Highway 20
There is a detour from Williams Lake to Highway 20 - a gravel road usually suitable for driving in summer - which leads through some charming countryside and for 480 km / 300 mi west through the sparsely inhabited Chilcotin or Fraser Plateau with its huge ranches, an area which is reasonably dry because it lies in the rain shadow of the glaciated coastal mountain range.
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Must-see attractions nearby:
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The route then continues via the coastal range of mountains to Bella Coola, the only port on the Pacific coast between Prince Rupert and Lake Powell which has a road-link.
Highway 20 - only the first 113 km / 70 mi as far as Alexis Creek and the last 60 km / 37 mi or so in the Bella Coola Valley are made-up - links the few remote settlements along the frontier with the still largely undeveloped wilderness and opens up some really unspoiled and original hunting and fishing grounds. Several ranches will take in paying guests for riding holidays. Alexis Creek, with a population of about 100, provides supplies and provisions to the 1000 or so people who live by the Chilcotin River.
Highway 20 - only the first 113 km / 70 mi as far as Alexis Creek and the last 60 km / 37 mi or so in the Bella Coola Valley are made-up - links the few remote settlements along the frontier with the still largely undeveloped wilderness and opens up some really unspoiled and original hunting and fishing grounds. Several ranches will take in paying guests for riding holidays. Alexis Creek, with a population of about 100, provides supplies and provisions to the 1000 or so people who live by the Chilcotin River.
Related Attractions
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Hunlen Falls
The spectacular Hunlen Falls at the northern end of Turner Lake are an outstanding sight. The water plunges down from a height of 260 m (853 ft). It takes a day's trek to reach Hunlen Falls; there is a primitive tent-site by Turner Lake. During the autumn salmon season large numbers of grizzly and black bear find their way to the Atnarko River (visitors in the area should exercise caution). There is limited basic accommodation to be had in Tweedsmir Lodge by the Atnarko River and in Tweedsmuir Wilderness Center.
Rainbow Range
The southern part of Tweedsmuir Provincial Park, best reached along Highway 20 is an undeveloped wilderness. In the east, in the Rainbow Nature Conservancy Area, the Rainbow Range - including Tsitsutl Peak 2478 m (8133 ft) - protrudes sharply up from the plateau which itself is some 1350 m (4430 ft) above sea-level at its center. This mountain range resembles a massive cathedral of volcanic origin and unusual coloration. In the west tower the glaciated peaks of the rugged Coastal Mountains.
Tatla Lake, Canada
(Near Williams Lake)
In Tatla Lake, with a restaurant, school, shop, post-office and medical station, a road branches off to the Coastal Mountains. The shimmering turquoise waters of Tatlayoko Lake are highly attractive; here visitors can enjoy Alpine Wilderness Adventures, ranch holidays, treks with pack-horses in the Coast Mountains, and fishing. A few miles west of Tatla Lake rises one of British Columbia's highest mountain peaks, Mount Waddington, which is 4016 m (13,180 ft) high.
