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Other Chilcotin Recreational Areas
"I always thought of this as God's
country."
Jack Granatstein
Besides Tweedsmuir Park,
there are several other parks and conservation areas in the
West Chilcotin. Developed to protect the natural fuana in
the area such as the Itcha Ilgatchuz range to protect the
only growing caribou herds in British Columbia, the rare flora
of the Homathko River - Tatlayoko Protected Area, cultural
heritage embodied in the Tsylo's Park and tiny Entiako, brought
back into reserve to protect a caribou herd. Among them are
the Charlotte Alplands.
Charlotte Alplands
The Charlotte Alplands is not a park but an area set
aside without roads, for backcountry recreation. The area
lays claim to having the largest concentration of alpine lakes
in British Columbia, many loaded with wild rainbow trout and
kokanee, and many rarely, if ever, fished. Here you will find
alpine wildflowers seen swathing hillsides, many of them rare,
and many not found to this extent anywhere else in the world.
Initially, local resource users felt it necessary to protect
this area rich in wildlife, including caribou, from encroaching
logging. Many resort and lodge owners, outfitters and naturalists
operate out of this area and felt it so unique that they fought
hard to preserve it.
If you would like to fly in, hike in, or take part in a horseback
adventure into the Charlotte Alplands, you'll find several
operators listed on this site that can provide that vacation
for you.
Homathko River - Tatlayoko Protected
Area
The Ministry of Environments lists this area as one
of the only protected areas in BC that spans the transition
from the wet, mild coastal climate to the dry, harsh climate
of the Chilcotin Plateau. As such it provides an invaluable
game corridor, particularly for grizzly bears, through the
Coast Mountains from the Pacific coast to the high Chilcotin
Plateau. 14 mile long aquamarine Tatlayoko Lake with it's
surrounding peaks is within the boundaries of the protected
area.
Itcha Ilgachuz Provincial Park
This is 111,000 hectares of roadless park made up primarily
of isolated shield volcanoes that supports a wide variety
of alpine flora and fauna. It is also home to the most significant
and healthiest caribou herd in BC with high calf recruitment
rate. Here you'll find the Blackwater Trail that runs between
the Itcha and Ilgachuz Mountain Ranges and was used to haul
supplies and move cattle between Anahim Lake and Pan Phillips'
Home Ranch. There are several historical outfitters that still
operate in the two mountain ranges today and they would be
happy to book you for a pack trip or horseback trail ride
into the alpine.
Tsylos
Primarly set aside to preserve cultural values, wildlife,
fauna and special fish habitat, Ts'il?os (pronounced "sigh-loss")
Provincial Park comprises approximately 233,000 hectares of
which the western half is considered to be in the West Chilcotin
Land Use Base. Made up of rugged mountains and glaciers, it
is dominated by the stunning blue-green colored waters of
Chilko Lake, noted to be the highest natural freshwater lake
in Canada and bordered by the rugged peaks of the Coast Mountains
to the west. There are two vehicle access routes into the
park but they're rough and you are warned to check conditions
with locals before embarking on them.
Entiako
Entiako was originally a part of Tweedsmuir Park when
established in 1938 but was left out when boundaries were
revised in 1956. Embattled resource users managed to keep
logging out until 1999 and 2000 when 120,000 hectares were
set aside as protected land for the Tweedsmuir Entiako caribou
herd. The wild, harsh landscape that comprises this wilderness
park is home to grizzly and black bear, moose, caribou, wolves,
coyote, fox and fur bearing animals. The dry inhospitable
growing conditions support several rare plants and lichens
that the caribou feed on. Floatplanes can access many of the
lakes in the Park's interior.
Operators - Other Parks and Recreational
Areas
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