About The Area

Clearwater, BC is the gateway to Wells Gray Provincial Park, our playground of choice. Spread across 520,000 hectares it is one of the largest parks in BC. This rugged wonderland is filled with crystalline lakes, towering peaks, alpine meadows, waterfalls, and ancient volcanic activity. At the heart of it all is the Clearwater River, a major tributary of the Fraser River, and a true gem of British Columbia. The river is qualified by its ferocious might, serene elegance, and clear beautiful water!

"At the town of Clearwater, about 180km from the North Thompson's glacial beginnings, the river is joined by one of the most spectacular tributaries of the Fraser system. The Clearwater river is the culmination of an incredible concentration of waterfalls, rapids and chutes, probably the greatest in BC. It is a world of white water and blue lakes protected by one of the province's largest and finest parks, Wells Gray. This wilderness reserve stretches across more than 520,000 hectares of mountains and alpine meadows, recent volcanoes and lava flows, all drained by streams destined for the Clearwater River.

From its source in Clearwater Lake, the river has carved a deep valley through lava and rock to the Thompson. Along the way streams drop into the Clearwater River from a plateau that lifts almost vertically above its east bank. From alpine meadows and tree-bordered lakes, streams tumble down mountain slopes towards the river, bursting suddenly into the valley as dramatic waterfalls, sometimes enfolded by curves of gigantic bowls carved in lava by falling water.

Helmcken Falls is the most celebrated: here Murtle River drops 142 meters, creating the fourth highest waterfall in Canada and one of the most spectacular in all of North America... Below the mouth of the Clearwater, the North Thompson is a broad, powerful river. The watersheds of both rivers are the traditional territory of Simpcw, in the Secwepemc Nation"

Excerpt from "Mighty River - A Portrait of the Fraser" by Richard C. Bocking