CENTRAL BRITISH COLUMBIA - British Columbia: Including the Alaska Highway - page 561

West across the pass, you face The Hill. This infamous descent from Heckman Pass to the
Bella Coola Valley drops nearly the full 1,524 meters (5,000 feet) in less than 10 kilometers
(6.2 miles). Be prepared for numerous switchbacks and a gradient as steep as 18 percent.
Tweedsmuir Provincial Park
At nearly a million hectares (2.5 million acres), this is British Columbia's largest provincial
park. Roughly triangular, the park is bounded by Ootsa Lake on the north, the high peaks of
the Coast Mountains on the west, and the Rainbow Range—so named for its colorful vol-
canic formations—on the east. Within these boundaries lies an untouched landscape, wild
and remote, holding numerous river systems, forested valleys, alpine meadows, waterfalls,
and glaciers. Most of those park highlights are accessible only on foot. Although the park's
resident populations of large mammals are high, viewing opportunities are limited. Black
and grizzly bears, mountain goats, caribou, wolves, and moose are all present, but they tend
to remain well away from the highway. In early fall, grizzlies can occasionally be seen feed-
ing on spawned-out salmon along the Atnarko River. Highway 20 meanders through the
southern section of the park, but aside from two campgrounds and a handful of picnic areas
along this route, the park is devoid of facilities.
One of the few short hiking trails is to a series of kettle ponds formed by a receding gla-
cier that stalled many thousands of years ago. This trail is four kilometers (2.5 miles) each
way, beginning from a picnic area 16 kilometers (10 miles) west of Atnarko River Camp-
ground.
Campgrounds are on the north bank of the Atnarko River (at the base of The Hill) and 30
kilometers (18.6 miles) west at Fisheries Pool. Facilities at both include pit toilets, drinking
water, and picnic tables ($16 a night).
BELLA COOLA
The urge to see what's at the end of the road brings many travelers over The Hill and down
to Bella Coola (pop. 800), 485 kilometers (301 miles) west of Williams Lake. Here the
Bella Coola River drains into North Bentinck Arm, a gateway to the Inside Passage and the
Pacific Ocean. The town lies in a coastal valley that was originally the home of the Nuxalk
tribe.
Sights and Recreation
Housed in a historic schoolhouse, the Bella Coola Valley Museum (269 Hwy. 20, 250/
799-5767, 9am-5pm daily except Tues. mid-June-early Sept., adult $3, child $1) features
artifacts of early Norwegian settlers and the Hudson's Bay Company, which established a