South Chilcotin Mountains Park

56,796 ha
Area
2001
Established
Class A
Park class
Park
Type

About this Park

South Chilcotin Mountains Park is a visually spectacular area with mid elevation grasslands, sub alpine and alpine meadows, lakes and mountain peaks. The park encompasses the complete watersheds of Lizard and Leckie Creeks as well as significant portions of other large intact watersheds and headwaters.

There are broad valleys and ridges with interconnecting trail systems. Over 200km of trails through broad valleys, alpine meadows and ridges offer an excellent variety of loop trips of varying difficulty and distances for hikers, horse riders and mountain bikers. Visitors to this park will have an outstanding wilderness experience while wildlife viewing, fishing and skiing in winter.

Safety information

  • Persons visiting South Chilcotin Mountains Park are reminded that the park is a wilderness area, without staffed facilities or regular ranger patrols. 
  • Visitors should be self-sufficient and ready for any type of weather conditions. Weather conditions can change suddenly in this area and storms with snow are common at higher elevations in the summer.
  • Encounters with grizzly bears are not uncommon in the park. Visitors should make their presence known while they travel through the park and follow proper food preparation and storage procedures.
  • In consideration of wildlife & safety hazards related to bears, dogs should not be taken into the park.
  • Please keep to the established trails, especially in the grassland and alpine areas.
  • Bring your own drinking water as potable water is not available in the park. Water is available from the numerous lakes, streams and creeks. Visitors should filter, boil or treat the water prior to consuming.
     

Special notes

Location notes

This park lies approximately 150km north of Whistler and 95km west of Lillooet. Access from Pemberton is via the Hurley Forest Service Road to Gold Bridge (this road climbs steeply to 1,850 metres and can be very rough) or from Lillooet along Carpenter Lake on Hwy 40.

To access the Jewel Bridge trail head, take the Slim Creek FSR (about 7km east of Gold Bridge on Hwy 40), off Hwy 40 and head generally north for approximately 12km to the start of the Gun Creek/Spruce Lake Trail at Jewel Creek. Alternatively, visitors can drive to Gun Lake and access this logging road at the east end of the lake. The park may also be accessed by the southeast and east sides via logging and mining roads. Many of these roads require a four-wheel drive vehicle.

Activities

  • 9066:Hunting
  • 9066:Hiking For your own safety and the preservation of the park, obey posted signs and keep to designated trails. Shortcutting trails destroys plant life and soil structure.Trail summary [PDF] Several companies have permits to operate guided hiking trips in the park. For more information, email parkinfo@gov.bc.ca.
  • 9066:Swimming Swimming is allowed in the various lakes in the park, although the water is generally quite cool even in mid-summer.
  • 9066:Fishing Spruce Lake is the most common fishing destination in the park. Rainbow trout are found in Spruce, Trigger, Hummingbird and Warner lakes, as well as Gun and Tyaughton creeks. There are a number of companies with permits for angle guiding in the park. For more information, email parkinfo@gov.bc.ca.
  • 9066:Wildlife viewing Wildlife viewing is popular in the park. Grizzly bears, mountain goats and deer are commonly seen, as are grouse and birds of prey. There are many types of song birds as well. Visitors may also see moose, bighorn sheep and, if you’re very lucky, wolverine.
  • 9066:Cycling South Chilcotin Mountains Park provides some of the best mountain biking experiences in BC with great single track trails throughout the park. Note that there are steep, muddy and or rocky sections on all trails. Mountain bikers must yield to hikers and horses. When meeting horses, dismount and wait on the downhill side of the trail. When catching up to a string, be patient. The riders will pull aside at the first location that has sufficient room to let you by.Please note that bicycles with electric assist motors (e-bikes) are not allowed on the trails within South Chilcotin Mountains Park. E-bikes are restricted to park roads and areas where motorized use is permitted. The only exception to this policy will be for authorized and identified trail maintenance bikes conducting work on behalf of BC Parks.
  • 9066:Horseback riding Horseback riding in South Chilcotin Mountains Park can be spectacular with easy access alpine, high mountain vistas, flower meadows and good wildlife viewing throughout the park. Horse groups should not camp at Spruce Lake North campsite. Cowboy Camp on the Gun Creek Trail is a great location for horse groups. There are companies with permits to operate guided horse trips in the park. For more information, email parkinfo@gov.bc.ca.
  • 9066:Winter recreation There are winter recreation opportunities throughout the park, including camping, cross-country skiing, ski-mountaineering, heliskiing, snowshoeing and snowmobiling.

Facilities

  • 9066:Pit or flush toilets This park only has pit toilets, no flush toilets. There are user maintained pit toilets at some of the designated backcountry sites. Visitors should exercise proper backcountry sanitation procedures when no facilities are available. Deposit human waste in cat holes. Cat holes are 6 to 8 inches deep and should be located at least 30 metres from any water source. Thoroughly cover and disguise cat holes when finished. Bury toilet paper as well. Do not burn it.
  • 9066:Campfires Campfires are permitted. Campers must use existing fire rings and obey all fire closures.

Location

51.02880, -123.05169 · Thompson Western Mountains

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