Bowron Lake Provincial Park

British Columbia Provincial Park Of About 1,490 Square Kilometres Containing A Near Perfect Rectangle Of Lakes And Rivers; The 116 Kilometre Bowron Lake Canoe Circuit Returns To Its Own Start And Is Ranked Among The Great Canoe Trips In The World · Wells, British Columbia

A chain of lakes and rivers in the Cariboo Mountains happens to form an almost perfect rectangle, and the result is one of the very few canoe circuits in the world THAT BRINGS YOU BACK TO WHERE YOU STARTED WITHOUT RETRACING A METRE. The Bowron circuit runs about a hundred and sixteen kilometres over six to ten days, through eleven lakes and connecting rivers, with roughly ten kilometres of portage in total - the longest a two-kilometre carry at the very beginning that sorts out who packed sensibly. Mountains rise straight from the water on the eastern side, the moose are numerous and often standing in the shallows, and GRIZZLIES ARE COMMON along the Bowron River section. NUMBERS ARE CAPPED AND RESERVATIONS ARE REQUIRED, released months ahead and taken quickly, which is exactly why a trip here still feels like wilderness rather than a queue.

East of Barkerville, Cariboo Mountains, Wells, British Columbia, Canada

THE CIRCUIT SEASON RUNS ROUGHLY LATE MAY OR EARLY JUNE TO EARLY OCTOBER, bounded by ice and by water levels. RESERVATIONS ARE MANDATORY FOR THE FULL CIRCUIT and numbers are strictly capped - bookings open months in advance through BC Parks and the popular July and August dates go quickly. A PADDLING FEE APPLIES PER PERSON, recently in the CAD 60-120 range for the full circuit and less for the shorter west-side loop. ALL PARTIES MUST ATTEND AN ORIENTATION at the registration centre before launching, which covers bear safety and the campsite system, and it is not optional. THE WEST SIDE CAN BE PADDLED AS A SHORTER TWO TO FOUR DAY OUT-AND-BACK with its own cheaper permit. Canoe and kayak rentals operate at the park entrance. There is no cell coverage on the circuit.

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