CENTRAL BRITISH COLUMBIA - British Columbia: Including the Alaska Highway - page 542

($160 s or d); ranch house rooms ($130 s or d); and a limited number of campsites ($20-30).
The ranch also has a restaurant and saloon (breakfast and dinner daily), a playground, and
free wireless Internet.
Continuing north, Helmcken Falls Lodge (250/674-3657, www.helmckenfalls.com ,
Jan.-mid-March and mid-May-Sept., $159-175 s or d) overlooks a golf course and seem-
ingly endless forested hills. The main lodge was constructed as a fishing camp in the 1940s
but has been revamped since, with a mix of older motel-like rooms, log cabins, and an on-
site restaurant cooking up simple, well-priced meals.
Camping
Each of the four park campgrounds along the access road has drinking water, toilets, and
picnic tables; none have hookups or showers. Sites cost $16 per night and are open May
through September. Heading up the road from Clearwater, you'll pass, in order, Spahats
Creek Campground, within walking distance of the falls; Pyramid Campground, just
beyond Dawson Falls; Falls Creek Campground, with large riverside sites; and finally
Clearwater Lake Campground, which is almost at the end of the road, right on the
lake, and is the first to fill each night. Make reservations through Discover Camping (519/
826-6850 or 800/689-9025, www.discovercamping.ca .
If you need a serviced site, stay at tranquil Wells Gray Golf Resort & RV Park (35
kilometers/22 miles north of Clearwater along Clearwater Valley Rd., 250/674-0009, May-
Oct., $20-37), which has 50 campsites set in the middle of a full-length nine-hole golf
course (greens fee $20). Rates include hookups, free firewood, and use of modern shower
facilities.
Information
Park information is available at Clearwater Visitor Centre (250/674-2646, 9am-6pm daily
May-mid-Oct.). The center sells two invaluable guidebooks to the park: Exploring Wells
Gray Park and Nature Wells Gray.
BLUE RIVER
Although right on busy Highway 5, 215 kilometers (134 miles) north of Kamloops, this
one-time railway division point has remained small, holding just a few hundred residents
along with services for passing travelers. Lake Eleanor, in the middle of town, offers a good
beach and swimming, but most visitors head into the surrounding wilderness—the Cariboo
Mountains to the north, Wells Gray Provincial Park to the west, and the northern reaches
of the North Thompson River just to the east. Access to the eastern reaches of Wells Gray