CENTRAL BRITISH COLUMBIA - British Columbia: Including the Alaska Highway - page 559

with a welcoming, heritage-style atmosphere. The extensive menu includes something for
everyone, including top notch grilled steaks, vegetarian and gluten-free options, and a kid's
menu.
Information
Beside the highway on the east side of town is impressive log and timber-frame Tourism
Discovery Centre (1660 Broadway, 250/392-5025, www.williamslake.ca , 8am-8pm daily
in summer, 9am-5pm Mon.-Fri. the rest of the year). Inside is the local visitor center, a café,
a gift shop, and displays on local natural and human history.
Getting There
Williams Lake is on Highway 97 288 kilometers (180 miles) north of Kamloops and 550
kilometers (344 miles) north of Vancouver. Continuing north, it's just over an hour's driv-
ing north to Quesnel (118 kilometers/76 miles) and a similar distance beyond Quesnel to
Prince George.
HIGHWAY 20
Highway 20 west of Williams Lake leads 485 kilometers (301 miles) to Bella Coola, the
only road-accessible town along the 500 kilometers (310 miles) of coastline between Pow-
ell River and Prince Rupert. The highway is paved for less than half its length; the rest of
the way it's mostly all-weather gravel, and can be slow going in spots. But experiencing the
vast and varied wilderness of the Chilcotin Coast is worthy of as much time as you can
afford. And with a ferry at the end of the road providing a link to Port Hardy (Vancouver
Island), you'll only need to make the trip one-way.
Services along Highway 20 are spaced at regular intervals, but don't take the trip too
lightly; make sure your vehicle is in good condition, and carry tools and spare tires to alle-
viate the necessity of an expensive tow-truck ride.
West from Williams Lake
The road west from Williams Lake meanders through the Fraser River Valley before be-
ginning a steady climb to the Chilcotin Plateau, the heart of British Columbia's ranching
country.
The first worthwhile detour is Junction Sheep Range Provincial Park, at the end of a
20-kilometer (12-mile) unpaved road that branches south off Highway 20 at Riske Creek,
47 kilometers (29 miles) west of Williams Lake. The triangular park protects 4,573 hec-
tares (11,300 acres) of mostly semi-arid grasslands between the Fraser and Chilcotin Rivers,