Birkenhead Lake Provincial Park is a provincial park

Provincial park

A provincial park is a park under the management of a provincial or territorial government in Canada.While provincial parks are not the same as national parks, their workings are very similar...

 in British Columbia

British Columbia

British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...

, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

, located in the Lillooet Country

Lillooet Country

The Lillooet Country, also referred to as the Lillooet District., is a region spanning from the central Fraser Canyon town of Lillooet west to the valley of the Lillooet River, and including the valleys in between, in the Southern Interior of British Columbia. Like other historical BC regions, it...

 region to the northeast of Pemberton

Pemberton, British Columbia

Pemberton is a village north of Whistler in the Pemberton Valley of British Columbia in Canada, with a population of 2,192. Until the 1960s the village could be accessed only by train but that changed when Highway 99 was built through Whistler and Pemberton.-Climate:The climate of Pemberton is...

 and immediately northwest of Birkenhead Peak

Birkenhead Peak

Birkenhead Peak, commonly known as Mount Birkenhead and sometimes Birkenhead Mountain and also Mount Birken, 2506 m prominence: 1781 m, is a mountain in the Gates Valley region of the Lillooet Country of the South-Central Interior of British Columbia, Canada...

 and Gates Lake (aka Birken Lake) at the community of Birken

Birken, British Columbia

Birken is an unincorporated community, located at Birken Lake in the Gates Valley of the Lillooet Country in the Southern Interior of British Columbia, Canada, approximately midway in the route known as the Long Portage or Pemberton Pass, which connects the Pemberton Valley to the Fraser Canyon via...

.

History and conservation

It was established in 1963 to provide a recreation and conservation area between the Pemberton Valley

Pemberton Valley

The Pemberton Valley is a valley flanking the Lillooet River upstream from Lillooet Lake, including the communities of Mount Currie, Pemberton, British Columbia and the agricultural district surrounding them and flanking the river as far upstream as the Pemberton Meadows area...

 and Lillooet

Lillooet, British Columbia

Lillooet is a community on the Fraser River in western Canada, about up the British Columbia Railway line from Vancouver. Situated at an intersection of deep gorges in the lee of the Coast Mountains, it has a dry climate- of precipitation is recorded annually at the town's weather station,...

 and it has 79 vehicle accessible campsites and a lakeside beach area. The park's wildlife includes mountain goat

Mountain goat

The Mountain Goat , also known as the Rocky Mountain Goat, is a large-hoofed mammal found only in North America. Despite its vernacular name, it is not a member of Capra, the genus of true goats...

s, black bear

American black bear

The American black bear is a medium-sized bear native to North America. It is the continent's smallest and most common bear species. Black bears are omnivores, with their diets varying greatly depending on season and location. They typically live in largely forested areas, but do leave forests in...

s and grizzly bear

Grizzly Bear

The grizzly bear , also known as the silvertip bear, the grizzly, or the North American brown bear, is a subspecies of brown bear that generally lives in the uplands of western North America...

s while the lake itself is home to Rainbow Trout

Rainbow trout

The rainbow trout is a species of salmonid native to tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in Asia and North America. The steelhead is a sea run rainbow trout usually returning to freshwater to spawn after 2 to 3 years at sea. In other words, rainbow trout and steelhead trout are the same species....

 and Kokanee

Kokanee

Kokanee is a word from the Okanagan language referring to land-locked lake populations of Sockeye salmon . It may also refer to:* Kokanee Range, a subrange of the Selkirk Mountains in British Columbia, Canada...

. The lake is also home to a protected species of Bull Trout, often mistaken for Dolly Varden.

Location and access

It is located 90 kilometres north-east of Whistler

Whistler, British Columbia

Whistler is a Canadian resort town in the southern Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mountains in the province of British Columbia, Canada, approximately north of Vancouver...

, the last 21 kilometres of which are a non-paved gravel road branching off the main paved from between Mount Currie

Mount Currie, British Columbia

Mount Currie is a small community in British Columbia, 164 kilometres north-west of Vancouver and 40 kilometres north-west of Whistler along Highway 99....

 and D'Arcy

D'Arcy, British Columbia

D'Arcy is an unincorporated community in the Canadian province of British Columbia, approximately 150 kilometres northeast of the city of Vancouver...

 via Blackwater Creek, a tributary of the Gates River

Gates River

The Gates River is a short river in the Lillooet Country of the Southern Interior of British Columbia, Canada. Approximately 14.5 km in length, it flows generally northeast from the outlet of Birken Lake to its mouth at the head of Anderson Lake...

, a few miles northeast of the community of Birken

Birken, British Columbia

Birken is an unincorporated community, located at Birken Lake in the Gates Valley of the Lillooet Country in the Southern Interior of British Columbia, Canada, approximately midway in the route known as the Long Portage or Pemberton Pass, which connects the Pemberton Valley to the Fraser Canyon via...

.

External links

• Birkenhead Lake Provincial Park.