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Murtle Lake, Wells Gray Park; accessible from Blue River

Tuesday, June 17th, 2008 by GetawayBC.com


Canoe and kayak enthusiasts will be delighted to note Murtle Lake, located in Wells Gray Park is the largest lake in North America designated for paddlers only. To plan a Murtle Lake canoe trip you can start in Blue River where you can get all the information needed for your adventure.

There is a fee for camping and a permit must be purchased as well. For the convenience of over-night visitors payment can now be made in cash at the lagoon with a self-registration system.

Murtle Lake is accessed off of the Yellowhead Highway 5 at Blue River. Drive 27 km west on a winding, narrow, gravel road to the parking lot. From there, a 35 minute 2.5 km level trail leads to the canoe launch. The trail is canoe-cart accessible, and this is recommended. Paddle away and after 1.5 km you will reach the lake.

There is no motorized traffic on the lake, only the park operator’s boat will be there to enable him to patrol the lake and check up on campers regularly. Park operators are also the ones campers and canoeists can flag down should you have an emergency.

There are small wilderness campsites situated around the lake, they have fire pits and user-maintained pit toilets are also supplied and of course, bear caches. Never forget, you’re in bear country now.

A Murtle Lake canoe trip is a pure wilderness adventure, not suited for the timid.

Weather conditions in the region can get very stormy, very quickly. It is highly recommended you do not try to outrun, or out-paddle a storm. Experienced paddlers have learned to beach at the earliest opportunity and wait until the weather clears again, as it is sure to do.

For those who want to experience the pristine wilderness the novelty of a vacation spent canoeing on this particular paddle-only lake is a dream come true. The sights, the sounds… memories gathered here will be remembered for a lifetime.

Please contact BC Parks prior to making any plans, and do follow all precautionary measures to ensure a safe and happy trip.

Their website has recently moved and can be located online at: www.env.gov.bc.ca/bcparks/.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 17th, 2008 at 12:00 am and is filed under Barriere. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

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