A campfire ban is currently in effect for this park. For more information about campfire bans and about provincial parks with park closures and campfire bans in effect, visit the BC Parks campfire ban webpage.
If you have visited the Spruce Lake Protected Area, we would appreciate if you could please complete an on-line comment form. This will allow park managers to obtain valuable information from those who have experienced the area.
Park Info
Visitors to this protected area will have an outstanding wilderness experience. This is a visually spectacular area with mid elevation grasslands, sub alpine and alpine meadows, alpine lakes and mountain peaks. The park encompasses the complete watersheds of Lizard and Leckie Creeks and significant portions of other large intact watersheds and headwaters.
There are broad valleys and ridges with interconnecting trail systems. Over 150 km of trails offer an excellent variety of loop trips of varying difficulty and distances for hikers, horse riders and mountain bikers.
Park Size: 71,347 Hectares
Special Notes:
Hikers, horseback riders and mountain bikers use this area. Protected area visitors should familiarize themselves with proper trail etiquette when there are multiple trail users. Cyclists yield to all other trail users and hikers yield to horses.
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 protected area. Water is available from the area's numerous lakes, streams and creeks. Visitors should filter, boil or treat the water prior to consuming.
Stay Safe:
This protected area is not regularly patrolled. Visitors should be totally self-sufficient.
Visitors should ensure they make their presence known if there are signs of bear and food should be properly cached.
In some locations of the protected area, you will be several days from any form of help. Bring a good first aid kit and exercise caution.
This protected area lies approximately 150 km north of Whistler and 95 km west of Lillooet. Access from Pemberton is via the Hurley Forest Service Road to Gold Bridge (this road climbs steeply to 1,850 meters and can be very rough) or from Lillooet along Carpenter Lake. About 10km west of Gold Bridge, a logging road is traveled for approximately 12km to the start of the Gun Creek/Spruce Lake Trail at Jewel Creek. The protected area may also be accessed by the southeast side via logging and mining roads. Many of these roads require a four-wheel drive vehicle.
Nature & Culture
History - The area was first proposed for protection in 1937 and was designated a Protected Area in April 2001. The present boundaries were revised and announced as part of the Lillooet LRMP in July 2004. This area has long been recognized as having provincially outstanding conservation and recreation resources and has been the focus on intense public interest for wilderness preservation since the 1970”s. Through various wilderness studies and special management processes, the wilderness of the area has been largely maintained.
Cultural Heritage - This area has been used for over 100 years for hunting and recreating. For several decades the Gang Ranch used the area as part of their summer range.
Conservation - This area comprises the entire watersheds of the Leckie and Lizard Creeks and significant portions of the Gun, Tyaughton and Upper Relay waterhsheds. It is representative of the north/south biogeoclimatic transition and the ecological transition between coastal/interior and temperate/boreal habitats.
The protected area contains basalts and sedimentary formations and interesting landforms such as Mt. Sheba and Castle Peak. There are mid-elevation grasslands of bluebunch wheatgrass. Western limits of Ponderosa Pine are found in Tyaughton and Gun Creeks. R ich fossil occurrences in the Tyaughton Cr. and Castle Peak area are highly valued by the scientific community.
Wildlife - The extensive habitat from valley bottoms to alpine meadows assists in creating high wildlife values for grizzly bears, California bighorn sheep, mountain goat, mule deer and wolverine. Combined with the Big Creek Provincial Park area, it is one large contiguous unroaded core grizzly management area.
There are wild stocks of rainbow and bull trout in the lakes and bull trout in the river and creek systems.
There is an accurate map available for Spruce Lake Protected Area, the Southern Chilcotin Mountains Trail Map (ISBN 0-9738679-0-6) is available from the following retail outlets:
Mountain Equipment Co-op - Vancouver & North Vancouver, BC
International Travel Maps & Books -Vancouver, BC
Western Canada Wilderness Committee - Vancouver, BC
Tyax Mountain Lake Resort Gold Bridge, BC
Bridge River Valley Economic Development Society (BRVEDS) - Gold Bridge, BC
Anyone fishing or angling in British Columbia must have an appropriate licence.
There are a number of recreational opportunities available in this protected area (including horseback riding expeditions, hunting trips and fishing). Click here to view a non-government web link for additional information.
Hiking
For your own safety and the preservation of the protected area, obey posted signs and keep to designated trails. Shortcutting trails destroys plant life and soil structure. For more specific information on the trails, click here. Click here to view a non-government web link, for additional information.
Horseback Riding
Horseback riding is available on most trails in the protected area. There are a number of recreational opportunities available in this protected area (including horseback riding expeditions, hunting trips and fishing). Click here to view a non-government web link, for additional information.
Hunting
The protected area is open to hunting. Anyone hunting in British Columbia must have the appropriate licence. Check the BC Hunting Regulations for seasons and closures.
There are a number of recreational opportunities available in this protected area (including horseback riding expeditions, hunting trips and fishing). Click here to view a non-government web link, for additional information.
Swimming
Swimming is allowed in the various lakes in the protected area.
There are no lifeguards on duty in Provincial Parks.
Winter Recreation
There are winter camping opportunites throughout the protected area.
Facilities Available At This Park
Campfires
Campfires are permitted. Campers must use existing fire rings and obey all fire closures.
Pit or Flush Toilets
This protected area 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 100 feet from any water source. Thoroughly cover and disguise cat holes when finished. Bury toilet paper as well. Do not burn it.
Walk-In/Wilderness Camping
Wilderness, backcountry or walk-in camping is allowed, but no facilities are provided.
There are six areas in the protected area that are designated wilderness backcountry sites. These sites are user maintained. Some, but not all sites provide a rustic picnic table and pit toilet. These sites are at the following locations:
North end of Spruce Lake
South end of Spruce Lake
Gun Creek Grassland
Hummingbird Lake
Trigger Lake
Jewel Bridge
All sites are well treed and provide an opportunity to cache food. There are no designated backcountry camping sites in alpine areas. Visitors should practice no impact camping. Click here to view a non-government web link, for additional information.
