Area Information

History

Glacier Lake

“Chilcotin” is an Indian name meaning “People of the Blue Water”. The area’s glaciers clean cold water seeps out of the sandy shale mountain slopes giving the lakes throughout our territory an emerald turquoise colour. In prehistoric times, part of our guide territory was under the ocean making it possible for us to take you to see remains of this ancient seabed, studded with fossils on our wilderness hiking trips.

For hundreds of years, this area served as trading routes between the Interior and the Coast. It’s witnessed the heyday of towns being built up around natural resources like the nearby town of Bralorne where a large gold mine in the 1800s made this one of the richest gold-producing areas of British Columbia. Today, the area continues to serve as an important habitat for over 13 Canadian big game species.

On your wilderness hiking trip, you’ll follow in the footsteps of BC’s forefathers and have many wildlife viewing opportunities as wildlife migrate up and down the same trails with the changing seasons.

Location

While our ranch is easily reached by vehicle, access to the pristine wilderness in our guide territory is by foot, horse, or float plane only. Eldorado Valley The remoteness helps preserve the outstanding quality of wilderness.

Unlike the granite Coast Ranges to the south, our mountain ranges have rounded tops and broad U-shaped valleys. The glaciated shale terrain of the South Chilcotin Mountains makes summiting challenging, yet obtainable, no matter what your method of travel.

Located on the leeward side of the Coast Mountains, the South Chilcotin Mountains lie within a transition zone between the Coast Mountains and the Chilcotin Plateau. This favoured position produces a rainshadow. This means sunny skies and a dry climate and an environment that is, almost, bug-free.

The area is renowned for its bio-diversity, with vegetation ranging from Douglas fir to alpine tundra. Plants, representing both temperate vegetation to the south and boreal vegetation to the north occur together. Similarly, massive ancient firs give way to trembling aspen. And, the miles of alpine meadows, brocaded with an abundance of wildflowers numbering in the hundreds, bloom May through to September at their preferred elevations.

An outstanding variety of wildlife inhabits our guide area. California bighorn sheep, moose, mule deer, mountain goat, grizzly, black bear, and wolf are plentiful and frequently sighted.

New: Wildflower Meadows Walking and Hiking Vacations

On our new wildflower meadow hiking trips, our trained licensed guides will take you into the remote areas of the South Chilcotin Mountains where the wildflower meadows are in full bloom. From June to September, the Chilcotin Mountain Ranges are transformed into brilliant displays of colours ranging from subtle pastels to fiery reds and purples — a botanist’s paradise. Between June and September, choose a trip according to the month that best suits your flora interests.

June is the time when the balsa root first starts to bloom. With the coming of spring, brings the bold and bright colours from the first wildflowers marking the passing of the winter snow. Similarly, animals are preparing for the birth of their young and black, brown, and grizzly bears are feasting on new alpine grasses after months of being in hibernation, offering many wildlife viewing opportunities from the alpine meadows.

July and the warmer weather encourages more wildflowers to flourish carpeting the higher elevations. Given the elevation level, spring arrives in the alpine in July as the snowline recedes up the mountain slopes with wildlife following close behind.

August is when all southern mountain aspects are in full bloom in the subalpine and alpine zones. A truly spectacular display of flowers beckons.

September brings the pinnacle of spring/summer blooms on the north slopes of the South Chilcotin Mountains. At the same time, the first dusting of snow appears around mid-September providing a unique overlap of spring, summer, and fall - all at once!

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