Gordon Baron
Stewarts Lodge overlooks Nimpo Lake and Tweedsmuir Air's seaplane base
By Gordon Baron
For decades, Nimpo Lake has attracted anglers from around the world for fly-fishing. There are more than 100 pristine alpine lakes, rivers, and streams within 25 minutes flying time from Nimpo Lake, earning it the title "Floatplane Capital of British Columbia". Nimpo Lake is a three-hour drive (295 km) from the interior town of Williams Lake, traveling west on Highway 20. People come for the famous rainbow trout, but also for the hiking, paddling, horseback riding, and flightseeing. These are the adventures that attracted u here - the opportunity to experience the outdoors, nature and wildlife one on one. We stayed at the beautiful Wilderness Rim Resort on Nimpo Lake. The resort offers camping on the lake or staying in one of their new luxury chalets. The craftsmanship of the buildings is some of the best we have seen, and after talking to owner Tabby Reid, we learned why it was so great. Her husband Bryan Reid Jr. works for his dad Bryan Reid Sr., who owns Pioneer Log Homes, which is featured on their hit television series "Timber Kings".
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Wilderness Rim Resort on Hwy 20 at Nimpo Lake
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Wilderness Rim Resort is a great spot for camping, fishing and paddling on Nimpo Lake
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Chalets at Wilderness Rim Resort were built by Pioneer Log Homes
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New Chalets for rent at Wilderness Rim Resort
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Log storage shed
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Pioneer Log Home's traveling MotorHome
Whether we were fishing from the shore, on the dock or in a boat, we caught trout; there is no shortage of rainbows in this lake. The Nimpo Lake area is surrounded by lodges, resorts, outfitters and guides, campsites, restaurants, stores, and gas stations. If you are short for time, Pacific Coastal Airlines has daily scheduled flights from Vancouver to Anahim Lake, lodge staff will pick you up from the airport on request (17 km west of Nimpo Lake). There are many fly out cabins, called outposts, that are fully stocked for the fisher, paddler, hiker or hunter.
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Wilderness Rim Resort Chalets on Nimpo Lake
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Resorts, lodges, cabins and campsites on Nimpo Lake
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Resorts, lodges, cabins and campsites on Nimpo Lake
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Seaplanes are busy in the summer flying people into the outback of Tweedsmuir Provincial Park
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Tweedsmuir Air's seaplane base on Nimpo Lake
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Lodges on Nimpo Lake have boats, canoes, kayaks and paddleboards for rent
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Getting ready for the morning bite
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Nimpo Lake is known as the "Float Plane Capital of BC"
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At 3,655 ft, Nimpo Lake is the staging area for alpine wilderness adventures
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More than 10 lodges, resorts and outfitters use seaplanes to get to the remote, lakes, rivers and trails around the Tweedsmuir Park area.
When we were there in September, planes were busy taking people to the outbacks of Tweedsmuir Park. At 981,000 hectares, it is the biggest provincial park in the province and has something for everyone who likes the outdoors. One of the most popular trips is the 3-5 day canoe paddling adventure in the Turn Lake Chain consisting of seven lakes. The main attraction on Turner Lake is Hunlen Falls; the third highest waterfall in the province. BC Parks has built trails leading to the falls for the hiker. Tweedsmuir Air on Nimpo Lake has flightseeing tours to the falls, Monarch Icefields, and to the painted mountains in the Rainbow Range. Nimpo and Anahim Lake area is definitely cattle country - some ranches have been here for over a hundred years, handed down from generation to generation.
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Owner of Stewarts Lodge "Duncan Stewart" getting his boats ready for a day of fishing on Nimpo Lake
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Paddling on Nimpo Lake
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Fishing Nimpo Lake
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The lakes, rivers and streams around the Nimpo area is world famous for the fly-fishing
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Fishers heading out for the morning bite
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Snow-capped peaks of the Coast Mountain Range in the distance from Nimpo Lake
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Snow-capped peaks of the Coast Mountain Range in the distance from Nimpo Lake
We had the opportunity to stay on a working ranch and experience what life would be being a cowboy and cowgirl (think of the movie City Slickers). It's hard work; people that work their family's homesteads have devoted their life to ranching. You can experience this for yourself at Six Mile Ranch in Anahim Lake, a working ranch owned by Roger and Wanda Williams. You can stay at the ranch, work and eat with workers, go out on the range, round up the herd, and go on a summer three-day cattle drive. But their main focus is taking guests on horse pack trips through the alpine mountain range for 7 to 14 days. One of their longer trips is to Pan Phillips Resort, located at the "Home Ranch". This is where the idea came from for the TV series "Nothing too Good for a Cowboy".
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Boats, kayaks, paddleboards and canoes are available for rent on Nimpo Lake
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Boats, kayaks, paddleboards and canoes are available for rent on Nimpo Lake
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Christensen's store at Anahim Lake (17 km from Nimpo Lake)
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Old barn on hwy 20 (Nimpo Lake)
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People have been ranching in the Nimpo Lake area for more than a century. Some ranches offer the opportunity to experience a real cattle drive
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People have been ranching in the Nimpo Lake area for more than a century. Some ranches offer the opportunity to experience a real cattle drive
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People have been ranching in the Nimpo Lake area for more than a century. Some ranches offer the opportunity to experience a real cattle drive
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Hay fields next to Hwy 20, driving to Nimpo Lake
People also fly into this area to fish, hike and canoe the Dean and Blackwater Rivers, which are legendary for not only for the fishing, but also the rich history. The trails and rivers where used by Sir Alexander Mackenzie and his men to finish the last leg of their historic journey in 1793, crossing the North American Continent. The time we spent at Nimpo Lake was action-packed - the weather was hot, the people were friendly and the scenery was stunning. The area also has abundant wildlife. Nimpo Lake is not far from towering peaks of the coastal mountain range and Mt. Waddington, at 4005.68 m(13,142 ft), is the tallest mountain within British Columbia. Mountains on the central coast, boarding the Pacific Ocean has one of the highest concentrations of grizzly bears per mile in the world.
Over the last few years, grizzly population has increased in the lower elevations in the West Chilcotin.
If you want to see wildlife or cows roaming the range, this is the place to be.
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The Coastal Mountain Range in Tweedsmuir Park is a great place to see bears in their nature habitat
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The Coastal Mountain Range in Tweedsmuir Park is a great place to see bears in their nature habitat
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Horary Marmot is the biggest species of the squirrel family
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Horary Marmot is the biggest species of the squirrel family