NORTHERN BRITISH COLUMBIA - British Columbia: Including the Alaska Highway - page 636

Prince George to the Alaska Highway
Most travelers use the route north from Prince George to access Mile Zero of the Alaska
Highway at Dawson Creek. But this direct route, a distance of 405 kilometers (252 miles),
bypasses the region's highlight at Hudson's Hope, halfway between Chetwynd and Fort
St. John. Whichever route you take, there's plenty to see and do, with interesting provincial
parks and towns offering northern hospitality.
TO HUDSON'S HOPE
The first worthwhile stop along Highway 97 is 970-hectare (2,300-acre) Crooked River
Provincial Park, 80 kilometers (50 miles) north of Prince George. The park's centerpiece
is Bear Lake, which is encircled by a hiking trail that passes a sandy beach, a forested
picnic area, and a spur trail to Square Lake. At the end of the park access road, a largish
campground has 65 well-spaced sites on two loops (519/826-6850 or 800/689-9025,
www.discovercamping.ca , mid-May-early Sept., $16), easy access to a beach, pit toilets,
drinking water, and a playground.
Carp Lake Provincial Park lies 140 kilometers (87 miles) north of Prince George,
then 32 kilometers (20 miles) west (turn off at McLeod Lake) along a sometimes rough
unsealed road. The park's epicenter is Carp Lake, a picturesque body renowned for its
rainbow trout fishing (although you really need a canoe or motorboat to get out to the
best fishing grounds). Despite its name, you won't catch carp—the lake was named by
explorer Simon Fraser, who noted that the Carrier Indians journeyed to the lake for fish
“of the carp kind.” The park holds two campgrounds (519/826-6850 or 800/689-9025,
www.discovercamping.ca , mid-May-early Sept., $16) with facilities limited to pit toilets,
picnic tables, and fire rings. The larger of the two, right on Carp Lake, is a 15-minute walk
to a sandy beach inaccessible by road.
To Powder King
The forestry town of Mackenzie (pop. 4,500) lies 180 kilometers (112 miles) north of
Prince George on the southern arm of massive Williston Lake, North America's largest
manmade reservoir. At the town's entrance is the world's largest tree crusher, used during
that logging operation. Nearby Morfee Lake has swimming off a sandy beach. Take
the logging road to the summit of Morfee Hill for lake views. Stay in a regular motel
room at Williston Lake Lodge (305 Mackenzie Blvd., 250/997-3131 or 888/955-6343,