NORTHERN BRITISH COLUMBIA - British Columbia: Including the Alaska Highway - page 634

The Road to Salmon Glacier
Continuing beyond Hyder, the unpaved road continues up Fish Creek, passing an aban-
doned mining operation and then the ruins of a covered bridge that provided access to a
remote mine up the Texas Creek watershed. From this point the road narrows considerably
and becomes increasingly steep (travel is not recommended for RVs), crossing back into
Canada and winding through former living quarters for the abandoned gold and mineral ore
Premier Mine. The road makes a loop around tailing ponds and continues climbing steeply,
with Salmon Glacier first coming into view 25 kilometers (15.5 miles) from Hyder. The
road parallels the glacier and climbs to a high point after another 10 kilometers (6.2 miles),
where the best lookout point is. This glacier, fifth largest in North America but also one of
the most accessible, is one of British Columbia's most awesome sights, snaking for many
kilometers through the highest peaks of the Coast Mountains.
NORTH OF MEZIADIN JUNCTION
Meziadin to Dease Lake
Around 100 kilometers (62 miles) from the junction, Bell II Lodge (250/275-4770 or 888/
499-4354, www.bell2lodge.com , camping $24-34, $138-195 s or d) comes into view. It's
the winter base for Last Frontier Heli-skiing but is a lot more than a spot to spend the night
before heading north through the rest of the year. Fishing is the biggest attraction, espe-
cially through summer for chinook salmon and late September-early November for steel-
head. Also here is a restaurant (7am-8pm daily, $16-26) and a bar. The lodge sells all the
fishing tackle you'll need and offers a variety of daily guiding services, including heli-fish-
ing and heli-hiking.
At the 200-kilometer (124-mile) mark is 1,800-hectare (4,450-acre) Kinaskan Lake
Provincial Park (mid-May-Sept., camping $16), known for its hungry rainbow trout. In
the south of the park, a trail leads one kilometer (0.6 mile) to another reliable fishing hole,
Natadesleen Lake, then a further kilometer (0.6 mile) along an overgrown trail to beauti-
ful, tiered Cascade Falls.
The small Tahltan town of Iskut has a post office, gas station, and grocery store
(8am-9pm daily). Continuing north, the highway runs through the Stikine River Provincial
Park, a long and narrow 217,000-hectare (536,200-acre) park straddling the Stikine River.
The park also links Spatsizi Plateau Provincial Park and Mount Edziza Provincial Park.
The former is British Columbia wilderness at its wildest—656,780 hectares (1.62 million
acres) of broad plateaus, stunning glacier-capped peaks, roaring rivers, and fish-filled lakes.
Wildlife abounds: Grizzly bears, moose, wolves, wolverines, mountain goats, woodland