Location: South-Central British
Columbia, near the settlement of Horsefly, which itself is located about
50 kilometers East of BC Highway 97 near 150 Mile House / Williams Lake.
Liked: Mostly very
good road conditions, fine lake views from recreation sites, fish in the
grass statue.
Of Note: About 40% of the road is made of
gravel, with some potholes. Dusty conditions may also occur on the
gravel stretch of the road.
Cariboo Chilcotin Coast BC Backroad Mapbook (4th edition)
Road Location
Coordinates: Page 29 (Williams
Lake) D5-E4-F3-G3, then Page 30 (Horsefly) A3-B2-C2-D1-E1, then Page 44
(Likely) E7.
Horsefly Lake Road is not a terribly scenic drive, and mostly passes by
forests and ranches. However, it is deserving of a trip report for two
main reasons: 1) it leads to four fine recreation sites, and 2) it
provides initial directions for the three trip reports which will
follow: Horsefly Mountain Trail Hike,
Horsefly Lake Provincial Park
Visit, and Viewland Mountain Trail Hike.
Horsefly Lake Road, despite some potholes, is suitable for just about
any vehicle. Except that access to Kleene Lake Recreation Site, and,
especially, Quesnel Lake Public Landing Recreation Site (QLPL RS) is
better left for high clearance vehicles. There is also lots of sand at
the QLPL RS, as well as very steep last 100 meters (getting OUT would be
most difficult), so make sure your vehicle is capable of handling the
conditions.
Despite the fact that it was almost the middle of August, out of all the
camping spots in all four recreation site, only one spot was occupied
(at QLPL RS), albeit by a large party. Horsefly Lake Provincial Park
also had many available spots.
We will start on BC Highway 97, then turn onto Likely Road, which will be followed by Horsefly Road,
then Horsefly Lake Road itself, which smoothly turns into Haggens Point
Road (Z Road) at a point which is hard to determine. Please, note, that
there are several ways of getting onto Horsefly Lake Road, other than
turning off from Highway 97 as described below, but those other ways are
beyond the scope of this trip report.
Zero your odometer after turning onto Likely Road from Highway 97 (photo
#2), and these are the distances to various attractions from that
turnoff. RS = Recreation Site. All recreation sites have pit toilets,
and no services. The maximum stay is 14 consecutive days. There is also
a boat launch at each recreation site, though some boat launches are
better than others, as far as available space and steepness of the
terrain.
4.5 Km Likely Rd (Left) / Horsefly Rd (stay
Right)
48.7 km Welcome to Horsefly sign
51.2 km Horsefly Rd @ Horsefly Lake Rd - turn
Right past Clarkes general store
51.7 km Horsefly River spawning channel fish
statue in the grass
52.5 km Horsefly Lake Rd (stay Left) / Black
Creek Rd (Right)
52.8 km gravel road starts
59.0 km Lemon Lake Road on Right (to
Horsefly
Mountain Trail)
64.2 km
Horsefly Lake Provincial Park entrance on
Right
74.5 km Viewland Forest Service Road on Right (to
Viewland Mountain Trail)
83.3 km Jacques Lake RS (on Right)
86.9 km Keno Lake RS (on Left)
88.9 km Kleene Lake RS turnoff (on Left) 3.2 km
to RS
89.5 km Quesnel Lake Public Landing RS turnoff
(on Left)
91.8 km arrive Quesnel Lake Public Landing RS
1. We are Northbound on BC Highway 97 in 150 Mile House, with Williams
Lake being ten minutes further to the North.
BC Highway 97 North in 150 Mile House British Columbia Canada
2. A few hundred meters past the sign seen in the photo above, make a right
turn onto Likely Road. Zero your odometer at the turn.
BC Highway 97 North at Likely Road turnoff in 150 Mile House
3. 4.5 kilometers after Highway 97, follow the sign and stay to the
right (straight) - that would be the beginning of Horsefly Road. Turning left onto Likely Road would eventually
lead to Quesnel
Forks Historic Site,
Bullion Pit Mine
Canyon Trail,
Browntop Mountain Trail, and
Cameron Ridge Trail.
Likely Road by Horsefly Road near 150 Mile House BC Canada
4. Now on Horsefly Road. It has very little traffic, with ranches and
forests along the way.
Horsefly Road British Columbia
5. Entering the settlement of Horsefly, 48.7 km past Highway 97 turnoff.
Entering Horsefly BC
6-8. At the 51.2 km mark, immediately after Clarke's General Store seen
on the right side in photo #6, turn right from Horsefly Road onto
Horsefly Lake Road, which begins at the bridge shown in photo #8.
Clarke's General Store Horsefly British Columbia
Horsefly Road at Horsefly Lake Road in Horsefly BC
Bridge Across Horsefly River in Horsefly British Columbia
9. At 51.7 km, just 500 meters from the start of Horsefly Lake Road,
there is Horsefly River Spawning Channel, with a board providing
information about this attraction.
Horsefly River Spawning Channel Parking Area and Information Board
10. Just to the right of where we took the photo above, there is this
neat fish in the grass statue.
Fish Statue Horsefly BC
11. Less than a kilometer later, at the 52.5 km mark, Horsefly Lake Road is
to the left, while Black Creek Road is to the right.
Horsefly Lake Road at Black Creek Road near Horsefly BC Canada
12. Three hundred meters past that split, asphalt ends, and gravel
(along with occasional potholes) begins.
Horsefly Lake Road end of asphalt
13. At the 59.0 km mark, Lemon Lake Road begins on the right - it
eventually leads to Horsefly Mountain Trail, covered in the next trip
report.
Horsefly Lake Road at Lemon Lake Road turnoff
14. Horsefly Lake Road past Lemon Lake Road turnoff.
Horsefly Lake Road British Columbia Canada
15. At the 64.2 km mark,
Horsefly Lake Provincial Park entrance is on the
right side.
Horsefly Lake Road at Horsefly Lake Provincial Park entrance
16. Viewland Forest Service Road turnoff arrives at the 74.5 km mark,
and leads to Viewland Mountain
Trail very shortly.
Horsefly Lake Road at Viewland FSR turnoff
17. Continuing on what is now Haggens Point Road / Z Road (though it's
unclear at what point Horsefly Lake Road is done). At the 83.3 km mark is
the entrance to Jacques Lake Recreation Site.
Haggens Point Road (Z Road) at Jacques Lake Recreation Site turnoff
18. Here is a view after turning from the main road.
Road to Jacques Lake Recreation Site near Horsefly British Columbia
19. Jacques Lake.
Jacques Lake near Horsefly BC Canada
20. There are six camping spots at Jacques Lake Recreation Site.
Jacques Lake Recreation Site
21. Continuing on Horsefly Lake Road (Haggens Point Road by this, ahem,
point), at the 86.9 km mark Keno Lake Recreation Site is right by the
road. So, all the traffic noise (and associated dust) would make it for
a
less than serene stay. Unless you want to launch a boat and paddle away
from it all. There are two camping spots here, well separated from each
other.
Keno Lake Recreation Site by Haggens Point Road (Z Road)
22. A short path to the boat launch.
Path to boat launch at Keno Lake Recreation Site
23. Keno Lake.
Keno Lake near Horsefly British Columbia
24. Driving further, at the 88.9 km mark, there is a split. Klinne Lake
Recreation Site is 3 kilometers to the left, and Quesnel Lake Public
Landing Recreation Site is 3 km to the right.
Haggens Point Road (Z Road) near Klinne Lake Recreation Site
25. We are visiting Klinne Lake first, so here is the road. There is a
split closer to the lake - make another left turn.
Road to Klinne Lake Recreation Site British Columbia Canada
26. And here is Klinne Lake Recreation Site. There are two camping
spots, in close proximity. The site is rather small.
Klinne Lake Recreation Site near Horsefly BC Canada
27. Klinne Lake.
Klinne Lake near Horsefly BC
28. We are back on Haggens Point Road. At the 89.5 km mark, Quesnel Lake
Public Landing Recreation Site turnoff is on the left. Continuing
straight would lead to Elysia Resort.
Haggens Point Road (Z Road) near Quesnel Lake Public Landing Recreation
Site
29. We have turned left, and it's another 2.3 km to the recreation site,
on a pretty rough road. A high clearance vehicle may be required.
Road to Quesnel Lake Public Landing Recreation Site
30. Arriving at Quesnel Lake Public Landing Recreation Site.
Coordinates: N 52⁰31.120' W 121⁰05.935'.
Elevation: 720 meters. It's by far the
most picturesque of the four recreation site on Haggens Point Road (Z
Road) / Horsefly Lake Road.
Quesnel Lake Public Landing Recreation Site
31. There is actually a sandy beach there, albeit with lots of small
stones. Be careful with your vehicle, lest it gets stuck in the
sand. Also, the road exiting the site is VERY steep, so a 4x4 might be
in order, if the road is wet/muddy.
Beach on Quesnel Lake Public Landing Recreation Site near Horsefly
British Columbia
32. The recreation site continues for several hundred meters, and has
four camping spots.
Quesnel Lake British Columbia
33. Quesnel Lake and the surrounding mountains look very good from this
place.
View of Quesnel Lake from Recreation Site
34. Now with some zoom.
Quesnel Lake
Horsefly Lake Road / Haggens Point Road (Z Road) is not an attraction by
itself, but it leads to several hikes, one very fine provincial park,
and four good recreation site. If you are interested in any of the
above, this is the right road to take.
Other Trips in Horsefly BC
Area:
ihikebc.com
Trip 173 -
Horsefly Lake Road Visit (Near
Horsefly BC)
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