Northern Waters - Murtle Lake

Murtle Lake, BC

A beautiful non-motorized lake in Wells Gray Provincial Park. We did a 4 day circumnavigation (95km) in August 2010. This is the destination that I send my Seattle friends to when they want a guaranteed great lake canoe trip. Easy access from Seattle, easy logistics, beautiful camping and swimming, no motor boats, lake big enough that multi-day trips are good and great scenery.

This lake is known for its stunning scenery but when we did it smoke was blowing in from forest fires up near Prince George. We couldn't see a thing. The "fog" in the pictures is smoke not fog. Thus you will not see mountains in our pictures, but they are there!

Logistics
Canoe rental Blue River Campground (http://www.bluerivercampground.ca/) rents canoes and a whole camping package. They have lots of info and are very helpful. It's a good place to camp on the way in too (showers, wifi, books, supplies, local info).

Camping There are established camp sites along the way on a first-come basis. The ones farther out are less used. Camps have fire rings, bear bins and tables. Many of the camps are on beaches and are quite idyllic.

Maps The one you can print off from the Blue River Campground website (with marked campsites) is fine.

Fees $5 per night per adult. There's a pay box at the end of the 2.5 portage. Bring cash.

Dogs Not allowed.

Bears Wells Gray is famous for its healthy black bear population. We did not see fresh tracks, but folks had seen a bear in some camps on the North arm.

Fishing We don't fish, but folks told us that Murtle Lake is well-known for good fishing. "Everyone does well at Murtle Lake." was what we were told.

Pictures

Murtle Lake

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bcmap.jpg 2010-09-04

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This year, we tried out a lightweight box that we strapped into the canoe. It was great! All our food and kitchen stuff and small misc stuff was tossed into the box. It's probably be a pain to portage though. It was super light empty, but unwieldy to carry.

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6/19/2013 6:27:57 AM