Skiing & Winter Activities - Chilko, Tweedsmuir Park & Chilcotin, British Columbia

The rolling hills, mountain forests, meadows and many lakes of the Chilcotin are ideal for cross-country skiing and snowshoeing.

Tatla Lake features 17 km of cross-country trails ranging from novice to expert, and hosts an annual cross-country ski race.

Cross-country ski touring and winter camping are possible in Itcha Ilgachuz Provincial Park, which comprises approximately 110,000 hectares of unique landscape in the West Chilcotin Uplands.

Heckman Pass in Tweedsmuir (South) Provincial Park is the home of the Tweedsmuir Ski Club. The Lodge at Chilko Lake (formerly Chilko Lake Resort) on Chilko Lake offers its visitors cross-country skiing, snowmobiling, ice skating and ice fishing during the winter.

Snowmobiling
There was a time when B.C.'s thousands of kilometres of logging remained unused throughout most of the winter. Adventure seekers have now discovered that these same roads provide access into some of the most remote and spectacular wilderness in the province, and the Cariboo Chilcotin region of British Columbia is earning its place on the map of snowmobiling musts.

The Chilcotin offers over 500 km of old mining and logging roads for exploration by snowmobile. Set out on your own or play it safe and engage the services of a licensed and experienced wilderness guide. Options for daily rides include hill climbing or trail touring on packed trails.

Experienced riders can head for the high alpine and the glaciers to ride the miles and miles of untracked alpine mountain tops. The mild climate and stable snow conditions during March and April make this an ideal winter playground for snowmobiling.

Organized Hut-to-Hut snowmobiling combines the experience of alpine wilderness with the adventure of cutting your own trails through mountain forests to remote mountain cabins.

Northwest of Lillooet, near the community of Gold Bridge, the rugged Chilcotin Mountains rise 3,000 metres above the shores of Tyaughton Lake, providing beautiful highland country to explore. Backcountry trails head northwest of Gold Bridge into the heart of the Chilcotin.

The great snowmobile areas in the Chilcotin include Anahim Lake, the Rainbow Ridge in Tweedsmuir (South) Provincial Park, and Tatlayoko and Taseko Lakes that border the picturesque Ts'yl-os Provincial Park to the west and east respectively. Attractions in this vast wilderness area include the Homathko Icefields to the south and the rugged beauty of the Potato Range.

Ice-Fishing
Ice fishing is popular at the Forest District Campground at Two Lake, located northwest of Alexis Creek on the Alexis Lakes Road.

Heli-Skiing and Heli-Boarding
The magnificent Chilcotin Mountains provide great variety of open bowls and challenging tree skiing for heli-skiing and heli-boarding enthusiasts. As the warm air mass passes over the glaciated areas to the north east and over the South Chilcotin range, the air is cooled and the resulting snow is light and fluffy. Many runs start on the high alpine glaciers and end well below the tree line, deep in the valley bottoms.

Winter Wilderness Experience

Winter alpine ecotour adventures are guided by naturalist Chris Czajkowski out of rustic cabins on a fly-in, high-altitude lake near the southern tip of Tweedsmuir (South) Provincial Park in the Coast Mountains. To provide accommodation 20 miles from the nearest road, Chris built the two rental cabins at Nuk Tessli single-handedly in 1988, using only a chainsaw and hand tools. Cross-country skiing and snowshoeing is offered in February and March - there are no groomed trails, and skins are needed for climbing. Optional hut-to-hut cross-country skiing and packaged tours are offered.

Winter fly-ins to Nuk Tessli originate from Nimpo Lake, and end after the first week in April as the ice at Nimpo Lake starts to thaw. These trips differ from other types of cross-country skiing trips in that they are true wilderness experiences.

Other Winter Activities
There are no downhill ski resorts in the Chilcotin region. Other winter activities in the Chilcotin include sleigh riding and ice skating. Anahim Lake in winter offers skating, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, snowmobiling, and ice fishing. Resorts in Anahim Lake offer a wilderness haven waiting to entertain winter visitors.

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