An engraved illustration of Anahim Lake at sunset: the lodge among the spruce above a dock, a canoe drawn up on the shore, geese crossing overhead and the mountains running away to the west.

Anahim Lake · West Chilcotin

There’s a lot out here.

Paddle out from the dock. Watch the pelicans come in. Cast a line, find a trail or head farther into the Chilcotin. And when the lake freezes, come back and do it all differently.

On foot

Find a trail.

The country around Anahim Lake opens up quickly once you are walking in it.

A weathered wooden signpost pointing to trails, lakes and big views, with a pair of hiking boots at its foot. Pick a direction. See where it goes. Worth the drive.
The Rainbow Range at evening, its volcanic slopes streaked orange, gold and rust, as a weathered print.

The Rainbow Range

The Rainbow Range

West along Highway 20, inside Tweedsmuir Park, the Rainbow Range is the big one — old volcanic rock streaked red, orange and yellow, with the alpine arriving sooner than you expect. It is the regional hike people come back talking about.

On the way in

The Beef Trail

The walk in crosses rock shelves and still green water before it reaches the falls. Ask Diane and Murray before you set off — they will tell you what the road is doing.

A rock canyon on the way in to Beef Trail Falls, still green water running between shelves of stone, as a weathered print.

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Follow the water

Chase a waterfall.

Hunlen Falls seen from the air, a single long drop off a forested plateau into the canyon below, as a weathered print.

Farther into the park

Hunlen Falls

Farther into Tweedsmuir Park, and a longer day than the others. Ask Diane and Murray about the way in before you plan it.

Hotnarko Falls dropping in two steps through a basalt canyon, as a weathered print.

South-west of here

Hotnarko Falls

The Hotnarko River drops off the edge of the Precipice, a canyon walled in basalt. It is the kind of place that makes the drive out worth it on its own.

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Keep your eyes open

Who’s around?

Deer along the treeline, bears working the berry patches, and birds on the water all summer. Most of it turns up without being looked for.

An American white pelican lifting off the water, as a weathered print.

American white pelican

Lake & wetlands

Common on Anahim Lake in the warmer months, these impressive birds are often seen gliding, fishing and gathering in groups.

A fox standing on a gravel road in the evening light, silver and rust along its back, as a weathered print.

Red fox

Forest edges & open country

Often seen around forest edges and open country, foxes are most active around dawn and dusk.

A hare in its pale winter coat sitting on frosted leaves beside a bank of snow, as a weathered print.

Snowshoe hare

Forest & brush

Look for them in the forest and along the trails. Their coats change with the seasons, helping them blend from brown to white.

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Also keep an eye out for: black bear in forests and berry patches, mule deer in meadows and valleys, moose in wetlands and lakeshores, bald eagle along the lake and rivers, osprey on lakes and wetlands, and great grey owl at forest edges and clearings. Wild country: wildlife here is just that, wild. Give animals plenty of space, never feed them, and ask your hosts about recent sightings before heading out.

No car required

Start at the dock.

Some of the best of it is thirty seconds from your door.

A canoe pulled up on the dock at Eagle’s Nest Resort, as a weathered print.

At the water’s edge

Canoes & pedal boats

Grab a paddle and head out from the dock. Canoes and pedal boats are available for guests to explore Anahim Lake at their own pace.

A rainbow trout leaping clear of the water. Same lake. New stories every day.

Off the dock

See what’s biting.

The fishing starts where the dock ends. Bring your own gear, take a boat out, or cast from the shore and see what happens.

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Anahim Lake fish: rainbow trout and cuttbow. Licences, limits and seasons change — check the B.C. freshwater fishing regulations before you go. Opens the regulations in a new tab. A canoe drawn up at the water's edge with a paddle resting in the shallows. Quiet water. Big possibilities.

When the lake freezes…

Winter doesn’t shut the place down.

The lodge and its stone garden walls under deep snow, smoke rising from the chimney and the frozen lake running to the far shore beyond, as a weathered print.
Different season. Same Chilcotin.

Miles of it

Snowmobile

The West Chilcotin is sledding country, and there is a great deal of it — miles of backcountry once the snow is down. Come with your own machines and talk to Diane and Murray about where people have been going.

A rider on a snowmobile throwing up a wall of snow. Miles of backcountry.

Ask your hosts

Ask your hosts where people have been riding.

On the ice

Out on the lake.

The lodge seen across the frozen lake in winter, a line of footprints crossing the snow towards a snowman, as a weathered print.

Through the ice

Ice fish

The same lake, a good deal harder. Drill a hole, set up and wait it out. Check the regulations before you go, and check the ice before you walk on it.

A pair of old skates standing in the snow. When the lake lets you.

When it takes

Skate the lake

When conditions permit, there’s nothing quite like skating out on a frozen lake. Conditions decide, not the calendar — ask before you go out.

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One more thing

Not sure where to start?

Ask the people who live here.

You don’t have to figure it all out before you arrive.

Ask Diane and Murray. They live here.

Call us Book your stay
Good adventures start with a conversation.