Day 7: Wells Gray Provincial Park

Wells Gray Provincial Park

Today was our first of two full days at the Wells Gray Provincial Park. As the weather was good in the morning, our host recommended that we start with the green mountain viewing tower, as you get a nice overview of the park from there.

A nice Surprise

Shortly after we left the Blue Grouse Country Inn property, we spotted a bear on a nearby meadow directly from the road. He was just chilling there and eating grass?!

Green Mountain Viewing Tower

To access the tower you have to leave the main road and drive on a gravel road for around 4 km. This was the first time we were thankful for our SUV with a bit higher clearance and all wheel drive.

From the top you get some nice views into all directions, which consists of mostly forests and some alpine peaks.

There was also a short hike to the Foot Lake which we did.

Clearwater Lake

After the Viewing Tower, we decided to first drive all the way north to the Clearwater Lake and then “work” backwards and checkout the different stops & hikes.

3km before the end of the road is a stop where there is a campground and coffee. We did a break there and had Tea and Cake. Filled with new powers we started the hike to the end of the road and then back to the campground.

The trail was mostly flat and following the Clearwater River, for the way back we just took the gravel road.

Bailey’s Chute

Next stop was Bailey’s Chute, a place where the power of the Clearwater river was impressively shown. During fall this is also a spot where you can see the Salmon that try to get up the river.

The Trail led into a loop hike around West Lake, which we also did.

Helmcken Falls

This is one of the most famous Waterfalls at the Park, you realize that as soon as you enter the parking lot which has a dedicated section for Buses…

The Fall itself is impressive and there is a Rim Trail which leads pretty close to the top of it. We plan to do it tomorrow, as there is not enough time left today.

Dinner

Our host recommend us the Wells Gray Guest Ranch for dinner, is only 2 km from our place. This sounded nice compared to the ~24km drive to Clearwater. Funnily enough, the ranch is run by two Swiss people, which got it around 5 years ago. They served some really good burgers and we could even sit outside in the sun.

Pictures

Activities

Hike: Clearwater Lake Loop Hike: Bailey’s Chute & West Lake Loop Hike: Foot Lake Run: Around Blue Grouse Country Inn