|
This stretch is the Alaska Hwy at its best. Landscapes divide markedly around Fort Nelson , where the highway arches west from the flatter hills of the Peace River country to meet the northern Rockies above the plains and plateau of the Liard River. Within a short time - once the road has picked up the river's headwaters - you're in some of the most grandiose scenery in British Columbia. The area either side of the road is some of the world's wildest - twenty million acres of nothing - and experts say that only parts of Africa surpass the region for the variety of mammals present and the pristine state of its ecosystems. Services and motels become scarcer, but those that exist - though often beaten-up looking places - make atmospheric and often unforgettable stops. The first worthwhile stopoff, a kilometre off the highway on a gravel road, is Tetsa River Provincial Park , about 77km west of Fort Nelson, which has a nice and secluded campsite ($12; May-Oct) and appealing short hikes through the trees and along the river. Next up is Stone Mountain Provincial Park , 139km west of Fort Nelson, with a campsite ($12; May-Oct) which gives access to a short trail (10min) to two hoodoos (rock columns) claimed by myth to be the heads of two devils; a longer trail, the Flower Springs Lake Trail (6km), leads to a delightful upland mountain lake. Other accommodation and services include the Rocky Mountain Lodge (tel 232-5000; $40-60), 165km on from Fort Nelson with lovely views of the mountains and an adjacent campsite ($10). Toad River , 195km from Fort Nelson, has perhaps the best motel of all on this lonely stretch, the Toad River Lodge (tel 232-5401; $40-60), with rooms and cabins (for $10 more) giving superlative views of thickly forested and deeply cleft mountains on all sides. Note that it also has a grocery, petrol station and sites for tents and RVs ($12 for tenting). About 3km to its north is the Poplars Campground & Cafe , with log cabins and fully serviced tent and RV sites (tel 232-5465; $40-60, tent sites $12; May to late Sept); it's an equally attractive spot despite its disconcerting claim to be "Home of the Foot-Long Hot Dog". Muncho Lake , the next big natural feature, sits at the heart of a large provincial park whose ranks of bare mountains are a foretaste of the barren tundra of the far north. There's a small motel and campsite at the lake's southern end, but it's worth hanging on for the popular Flats Provincial Campground ($12, free Oct; May-Oct), midway up the lake on its eastern side, or the fine Northern Rockies Lodge-Highland Glen Lodge and Campground (tel 776-3481 or 1-800/663-5269, www.northern-rockies-lodge.com ; $60-80) for a choice of log cabins or camping sites ($17-27). Two kilometres north of the Muncho Lake settlement there is the small McDonald Provincial Campground ($12). About 70km beyond the lake is the excellent Lower Liard River Lodge (tel 776-7341; $40-60; April-Oct), a wonderfully cosy and friendly spot for food and rooms. ( Liard comes from the French for "poplar" or "cottonwood tree", a ubiquitous presence in these parts.) It also has RV and tent sites ($8-10) and lies close to one of the most popular spots on the entire Alaska Hwy, the very obvious Liard Hot Springs , whose two thermal pools (Alpha and Beta) are amongst the best and hottest in BC. Road crews loved these during the construction of the highway, or rather the men did: women in the teams were allowed a soak just once a week. They're reached by a short wooden boardwalk across steaming marsh, and are otherwise unspoilt apart from a wooden changing room and the big high-season crowds (aim to be here early in the day for a dip ahead of the rush). As the marsh never freezes, it attracts moose and grizzlies down to drink and graze, and some 250 plant species grow in the mild microhabitat nearby, including fourteen species of orchid, as well as lobelias, ostrich ferns and other rare boreal forest plants. The nearby Liard River Hotsprings Provincial Park campsite is one of the region's most popular, and fills up early in July and August: bookings are possible through the provincial park central reservation line (May-Aug $15; Sept-April $9) .
Your Tip for Fort Nelson to Liard Hot Springs
Help other backpackers! Write your own guides and backpacking tips to Fort Nelson to Liard Hot Springs - they will appear instantly on this page - Please only write a tip/guide to Fort Nelson to Liard Hot Springs - visit the main Fort Nelson to Liard Hot Springs forum to ask a question!
Please do not post links to your site here (they won't work) - please use the Fort Nelson to Liard Hot Springs webguide section below! Thanks.
|
