economy. Their innovative and stunning homes are in demand on every continent. Products from the many log home builders in the region, such as Pioneer Log Homes (featured twice on TV’s Extreme Makeover: Home Edition and seen on HGTV), dot the globe. In fact, the largest “complete log structure building” in the world (at $28 million and 114,000sq. ft), built by Pioneer, now sits in Colorado, bought by a publishing and Internet multi-millionaire.

The modern-day narrative for mining is far from over, though. Some of the world’s largest open-pit operations, including the Gibraltar copper mine at McLeese Lake, are found here. The Mount Polly gold mine near Likely still has an estimated one million ounces of gold to be extracted, albeit with methods more sophisticated than Billy Barker’s 150 years ago. Recently, more gold has been unearthed in the Camelsfoot Range of the Chilcotin Mountains, and numerous gold placer-mining claims are located along the Fraser River and throughout much of the Cariboo Chilcotin.

When it comes to sustainable forestry practices, the region boasts the largest biomass power plant in North America. Each year the Williams Lake Power Plant consumes more than 544,310 tonnes of wood waste from local sawmills, generating 67 megawatts of electricity. Throughout the region, visitors can also tour working mines and forestry operations (Check with local chambers of commerce and visitor information centres for updated lists of what will be open and when.) Avid rock hounds in search of jade, and other semi-precious stones, are attracted to the South Cariboo and specifically Lillooet, home to the first jade mines in B.C. And for a touch of what gold panning was like during the gold rush, try your luck at Barkerville where gold panning adventure tours are popular. ◆

Highlights • Hike historic mining trails and explore forest service roads around Likely, where the old Bullion Pit Mine is today an astonishing manmade 3km/1.5mi long and 120m/ 394ft deep canyon. • Catch a horse-logging demo near Tyaughton Lake; a fun opportunity to learn how to bridle and handle a massive draft horse, while seeing what they can do in a working environment.

1-800-663-5885

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Ready to quench yourÂ thirst for adventure?

Justin Bailie/Tandem

Forget tomorrow . . . whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s next?

Chilko River Cariboo Chilcotin Coast Travel & Touring Guide

1-800-663-5885

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Highlights

geoffmoore.ca

• The Williams Lake Artwalk is a very popular annual event held early August to early September. Local area artists showcase all mediums of artistic expression in various stores and businesses, while random music and theatrical busker’s entertain along your walk in the downtown core. Be warned: most art offerings are for sale and you won’t want to leave town without one!

Thomas Drasdauskis

Gold Country Communities Society

Amy Thacker

geoffmoore.ca

• Quesnel’s Where the Rivers Meet Country Bluegrass Jamboree and Bella Coola’s Discovery Coast Music Festival boast diverse musical rosters. 108 Mile’s South Cariboo Square Dance Jamboree and ArtsWells are immensely popular family events.

Cariboo Chilcotin Coast Travel & Touring Guide

romerobanjos.com

Arts & Culture

he arts and culture of this vast territory is both unique and universal “It is a land of striking contrasts…a land that drew me like a magnet into its soul.” So goes rancher Richmond P. Hobson’s take on the Chilcotin described in his classic book Grass Beyond the Mountains. First Nations compositions have been sung and danced around local campfires for thousands of years, and many others have followed suit. In the visual arts, the Group of Seven’s A.Y. Jackson toured the region in 1914 then returned in the 1940s to produce works now displayed in galleries worldwide. In 1909, artist Emily Carr was equally infatuated by the landscape. “I can never love the Cariboo enough for all she gave me,” she later wrote. “Mounted on a cowpony I roamed the land, not knowing where I went - to be alive, going, that was enough.” Experiencing this region from an artist’s perspective is just as rewarding, and easy to do. Many of the region’s galleries showcase modern and folk-inspired works alongside culturally inspired creations by First Nations artists. Petroglyphs (ancient rock carvings) can be photographed at places such as Thorsen Creek Valley, outside Bella Coola, Bull Canyon just west of Williams Lake and at Xatśūll in the Cariboo. Sometimes art galleries themselves are on display. The Station House Gallery in Williams Lake is a restored 1920s railway station showcasing pottery

and weaving, among other visual arts. Several artisan groups are now housed in a decommissioned fire hall; now the new Cariboo Arts Centre. Williams Lake also hosts its annual Artwalk, August to early September. Wells is a renowned artist retreat with galleries set amid heritage buildings and has a celebrated art school where vacationers can enroll in folk-art and music classes. The Sunset Theatre offers an array of professional theatre, music, film and retreats and itself has a remarkable story. Built originally in 1934, the Sunset Theatre showed movies, held town hall meetings and dances, and was once used as a morgue during the 1950s. The current owners, who purchased the building in the late 1990s, are restoring the theatre to its original glory. There are workshops with nationally recognized artists at Quesnel’s ARTrium, and in Wells during the popular Artswells Festival of All Things Art in late July. Barkerville’s Theatre Royal features costumed interpreters so convincing one might have stepped into the 1880s. Near Quesnel, the talented Kersley Players produce locally written plays, while the Williams Lake Studio Theatre Society has staged four-production seasons for more than 50 years. Horsefly’s Arts on the Fly presents music, dance, food and fun in equal measure, while Clinton’s War is a weeklong costume pageant dedicated to re-creating the Middle Ages “as they ought to have been.”

The Cariboo is also the home of “Camel” Dave Howell, who honed his poetry skills amusing fellow ranch hands around the campfire. He now performs at festivals throughout the West as does Frank Gleeson, the “Fastest Cowboy Poet of the West” and official cowboy poet of Williams Lake. Cowboy music events are held year-round. ◆

WELLS:

more than just a pretty façade

Arts, History & Adventure in the Cariboo Goldfields 1-877-451-9355 www.wellsbc.com

1-800-663-5885

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Cariboo Chilcotin Coast Travel & Touring Guide

geoffmoore.ca

Miriam Schilling

Greg Thomas

Albert Normandin/Tourism BC

Ranches & Rodeos

o you want to be a cowboy, do you? Well, in B.C.’s land without limits, from Cache Creek in the south, to north of Quesnel, and the wilderness of the Chilcotin to the west, you’ll find an adventure land of rodeos, rustic guest ranches and resort-style luxury. We have ranches and lodges ready to help you practice cowboy life in whatever fashion you choose. Bunk down in an old-fashioned log cabin, or listen to cowboy tales around a roaring campfire. Relax with a massage after a strenuous day’s ride, or visit a rodeo and marvel at the skills and courage of both riders and animals. The Cariboo Chilcotin Coast is home to the province’s highest concentration of guest and dude ranches. Some have gourmet restaurants, swimming pools, hot tubs and full service spas. Gratify your inner cowboy by riding

the Tchaikazan-Yohetta Valley Loop or the Chilcotin’s Potato Range, camping at a secluded trailside lake to reel in a fat trout for the supper fry pan. Take a 14-day expedition into the mountains of the Itcha Ilgachuz Provincial Park, where an archaeological site of particular importance to the Carrier people, has been identified near one of the obsidian quarries. Sign up for a cattle drive, guiding herds from winter feedlots to summer pasture in spring, or back again in the fall. Or, aspiring cowhands bunk at genuine working ranches - riding and roping, branding and herding. No matter the option, ranch hands here are experts at matching horses to riders of all abilities, from family friendly, low-impact trail rides through aspen and Jack pine forest to hours-in-the-saddle treks to hoodoo pinnacles with vistas stretching as far

as the eye can see. It’s the stuff cowboy dreams are made of - poetry and music around the fire, sleeping under the stars in a snug bedroll, waking at dawn to the howl of a distant coyote and the aroma of bacon crisping over an open flame.

“The first time, it’s a vacation. After that, it’s coming home.”

Junction of Highways 97 & 99, 11 km north of Cache Creek Step back in time to the 1860s Gold Rush! • Historic Roadhouse Tours • Native Interpretation Site • Stagecoach Rides • Gold Panning • Archery • Guided Trail Rides • Licensed Restaurant • Gift Store • Scenic RV and Tent Sites; cozy cabins, kekuli and teepees

Open daily May through September

Tel. 1-800-782-0922 www.hatcreekranch.com

Just 4 hours north of Vancouver 1-800-553-3533 www.sundanceguestranch.com saddleup@sundanceguestranch.com 1-800-663-5885

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Highlights • Dust off the cowboy hat and boots and kick back at one of several rodeos held throughout this great region. Enjoy all the standard rodeo events, as well as unique events such as the Grand Finale Bullarama at the Bella Coola Rodeo, Wild Cow Milking at the Williams Lake Stampede, or the awesome Mountain Race at the Nemiah Valley Rodeo. • Experience working-ranch life on an action packed multi-day getaway offered by several area operators. Learn to rope, pack a horse, herd cattle and then be ready for the camp cook-offs! • Plan your own Photography Safari. This region offers up stunning scenery at every turn! The diversity of changing landscapes, wildlife, flora and fauna, and adventure experiences will provide you with a menagerie of photo opportunities.

David Jacobson

• Search for wild horses genetically linked to the Spanish mustang. Home base: the Elegesi Qiyus (ah-legacy cayuse) Wild Horse Preserve, a 155,000hec/383,012ac ecosystem of lodgepole-pine forest with a multitude of lakes and streams in the remote western Chilcotin.

Cariboo Chilcotin Coast Travel & Touring Guide

Echo Valley Ranch & Spa

Ranches & Rodeos

Rodeos focus on the art, grace and all-round toughness of cowhands. July’s Williams Lake Stampede is one such showcase event, featuring bull riding and calf roping, steer wrestling and barrel racing. Major rodeos are also staged in Bella Coola, Anahim Lake, Clinton and Quesnel, the latter complemented by the city’s Billy Barker Days, when townsfolk parade about in their finest 1800s garb amidst many festivities.

Spring Lake Ranch

A beautiful and affordable guest ranch near 100 Mile House. Log cabins, scenic trail rides for beginners and the more experienced. 10,000 aces of range surrounding a private lake. Open year round. 15 km from HWY 97 at 111 Mile. 5770 Spring Lake Rd. 1-877-791-5776 or 250-791-5776 info@springlakeranchcom www.springlakeranch.ca Close to nature. Far from crowds.

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Spring Lake ranch

Meanwhile, children are the stars of the region’s Little Britches Rodeo in the 100 Mile House area in May (featuring mutton busting, goat tying and dummy roping). Clinton’s May extravaganza features a Western Heritage Week, with poetry readings and musical performances. The remote Nemiah Valley August rodeo marquee attraction is its Mountain Race, a breakneck dash down a mountain on horseback to the rodeo grounds. It isn’t often that the fun ends when the sun goes down, either. Rodeo dances are common throughout the region, featuring traditional music and those famous cowboy manners. ◆

A beautiful and affordable guest ranch near 100 Mile House. Log cabins, scenic trail rides for beginners and the more experienced.

Steve Harkies/CCCTA

10,000 aces of range surrounding a private lake. Open year round. 15 km from HWY 97 at 111 Mile. 5770 Spring Lake Rd. 1-877-791-5776 or 250-791-5776 info@springlakeranchcom www.springlakeranch.ca

Close to nature. Far from crowds. 1-800-663-5885

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Cariboo Chilcotin Coast Travel & Touring Guide

John Wellburn

geoffmoore.ca

David Jacobson

Jerry Sucharyna

John Wellburn / Rider: Cory Brunelle

Mitch Cheek

Biking & Hiking

his land without limits is arguably the mountain biking capital of Canada, with virtually unlimited recreational riding for both adventure and leisure bikers. With hoodoos, rugged canyons, logging roads, single-track ridges, spectacular steeps, ramps and big air, the mountain bike trails of our Land Without Limits offer a distinctly different riding experience. Bike magazine has called Williams Lake “the Shangri-La of mountain biking” in North America. The 200-plus tracks around Williams Lake and at nearby De Sous Mountain (with its beginner and intermediate runs) provide the choice of technical loops or just spending hours exploring the many easy riding trails. Boitanio Bike Park, covering over 4hec/10ac, is the largest of its kind in the interior of B.C. It has 6 major jump lines, pump track, drop zone, flow trails and log work right in the centre of the city. Elsewhere you can spend a summer and never set a wheel in the same place twice. Quesnel biking buffs call the local “Pins” route a “flowy” ride, with spectacular views of Baker Creek and the hoodoos littering the valley floor. And the new Quesnel Adventure Skills Bike Park has a freestyle section, pump track, a kid’s area and features to challenge young and novice riders, as well as, experienced and highly skilled riders. Originally spearheaded by the Goldrush Cycling Club, the $130,000 facility with its 9,449m²/101,708ft² of terrain soon

had monetary and in-kind support from the entire community, reflecting the collective vitality of the area. In the Coast region, the Snooka Trail System sports leisurely riding through second growth, with spectacular alpine views the reward for reaching the network’s Purgatory Lookout. The trail system is a series of trails between Bella Coola and Hagensborg with each trail providing different levels of difficulty and variations in wilderness scenery. The East Loop Trail is an easy grade circle route covering 5.5km/3mi with only a 50m/164ft elevation gain while the West Trail is the hardest of the three routes with an elevation gain of 500m/1640ft on its over 3.8km/2.4mi one-way trek. The trails connect to another wilderness route that leads deeper into the backcountry of Bella Coola. The Chilcotin’s Spruce Lake has epic grassland riding through alpine and subalpine meadows, skirting freshwater lakes. The classic 26km/16mi single-track Gun Creek Route from the Tyax area gains elevation through a conifer forest mixed with aspen and cottonwood. Also popular are the South Tyaughton Lake’s 28km/17mi Taylor-Pearson loop; and the 44km/27mi, High Trail Loop into wide-open Windy Pass. Adventurous backcountry mountain-bikers can opt for float plane and helicopter entries or packhorse-assisted tours with guides. In and around 100 Mile House there are hundreds of kilometres of marked and

Highlights • Bike or Hike: get dropped off by float plane on Warner Lake for 40km /25mi of rolling downhill singletrack to Tyaughton Lake. Total elevation drop is a whopping 1,200m /3,937ft! • Ice Climbers come from far and wide for an awesome climbing experience in Marble Canyon, with relatively easy access between Lillooet and Cache Creek. • Race for fun – or charity – with September’s Tour de Cariboo, a stamina-testing pedal from Williams Lake to Gavin Lake; May’s Barkerville Rush Relay; June’s Pedal by the Puddle in Williams Lake, and September’s legendary 7 Summits Hike & Bike Challenge in Wells. • Plan a waterfall hiking tour in the South Cariboo, where several beautiful waterfalls can be accessed via relatively easy trails. Visit the 100 Mile House Visitor Centre for more details. • Hiking and walking tours on the trail network in the Bella Coola Valley are a great way to exercise while enjoying the magnificent coastal rainforest.

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Michael Wigle

Snooka Lakes near Bella Coola Cariboo Chilcotin Coast Travel & Touring Guide

Biking & Hiking

As for hiking, there’s more to it in our world than just taking a long walk. The Mount Agnes Trail network outside Barkerville follows the original “Cariboo Waggon Trail” to wildflower-strewn alpine meadows below Summit Rock. Amateur geologists use their topographic quadrangle maps (topos) in the Marble Range near Clinton, an area notable for limestone karsts, wooded groves and alpine ridges. History buffs who have the time and a high fitness level can stroll the historic 420km/261mi Nuxalk-Carrier Grease/Alexander Mackenzie Heritage Trail in Tweedsmuir Provincial Park with its suggested hiking time of 25-30 days. In the Cariboo, the 9.2km/5.7mi Sepa Lakes Trail near 108 Mile Ranch meanders past bays and lagoons filled with waterfowl. Canim Lake offers not one but three majestic and photogenic falls. Williams Lakes’ family-friendly hikes and walks can be explored along the popular River Valley Trail, while the same can be said about the Quesnel Riverfront Trail. Whale Lake boasts good fishing at the end of a 4km/2.5mi hiking trail and in the Chilcotin the 12km/7.5mi Tchaikazan-Yohetta Trail connects the Tchaikazan and Yohetta valleys via Spectrum Pass and pictureperfect Dorothy Lake.

sweat” (5.6) to “sweat and nothing but” (5.11+). Bella Coola boasts such multi-pitch soon-to-be-classics as the nine-pitch Airport Wall (5.9-10+). Heli-assisted hikes and climbs are also available and can be arranged by many operators. Mountaineers come from around the world to tackle the 3,000m/9842ft-plus peaks of the Coast Range, including 4,016m/13,176ft Mount Waddington, B.C.’s highest. Those who enjoy a little ice with their climb find frozen falls at Marble Canyon Provincial Park, 40km/25mi northwest of Cache Creek, where popular routes include Car Wrecker Gully, The Diehedral and spectacular five-pitch Tokkum Pole. Lillooet has a variety of scenic hiking trails suitable for all levels of fitness, many of which have historic significance, such as along the banks of the Fraser River, where in the mid-1800s Chinese miners processed millions of dollars in gold. And those with more challenging ambitions might try ice climbing along the nearby D’Arcy-Anderson Lake Road that stretches 33km/21mi along the west side of Anderson Lake from Seton Portage. ◆

Karl-Hans Kern

Climbers weary of the lineups at urban-area crags are quickly discovering the untrammelled local mountaineering scene. Three hot spots include Williams Lake, where the Esler Bluffs alone boast 44 routes. Hunlen Falls is generating enormous excitement with the rope-and-rack set heart-pumping routes, bouldering, single-pitch climbs ranging in difficulty from “no

Brad McGuire

unmarked backcountry trails criss-crossing the vast plateau. Trails are accessible from the 100 Mile House townsite itself, and from 108 Mile Ranch. The trails from Cedar Park in town take you up the old ski hill and with plenty of old roads and tracks in the area you have easy access onto the trails in the nearby rolling hills. From the cross-country ski trails south of town you can stay on the trails or venture off onto single track for more fun riding.

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Cariboo Chilcotin Coast Travel & Touring Guide

geoffmoore.ca

Karl-Hans Kern geoffmoore.ca

Westwind Tugboat Adventures

Mike Hawkridge

geoffmoore.ca

Fishing & Hunting

big place with big water, big mountains and big grasslands, it’s no surprise that this land without limits has big game and big fish. Fishing and hunting are more than casual experiences here. It’s a way of life, part of our culture and something that many enjoy sharing with others. Imagine fishing at a new spot along the ocean coast or on an interior lake every day for the rest of your life. Or, during hunting seasons, trekking into the wilderness with the aid of experienced guides to bag California bighorn sheep, mountain goat, mule deer, moose, black bear, cougar, lynx, bobcat, wolf or coyote. In the Cariboo Chilcotin Coast sound fishing and hunting practices are designed to produce results for hunters and fishers alike. This is a place where certified guides and outfitters are as knowledgeable about wildlife habitats and conservation as they are about big-game tracking and bear-attack prevention. The local First Nations have an intimate relationship with the landscape and its wildlife. Native wilderness skills and knowledge of local species and habitat are based on a unique understanding of the complexities of the natural world and represent a special opportunity for visitors to experience the region and its wildlife in new and profound ways. To maximize both hunting and wildlife viewing opportunities in the Cariboo Chilcotin Coast, visitors often access

the services of the region’s experienced, highly knowledgeable guides and outfitters, who subscribe to the highest environmental and wildlife conservation standards. Throughout the region, services and accommodations range from full-service, luxury four-season lodges with all the amenities to roughand-ready backcountry camps catering to outdoor adventurers yearning for a genuine B.C. wilderness hunting and fishing experience. Big Fish Fishing is not just a pastime here, it’s a passion. The Cariboo Chilcotin Coast boasts more than 8,000 lakes and 17,000km/10,563mi of rivers and streams famous for rod-bending rainbow trout, cunning cutthroat and steel-hearted steelhead. The nutrientrich waters of the rugged Pacific coast yield succulent salmon, enormous halibut and buckets of fresh-and-lively Dungeness crab. Whether travelling on self-guided adventures or in the company of experienced guides; while staying at a remote resort or a boutique property or a luxury offshore ocean floating camp, travellers can be a few minutes away from exceptional waters. The Cariboo’s unlimited expanse of glacier-fed rivers and lakes includes a stretch of “road” from Little Fort (at the eastern border of the Cariboo on the Yellowhead Hwy 5) to 93 Mile House at the western terminus of Hwy. 24, a “road” enthusiastically referred to in angling

Highlights • Plan a fly-in or horse-pack hunting trip. The Chilcotin offers outstanding fishing and hunting opportunities that can be explored on your own, or perhaps best experienced in the company of seasoned local guides and outfitters. • Fish for all species of salmon, huge halibut, giant prawns and more on the Central Coast, widely considered by seasoned anglers as the best saltwater fishing found anywhere in the world! Lodges in this area offer an abundance of fish in un-crowded waters - the experience of a lifetime! • The Cariboo and Chilcotin are known for their healthy populations of mule deer, moose and bear. Whatever the needs of the outdoor adventurer, skilled and experienced outfitters provide a host of backcountry adventure options to suit your needs. • Trout fishing is amazing late August and September throughout this vast region, while autumn’s spectacular salmon migration in streams and rivers is also a sight to behold.

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Houston

Blac

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Big Creek

JUNCTION SHEEP RANGE PARK

CHURN CREEK PROTECTED AREA

BIG CREEK

Lakes

House

Dog Creek FLAT LAKE Gang PROVINCIAL PARK Ranch Jesmond

ge River

Sheridan Lake Nolan Lake

70 Mile House Chasm Loon

Clinton

EDGE HILLS PROV. PARK

Pavilion

Carpenter Lake

Gold Bridge Bralorne Seton Portage

Cache Creek

son

Lytton

Whistler

Fish Finder

Coast

Chilcotin

Cariboo

Use this map and legend to build your own premium fishing adventure. Primary fishery

Primary water type

Primary techniques

Seasons

Technique by season

Salmon & bottom fish

Salt Water

Gear

Spring

Spring & fall wet fly

Rainbow trout

Still water

Flyfishing

Summer

Summer/ dry fly

Lake trout & kokanee

Rivers

Fall

Winter/ ice fishing

circles as “The Fishing Highway”. Spring-fed Sheridan Lake is stocked annually and is famous for its super-sized rainbow trout up to 9kg/20lb. Almost next door is Bridge Lake, with numerous bays and islands and crystal-clear waters teeming with rainbow and lake trout (char), kokanee and burbot. With 100-plus lakes typically within an hour’s drive of one another, this really is a fishers’ paradise.

In the Chilcotin, Charlotte Lake (at the foothills of the Coast Mountains) is renowned for its trophy-sized rainbow trout. Fly fishing is king at nearby Nimpo Lake, charter air services here offer many fly-in options to neighbouring lodges and fishing camps. Then there’s the legendary Blackwater River, renowned for its gentle, canoe-friendly grade and numerous insect hatches feeding prolific populations of trout, whitefish and squawfish. Rainbow trout and Dolly Varden churn up the cerulean-blue waters of the Chilko River where it leads into massive Chilko Lake, as pretty as it is productive. Locals 86

Cariboo Chilcotin Coast Travel & Touring Guide

geoffmoore.ca

Fly fishing enthusiasts, meanwhile, congregate on the Horsefly River, nursery for three-quarters of the rainbow trout found in nearby Quesnel Lake. In the fall its waters nearly boil with millions of sockeye and chinook salmon en route to their spawning grounds. Near Quesnel, cattails and bulrushes line the banks of jewel-like Dragon Lake, filled with trophy trout.

Kamloops Lake

KAMLOOPS

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Lillooet Lake

Lake

Lillooet Lillooet

Bridge Lake

CHASM PROVINCIAL PARK

MARBLE RANGE PROV. PARK

Big Bar

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SOUTH CHILCOTIN MOUNTAIN PARK

TAWEEL

PROVINCIAL Deka PARK Lake Bridge Lake 24

Green Lake

Big Bar Lake

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Greeny Lake

Springhouse

WELLS GRAY PROVINCIAL PARK

Mahood Lake Canim Lake

Merritt

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NUNSTI PROVINCIAL PARK

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Clearwater Lake

CARIBOO Timothy Lake

Hanceville (Lee’s Corner) Riske Creek tin River

Azure Lake

Horsefly Lake Horsefly Black Creek

BIRKENHEAD LAKE PROVINCIAL PARK

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Lake

Chaunigan Tatlayoko Lake Lake Nemiah Valley

Choelquoit Lake Horn

Tatla Lake

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Johnst one St

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Str a

McLeese Lake Tyee Lake Big Lake Xat’sull (Soda Creek)

Till Lake McIntyre Lake

Alexis Creek Raven Lake

Chilanko Forks

Hobson Lake

Keithley Creek Ingram Quesnel Hen Lake Lake Likely

Williams Dugan Lake Lake

tte

Fir Lake

NAZKO LAKE PARK

Lake

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Quesnelle

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Marguerite

Bootjack Lake

Owen Lake

PROVINCIAL CH PARK ILC OT Chilko Taseko I N

Kingcome Inlet

Mitchell Lake

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Fraser

Tzenaicut Lake

TE AU

TS’YL-OS PROVINCIAL PARK

CARIBOO MTNS. PROVINCIAL PARK

Barkerville

150 Mile House

Marmot Lake

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WEST TWIN PROVINCIAL PARK & PROTECTED AREA

Dragon Lake

Redstone

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Wells Ten Mile Lake

R ko

Discovery Coast Passage Ferry Route (seasonal)

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Inlet

River

Kilometres

Calvert Dawsons Island Landing Rivers

UPPER KLINAKLINI PROTECTED AREA

BOWRON LAKE PROVINCIAL PARK

Bowron Lakes

Chezacut

Tatla Lake

Bluff Lake

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Rivers Inlet

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LUXVBALIS CONSERVANCY AREA

CHILCOTIN

Kleena Kleene Sapeye Lake

Hixon

Quesnel

Puntzi Lake

Clearwater Lake

Hunter HAKAI Island

KLUSKOIL LAKE PROVINCIAL PARK

Nimpo Lake

Charlotte Lake

Arm

Denny K Island Campbell Island Shearwater

Sound

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Batnuni Lake

Anahim Lake

Firvale

Bella Coola

Charlotte

Ocean Falls Waglisla (Bella Bella)

ITCHA ILGACHUZ PROVINCIAL PARK

FRASER RIVER PROVINCIAL PARK

er ilako Riv

Nazko Lakes

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Price Island

SIR ALEXANDER MACKENZIE PROVINCIAL MARINE PARK

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COAST

TWEEDSMUIR PROVINCIAL PARK

Klemtu

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Hanham Boat Lake Lake

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Swindle Island

FIORDLAND RECREATION AREA

Tatuk Lake

Nuxalk-Carrier Grease/ Alexander Mackenzie Heritage Trail

Kimsquit

KITASOO SPIRIT BEAR CONSERVANCY

Aristazabal Island

DEAN RIVER ESTUARY PROTECTED AREA

Naltesby FINGER-TATUK Lake PROVINCIAL PARK

Princess Royal Island

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Queen

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Euchiniko Lakes

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Tetachuck Lake Eutsuk Lake

Stoner

Whitesail Lake

KITLOPE HERITAGE CONSERVANCY PROTECTED AREA

Gil Island Campania Island

Finger Lake

Ri ve

Ootsa Lake

Tahtsa Lake Kemano

w lo Wil

Morice Lake

Fra se r

PRINCE GEORGE

Nech ako Riv r e Vanderhoof

François Lake

Burns Lake

Murtle Lake

Fishing & Hunting

The Coast region is also crisscrossed by lakes and streams, though it’s the salt waters that bring travellers and nature lovers to this ecologically diverse part of the world. Here, the salmon rules, and numerous lodges and camps, from budget to luxury high-end, cater to an international clientele of fly-in customers dreaming of “the big one.” These fishing expeditions often begin in the town of Bella Coola, and venture out to the many inlets and islands. BC Ferries and Pacific Coastal Airlines services make the central coast region highly accessible to all comers. Though it may look like an obscure stretch of shoreline on a map of B.C., the Coast region boasts names that fishing enthusiasts from around the world speak of with reverence. One such icon is Hakai Pass, where millions of salmon make first landfall after battling northern Pacific currents in search of their natal streams. Along the way, these salmon pass some of the most famous fishing holes on the coast; including Odlum Point, the Gap and Barney Point, where gentle back eddies provide rest and feeding areas for salmon. This provides outstanding fishing opportunities for anglers and orcas alike. Steelhead hunters – “fishing” is too tame a word to describe the landing of these pugnacious sea-run trout - are equally well rewarded by a pilgrimage to the Dean River, better known as “steelhead central.” Some outfitters on the river provide a base camp for exciting expeditions on the Dean, known to be gloriously full of fish and mercifully free of bugs. Big Game There is no shortage of wildlife and hunting experiences in this land without limits. Plentiful populations of Cervidae (mule deer, whitetail deer, caribou and moose), Ursidae (bears), Canidae (wolves and coyote) and Felidae (cougars, bobcats and lynx) attract avid outdoorsmen throughout the seasons.

David Jacobson

know to concentrate on the creek mouths where trout gather for their evening meal - and sometimes become one. Puntzi Lake is also a popular, easily accessible lake that provides fishing for the whole family.

Outfitters in the region provide varieties of hunting excursions depending on the game species, terrain and season. Catering to abilities of every level, outfitters offer a wide range of accommodations and limited group sizes. Passion for wildlife conservation and a connection to the land is a strong cultural thread woven throughout this region. Many family operations are multi-generational, providing rare insights on much more than wildlife – pioneers, history, ranching, culture, cuisine and more. Hearty meals cooked in camp kitchens or over the open fire offer warm comfort at days’ end.

Rejuvenate and recharge in BC’s finest wilderness

Hunters join outfitters with exclusive guide territories where they can choose their own method of travel - ATV, horseback, 4x4, riverboat, old-fashioned “foot” and can even snowmobile in the Blackwater River region, where guests overnight at a ranch with rustic yet cozy log-cabins. So choose a season that best suits your hunting or fishing style. No matter your choice, we have the expertise that will make your hunting and fishing experiences unforgettable. ◆

250-243-2433 rainbow@elysiaresort.com

www.elysiaresort.com www.fishrainbowwaters.com

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Cariboo Chilcotin Coast Travel & Touring Guide

Brad Kasselman/Coastphoto.com

geoffmoore.ca

Karl-Hans Kern

geoffmoore.ca

David Jacobson

Karl-Hans Kern

Touring & Camping

his is a REALLY big place with lots to see and do. And the best way to experience all three distinct parts - Cariboo, Chilcotin and Coast - is often by a camping or RV trip along a driving route where there are many possibilities open for exploration. Four of B.C.’s popular Circle Routes intersect in this stunning region.

ming and waterskiing and there is excellent camping. Green Lake is located just 16km/10mi northeast of 70 Mile House, off Hwy. 97. Cars, trucks and RVs aren’t the only way to access camping in the region, either. Outfitters lead horseback-camping expeditions, and float plane service is available for fly-in, talltale backcountry adventures.

The Central Coast’s Tweedsmuir Provincial Park is the heartland of Nuxalk and Carrier First Nations territory. The park is so vast it boasts four distinct vegetation zones plus two vehicleaccess sites and wilderness camping. In the Coast region, 15,000km/9,320mi of pristine coastline feature tranquil marine parks. Codville Lagoon on King Island in Fitz Hugh Sound (80km/50mi west of Bella Coola), for instance, is a Heiltsuk heritage site with a white, sandy beach perfect for tenting.

Pining for peace and quiet? Hideaway resorts and RV parks on isolated lakes include charming Hathaway Lake near Lone Butte and Horsefly and Quesnel Lakes east of Williams Lake. There are approximately 65 private and public campgrounds and RV parks in unique settings including a few near Barkerville, with easy access to the nearby gold rush town. Unmatchable views of the dramatic Cariboo Mountains are found at Bowron Lake sites, where canoe and kayak rentals provide access to the Cariboo Falls.

In the Chilcotin, Bull Canyon, on the banks of the glacier-blue Chilcotin River offers shallow caves to explore on Bull Canyon Mountain off the Chilcotin River Interpretive Trail. The Chilcotin’s Ts’yl-os Provincial Park is a postcard-like world of mountains, glaciers, alpine meadows and waterfalls, where Chilko Lake, the largest natural high-elevation freshwater lake in Canada, features two lakeside campgrounds. There are also great camping options in and around the Puntzi Lake area, whether your fancy is to set up at a popular forestry campsite, or mingle with anglers at one of the fishing lodge RV campsites or cabins. The waters of the Cariboo’s iconic Green Lake warm nicely in summer for swim-

At Hagensborg in the Bella Coola Valley, the spectacular Coast Mountains will hold your attention forever. One imaginative local operator makes exploring easy for all ages by maintaining a nature conservancy trail for RV guests. Nimpo Lake and Anahim Lake have an established reputation as terrific fishing lakes stuffed with rainbow trout. RV park and fishing lodge operators also coordinate guided flight-seeing tours to Hunlen Falls, the Monarch Icefields and other spectacular sites. Geocaching is a great way to uncover hidden gems throughout the region. This treasure-hunting game is played worldwide by adventurers with GPS

devices. The idea is to locate hidden containers, called geocaches - and then share the experience online. One such cache in the region contains continually updated “trade items” such as: a sewing kit and fishing lure, all cleverly hidden on the Chilcotin Plateau where rare white pelicans gather. Another contains no more than a metal cylinder with logbook and pencil hidden near Clayton Falls at Bella Coola, where a nearby viewing platform offers stunning views. In Likely a recent “cacher” stashed “treasures fit for a kid” in the same place that fur trappers used to gather and where historic mining machinery is displayed. And perhaps the most abundant and creative of geocaches can be found in the Gold Country areas of the South Cariboo, with the GeoTourism Program. ◆

Highlights • Fall touring is very popular in the Cariboo Chilcotin Coast region, as the diversity of fall colors fill the budding photographer’s lens. Highways, campgrounds and hotel and lodge accommodations are also less crowded at this time of year. • A plethora of family-friendly waterfront camping options around the region provide for perfect multi-day vacations and the opportunity to explore the vastly different viewscapes of this land without limits.

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Cariboo Chilcotin Coast Travel & Touring Guide

Doug Neasloss/Spirit Bear Lodge

Thomas Drasdauskis

Michael Wigle

David Jacobson

Laureen Carruthers

David Jacobson

geoffmoore.ca

Wildlife & Eco-Tours

he Cariboo Chilcotin Coast is like a zoo without cages, featuring a constantly changing menagerie - an awesome bounty that defines this vast region as one of the greatest outdoor shows on earth. From the Cariboo’s mountain goats to the Coast’s humpback whales and the Chilcotin’s bighorn sheep, the diversity and density of wildlife here is astounding. How and when do you find those moose and caribou? Is spotting a peckish grizzly foraging along a riverbank just luck and is it dangerous? Local eco-tour guides and outfitters are not only experts on where to find specific species, and when, but are gifted naturalists with extensive rosters of unique wildlife-viewing options featuring a range of accommodations. Their key mandate is to respect and protect wildlife and habitats while ensuring everyone has a good time - and gets home unscratched, unscraped and unscathed. Those fascinated by bears can sign up with the Cariboo Mountains “bear whisperer” in search of grizzly bears (Ursus arctos horribilis) and their black bear cousins (Ursus americanus), while learning about the bears’ social hierarchy, habits and body language. The Bella Coola area offers a variety of operators ready to drift you down the river in search of grizzlies dining on salmon. The coast’s Great Bear Rainforest is the only place in the world to find the legendary white Kermode

bear. It is where wildlife safaris feature luxurious waterfront lodges and the only drive-by traffic is a parade of eagles, wolves, dolphins and whales. Local biologists lead interpretive ecoraft adventures on the Bella Coola and Atnarko rivers where songbirds congregate and where otter, mink, fox and deer forage. Amateur and professional ornithologists can join guided bird-watching tours into the Cariboo Mountains, home to wetland species such as kingfishers, hawks, owls, warblers, woodpeckers and, of course, that legendary trickster of First Nations mythology, the raven. Scout Island Bird Sanctuary at Williams Lake, on the Pacific Flyway, features rare white pelicans, swans, ducks and songbirds. Alpine mule trekking is a low-impact way to explore game trails blazed by caribou and mountain goats, wolves and wolverines. The Yohetta Wilderness area in the Chilcotin could serve as the model for the legend of Shangri-La. Wild and remote, it not only shelters mountain goats, bighorn sheep, bobcats and wolverines but one of the continent’s last remaining herds of wild horses. The southern Cariboo around Lillooet is desert country, where the contrast between the Coast and northern Cariboo could not be more profound. Etched by the wind, scorched by the sun, this is a land of rattlesnakes and prairie dogs, a place where eagles soar in search of prey.

Take your pick - zodiac touring in Pacific estuaries, birding at a wildlife sanctuary, salmon snorkelling in the Atnarko River, 4x4 touring for mountain goats, pack-horse treks and canoe safaris. It’s all here. ◆

Highlights • Experience incredible wildlife in its natural habitat via eco-friendly horse-guided pack trips in the Chilcotin. • Birding: Trumpeter swans and American white pelicans can be seen here during their annual migration. Other bird species include the pied-billed grebe, green-winged teal, blue-winged teal, ruddy duck, spotted sandpiper, northern flicker, barn swallow, common yellowthroat and yellowheaded blackbird. The Bella Coola River Estuary, Chilanko Forks Wildlife Management Area and the 100 Mile Marsh Wildlife Sanctuary are just three of the many popular birding areas. • BC offers the best and most affordable bear viewing. Experiences range from road side sightings to fully guided single or multi day river drifts, alpine excursions in search of Grizzly, or a chance at seeing the legendary Spirit Bear on the central coast.

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Chris Harris

Bowron Lakes Canoe Circuit Cariboo Chilcotin Coast Travel & Touring Guide

Who will you paddle through paradise with?

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Cariboo Chilcotin Coast Travel & Touring Guide

Eric Berger/Bella Coola Heli Sports

geoffmoore.ca

Richard Wright / wellsbarkervilletrails.com

Thomas Drasdauskis

Kevin Unruh

Thomas Drasdauskis

Winter Experiences

e are, quite simply, the Snow Capital of British Columbia. No other region of B.C. offers the vast, open variety of our rolling hills, backcountry lakes and forests, resorts and ranches, brilliant sunshine, deep powdered snow and choice of activities. Heli-skiing, sleigh rides, snowshoeing, and ice fishing – we have it all in abundance. Cross-country and downhill skiing, snowmobiling, snowboarding, hockey, tobogganing, dog sledding and curling, make winter the time to get outside and have fun in the Cariboo Chilcotin Coast, where the snow is dry and deep, the sky is blue and there are more winter activities than a grizzled old prospector has tall tales to tell. Skiing? There are all kinds of it, from wilderness cross-country and a variety of groomed cross-country trails throughout the region, to backcountry skiing, family-friendly downhill resorts, to the most awesome deep powder heli-skiing adventures found on the continent! Don’t forget your skates, either. Family fun skating parties are a way of life here when lakes freeze and pond hockey games begin, with visitors always welcome. Ice climbing? It’s park ‘n climb at Marble Canyon Provincial Park at the Pavilion Mountain Range near Lillooet, where roadside icefalls are some of the most accessible in western Canada. Snowmobiling? Sledders flock here from across North America for

the wide-open spaces, abundant hillclimbs, and extensive trail networks, some of them linking historic towns that are sprinkled about like gold nuggets.

trails are maintained by resorts, clubs and communities in pretty much any direction you can point a ski pole.”

Imagine yourself in a comfortable sled as a team of dogs takes you gliding silently through the forests and over frozen lakes. The region is unique in offering amateur mushers the chance to experience the exhilaration of sled dog travel, a great way to explore the backcountry in a quiet, fresh environment. Add to that winter camping, ice fishing, kicking back in a snow-banked hot tub, or swapping stories around a crackling fire at a cozy lodge and you begin to understand why the region claims to have it all. Cross-country skiers are enamoured by the region - long a magnet for backcountry aficionados. Novice Nordic skiers can easily cover the 8km/5mi route between Wells and Barkerville, or other trails that loop around the area. Mount Agnes, near Barkerville, has 23km/14mi of trails leading through heavily forested countryside. Mount Timothy, known as a premier downhill destination, also has groomed Nordic trails. As Rob Bernhardt, president of British Columbia’s Nordic Marketing Society puts it, “Everything about it, from the stable weather and ideal snow conditions to the vibrant culture and stunning natural environment, makes it ideal for Nordic activities. It helps, too, that meticulously groomed 1-800-663-5885

Phone Number: 250.396.4095 Email: Mt.Timothy@gmail.com

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Highlights • Sail through the incredible powder of the Coast Mountains. Several heli-skiing operations fly into spectacular coast mountain range glaciers, where the skiing is second to nowhere else in the world! • Dog sledding is a unique way to explore and enjoy winter! Cariboo operators offer multi-day or hourly packages that help you learn about mushing culture and the incredible dogs, while taking in the crisp, fresh air and beautiful scenery. • Join local foodies on the Wells Gourmet Ski Tour. Each food station serves cuisine of a different culture with examples like Russian borscht, Spanish tapas, Indian masala chapatti wraps and more! Prizes are awarded for best ancestral attire and goofy costume. The procession concludes at the Bear’s Paw Café for Scandinavian dessert and international beverages. • Jump on a horse-drawn sleigh at Barkerville’s Old Fashioned Christmas Celebration, a truly special event in the lovingly restored gold-rush-era town.

Kevin Unruh

• Ice fishing is cold comfort for some. The experience is particularly special at Raven Lake in the east Chilcotin, where the waters are so clear you can peer through your fishing hole at fish as they swim by, or get hooked!

Yank’s Peak Cariboo Chilcotin Coast Travel & Touring Guide

Winter Experiences

For the truly fit, local outfitters offer multiday hut-to-hut tours of the Bowron Lake canoe circuit, where the lakes’ frozen surface is broken only by the speckled tracks of fox, hare and ever-wary timber wolves. In the Chilcotin, Tatla Lake boasts 40km/25mi of groomed trails plus January’s Tatla Lake Ski Challenge and Fun Day that comes with an outdoor barbecue and enough good cheer to warm even the coldest winter day. Nearby Nimpo Lake’s wilderness lodges serve as the perfect base camp for ski touring in the backcountry Itcha Ilgachuz Provincial Park. Downhill skiers are drawn to the Mount Timothy Ski Area near Lac La Hache and to Troll Ski Resort outside Wells where they find powder snow and a family friendly ambience. But it’s the region’s many mountains that draw the crême de le crême of skiing - heli-skiers. These mountain daredevils inhabit a world of absolute stillness, a place of pristine beauty and dramatic settings where there’s nothing in front of you but thousands of vertical feet of the finest skiing on earth. The sport was virtually invented in the Cariboo Mountains by mountaineering legend Hans Gmoser, who was known as “The Father of Heli-skiing”. The Central Coast and Southern Chilcotin mountains beckon also, coming into their own as premier, world renowned heli-skiing destinations offering soaring 3,000m/9,850ft peaks that receive as much as 15m/49ft of snow annually. As for those who believe slow and easy wins the day, low-cost snowshoeing guarantees backcountry winter-trail

Michelle Nortje

Hallis Lake near Quesnel is renowned for its vistas and viewpoints, while down the road at Williams Lake, the attraction is the 28km/17.5mi of groomed trails at Bull Mountain, some of them dog friendly and evening lit. Near 100 Mile House the pole-and-push crowd get stoked on an enormous 150km/93mi trail inventory, also including sections for night skiing. The gold-rush-themed Cariboo Marathon, staged by the 100 Mile Nordic Club, comes complete with 50km/31mi, 30km/18.5mi, 20km/12.5mi and 10km/6mi events.

access to anyone capable of putting one foot in front of the other anywhere there’s a patch of snow. At one time the only way to get around the Cariboo Chilcotin Coast, when the snow was deep, was via sled dog. Today, this unique way of travel has been revived both at the competitive level and as a truly memorable interactive experience for visitors, with amateur and experienced mushers alike answering the call of the wild with guided tours, one-on-one workshops and multiday adventures. Outfitters have gotten so creative with their offerings that specialties have emerged: some boast Inuit-only sled dogs while others swear by the legendary Alaskan malamute. For those with their own teams, the annual Gold Rush Trail Sled Dog Mail Run held every January is a must. Participants are issued special handcancelled envelopes of mail in Quesnel that they swear an oath to deliver to the town of Wells, 100km/62mi away along a route that traces the historic Cariboo Wagon Road. The accent is on fun and fellowship, but coming in first still counts for bragging rights at the local pub. For many winter buffs, snow exists simply to make the world safe for snowmobiling. The result: sledder

hounds can trek by trail across untracked wilderness throughout the region, or up and down mountainous terrain renowned for adrenaline-rush hill climbing. Excitement is also now being generated by the Gold Rush Snowmobile Trail - a thrill-packed work in progress that, upon completion, will offer 350km/217mi of stunningly picturesque and well-signed touring from Clinton to Barkerville. Sledders can trace sections of the historic Gold Rush Trail, but first check with local clubs for updates regarding trail signage and amenities en route. The Bridge River Valley area near Gold Bridge and Bralorne is also a popular snowmobile destination. Local favourites include the Lone Goat Trail and Slim Creek, where the distance travelled is limited only by the amount of gas saddle-bagged in. Ice fishing may sound like cold comfort, but there’s nothing like hauling a big rainbow trout out of a hole in a frozen lake to warm an avid fisher’s blood. For those who need a little pointing in the right direction, area outfitters may offer all-inclusive ice-fishing adventures with accommodation at cozy lodges; portable shelters and “whopper” tales at no extra charge. ◆

1-800-663-5885

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Highlights • Pamper your body and sooth your mind at any refreshing spa or wellness facility available. Unparalleled experiences from exotic and sublime to downright unique are never out of reach.

geoffmoore.ca

• Plan your Cariboo golf vacation, where you can tee up at excellent courses in Quesnel, Williams Lake, 108 Mile or 100 Mile House, all within a 2 ½ hour scenic drive of each other. For a unique golfing experience, stroll the fairways amongst sheep, near Lillooet. • Catch the wind at Tatlayoko Lake. Taylayoko means “lake of the big winds” in the Chilcotin language. While the stiff breezes here can make the open waters sometime hazardous for boaters, they are an irresistible draw for wind-surfers and kiteboarders.

geoffmoore.ca

Laureen Carruthers

Echo Valley Ranch & Spa

• Look well ahead and book your paddlers dream vacation early. The Bowron Lakes Canoe Circuit is world renowned with paddlers flocking here by the thousands, year after year to experience stunningly beautiful canoe and hiking vacation!

Cariboo Chilcotin Coast Travel & Touring Guide

Mitch Cheek

Golf, Spas & Lakes

magine the perfect, scenic golf course. It would be in a natural setting among sage and rolling hills, would have fairways that gently flow along contoured canyons with water accents, greens would run true, and spectacular views would augment a layout that is both challenging and serene. Welcome to affordable golf in the Cariboo Chilcotin Coast. In addition to unusual nine-hole courses, we have three championship 18-hole courses that will test your skills and focus. The Stan Leonard-designed 108 Golf Resort is 6,800 yards of tree-lined fairways and it’s undulating greens will challenge your game. The 6,340 yard Quesnel Golf Course is spread out in a former heritage orchard, this valley-based design with a wide-open front-nine and shorter, but demanding back, will hone your swing. The scenic Williams Lake Golf & Tennis Club’s 6,272 yard layout is set against the rolling Cariboo hills and plays over undulating terrain with spectacular views overlooking both the city’s downtown and lake. Family friendly nine-hole courses can be found throughout the region, including a farmland gem at Lillooet where golfers get a free drop if their shot is blocked by sheep! The newest, Coyote Rock, sits above Highway 97 as it overlooks the south end of Williams Lake.

Although the Cariboo Chilcotin Coast is renowned for the sheer expanse of our wilderness, we also have luxurious day spas and wellness centres. One working ranch specializes in custom therapeutic, assessment and spa services. At another mountain-valley site, guests journey to the Far East via authentic Thai spa treatments, complete with a traditional Baan Thai house and pavilion. Other remote retreats specialize in yoga, fitness and healing escapes.

waters off Bella Coola, Shearwater and Klemtu. White-knuckle white-water rafters and kayakers pick and choose from a multitude of torrents - while the Bowron Lake canoe circuit is considered one of the world’s greatest outdoor water adventures. ◆

www.evranch.com 1.800.253.8831

Rejuvenate at day spas found in many of the communities in this region, with treatments from around the world Japanese Sumishi to Thai stem massage to Indian Ayurveda treatments, all often combined with yoga, fitness and nutritional services. Many mid-size inns and remote lodges and resorts also have massage and a variety of wellness or fitness programs, all designed to help keep mind and body in balance. With the highest concentration of lakes and rivers in Canada, it’s no surprise the Cariboo Chilcotin Coast is a haven for swimmers, water skiers, wake boarders, canoeists and just about anyone who loves to buzz around in a boat or play in the water. Consistent afternoon thermals make the Chilcotin’s Tatlayoko Lake a sailor’s paradise. Ocean kayakers paddle with whales and dolphins in the protected 1-800-663-5885

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Highlights

Fort Berens Winery/Coastphoto.com

• Sit down to an organic pastureto-plate steak, or artisan sausages – courtesy of all that hard work by local farmers. Ranchers continue to pioneer in the North American cattle industry with humane livestock management and sustainable ranching practices that replenish grazing lands while protecting wildlife and habitats. Dannielle Hayes/Tourism BC

• Sample llama and alpaca meats, as well as their hand crafted wool and leather products. Several ranches and farms in the region specialize in these products. • Pack your picnic hamper with delectable local honey, cherries, apples, plums and other goodies at the Bella Coola Farmers Market, held Sunday’s from June through September.

Brad Kasselman/Coastphoto.com

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• Take home some unique ‘Birch Syrup’. It makes a delectable topping for cheesecake, ice cream and tantalizing glaze for meat, fish and vegetables. Also now available: Birch BBQ Sauce.

Amy Thacker

Monika Paterson

• Purchase some lean bison meat, steaks, sausage, jerky and roasts are a healthy alternative.

Cariboo Chilcotin Coast Travel & Touring Guide

Brad Kasselman/Coastphoto.com

Agritourism

he raising of cattle, bison, sheep, llamas, alpacas and the growing of food crops is a sacred trust here. Ranchers, farmers and specialty producers welcome a chance to share the art, science and plain roll-up-yoursleeves hard work that goes into raising livestock and growing crops. Though not a major wine region, the fertile soils and warm climate of the south Cariboo create perfect growing conditions for delicate and distinctively flavoured grapes, with two wineries to tease the nose and tempt the palate. The vines at the Fort Berens Estate Winery in Lillooet dig deep into soil enriched by 150 years of melon, tomato and alfalfa. This winery currently produces a selection of seven award-winning wines ranging from Chardonnay to Pinot Noir and Cabernet Franc. The Bonaparte Bend Winery in Cache Creek is located on a ranch founded by a young Irishman in 1862. It produces delightful fruit wines to temp the palette, ranging from apricot to rhubarb and honey to Saskatoon berry. In the north Cariboo, foodies tour an organic farm to experience the sweet, new culinary taste of boreal amber birch syrup tapped fresh from the tree! In the Chilcotin River Valley, overnight on a 1,600hec/3,954ac spread producing organic produce and grass-fed meats from the ranch’s own abattoir (designed for ethical meat processing). At the South Cariboo Garlic Festival, held late August in Lac la Hache, foodies

experience garlic poutine, panini, gyoza, fritters, plus live music and other fun. A delicious way to sample regional tastes is to attend agricultural fairs and farmers’ markets. At Quesnel’s annual Fall Fair the atmosphere is as entertaining as it is delicious: be warned, the competition is fierce at both the chili and beer-can chicken competitions. At the annual Williams Lake Harvest Fair, the message is simple: “If you eat, you’re involved in agriculture”. Food contests, logger sports, a pet parade and stockdog demonstrations are part of the fair’s family events. Many local fairs also showcase 4-H competitions highlighting the importance, and rewards, of raising livestock, growing crops and acquiring life skills. An integral part of life here, 4-H, where the motto is “Learn to do by doing”, gives youngsters an opportunity to practice being productive, selfassured and community-oriented. Weekly farmers’ markets abound in most communities of this region, often with local arts and crafts. At the Bella Coola Market, visitors mingle with the locals, stock up on fresh produce and sample regional specialties such as honey and fruits of the sea: giant prawns, dungeness crab and salmon. The Bella Coola Community Supported Agriculture Project is also working to revitalize local farming to bring back regional heritage fruits and veggies. Gastronomes should keep their eyes peeled for farmgate offerings of sweet Walla Walla onions; tangy Russian

red garlic and sun-loving Kentucky wonder yellow beans. Other operators, including Bed & Breakfasts in the region, open their barn doors so visitors can study the fine art of “farming with the season” while sampling and purchasing local delicacies. ◆

Award winning VQA wines Tasting room open daily w w w. fo r t b e re n s . c a

LILLOOET’S FIRST WINERY

1-800-663-5885

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Steve Ogle

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Cariboo Mountains Cariboo Chilcotin Coast Travel & Touring Guide

Untouched powder and no crowds?Â Priceless.

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