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Fort Nelson is a natural destination for outdoor activities that include wildlife viewing and photography, backpacking, mountain biking, horseback riding, kayaking, river rafting and cross-country skiing. The region is also famous for its fly-in fishing and big-game hunting. Take advantage of the Welcome Visitor Program, where volunteer ambassadors tell you about Fort Nelson and all the region has to offer.
Fort Nelson is paradise for hikers and backpackers. In town, The Community Forest, located in the Fort Nelson Lowlands, offers 400 ha (988 ac) of wonderful trails designed to educate the public about the social and economic benefits of well-managed forest lands.
Even more impressive trails are found a two-hour drive west in Stone Mountain and Northern Rocky Mountains provincial parks. Located at the highest point on the Alaska Highway, these parks offer breathtaking vistas and remarkable wildlife-viewing opportunities. Legendary routes include: Flower Springs Lake Trail, a 10.2-km (6-mi) roundtrip trek through flower-strewn valleys to a stunning blue lake and roaring waterfall at the base of Mount St. George; and Wokkpash Trail, a 71-km (44-mi) remote wilderness trek. Highlights along the 5-7-day route include hoodoos, surreal pillars caused by stone erosion, as well as fishing in the glacial waters of Wokkpash Lake.
Stone Mountain Provincial Park is home to the Summit Tower Trail, offering mountain bikers mesmerizing alpine landscapes. Wildflowers carpet the hillsides in June, while caribou and elk are common sights en route. For those who prefer four-legged trail riding, opportunities for horseback riding abound, from short trail rides to multi-day, guided tours.
As for camping, there are vehicle-accessible provincial campgrounds in Stone Mountain, Muncho Lake and Liard River Hot Springs provincial parks, while Stone Mountain and Northern Rocky Mountains provincial parks offer wilderness campsites along some of their trails.
For those who prefer links to trails, head to the nine-hole course at Poplar Hills Golf & Country Club, which sits high above the Muskwa Valley and offers panoramic views of the Northern Rockies.
Make sure to visit the Fort Nelson Heritage Museum, which captures the spirit of the region's early trapping days as well as the key role Fort Nelson played in the building of the Alaska Highway. A 30-minute movie uses footage taken during the construction of the highway to effectively convey the mammoth nature of this project.
Fort Nelson is the gateway to the vast Muskwa-Kechika Management Area, one of the last tracts of true wilderness located south of the 60th parallel. Three magnificent provincial parks -Stone Mountain, Muncho Lake and Liard River Hot Springs- are here, all accessible along the Alaska Highway. This area is renowned for its rugged mountain vistas, carpets of wildflowers, sparkling lakes, natural hot springs and an abundance of wildlife. While those seeking outdoor adventures will want to head to the parks' numerous hiking trails, this is one area where views from the highway are almost as impressive. Wildlife viewing includes moose, caribou, elk, mule deer, stone sheep as well as black and grizzly bears. Visit the Fort Nelson Visitor Info Centre for a list of roadside viewpoints along the Alaska Highway.
Two major highlights along the Alaska Highway Corridor are Muncho Lake and Liard River Hot Springs provincial parks. Muncho Lake features soaring mountain peaks and bountiful wildlife, with meadows awash in wildflowers. The cold, deep waters of its namesake are tinted green by minerals and prove a remarkably scenic location for camping and boating. The lake is also a key launching point for boat tours, whitewater rafting and float trips, as well as for fly-in fishing and camping.
Liard River Hot Springs park is home to one of Canada's largest, natural, hot-springs systems. These springs create an unusually warm microclimate, enabling 14 species of orchids and carnivorous plants such as sundew, butterwort and aquatic bladderwort to flower here. There are numerous opportunities to view these flora, as well as fauna such as moose, along the boardwalk trail from the park's parking lot to the hot springs. You also have the chance to soak in the midst of this unique ecosystem. Choose from one of the park's two outdoor hot springs pools, with temperatures ranging from 42° C (107° F) to 52° C (125° F).
Thanks to its close proximity to lakes, streams and rivers, the Fort Nelson region is a water lover's delight. Fishing is easily accessible from just off the Alaska Highway at one of many streams and rivers. Anglers often choose the incomparable solitude of a fly-in trip to one of the remote crystal lakes and rivers in the area. Freshwater catch includes lake and rainbow trout, grayling, Dolly Varden, Rocky Mountain whitefish, northern pike and walleye.
There's no better place to relax and rejuvenate after taking part in the region's strenuous outdoors activities than in the hot springs of Liard River Hot Springs Provincial Park. A 4-hour drive northwest from Fort Nelson, the hot springs draw visitors year-round to their steamy warmth. As you stroll the boardwalk through the warm-water marshes of this unique ecosystem, you'll see many unusual plant and bird species.
Those looking for action will find it on multi-day rafting trips on the Tuchodi-Muskwa, Turnagain, Gataga-Kechika, Toad and Liard rivers in the Muskwa-Kechika Management Area. You'll raft through a pristine valley of spruce forest that sweeps up to the jagged peaks of the Northern Rockies. You can also canoe or kayak the jade-green waters of 12-km (7.5 mi) Muncho Lake, take a boat tour around the lake, or a Jetboat tour up the Muskwa River through canyons and rapids. Then relax in the namesake hot springs of Liard River Hot Springs Provincial Park. A boardwalk leads to the two natural pools.
The Fort Nelson area offers some of BC's driest powder, with terrain perfect for cross-country skiing or snowshoeing and groomed trails for snowmobiling. Fort Nelson also hosts the annual Canadian Open Dog Sled Races in February.
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