Liard River Hot Springs

The springs feed two pools, Alpha and Beta, at temperatures running roughly from forty-two to fifty-two degrees, reached by a boardwalk over a warm swamp. That swamp is the point ecologically: the heat creates a microclimate supporting more than a dozen orchid species and around two hundred and fifty plants in total, many far outside their normal range, plus a small population of lake chub living in water warmer than the species usually tolerates. American Army engineers building the Alaska Highway in 1942 used the springs and built the first boardwalk. Moose feed in the warm swamp and bears are regular; a fatal bear attack here in 1997 is remembered on site.

History

The springs, the second largest natural hot springs in Canada after Deer River Hot Springs 15 km to the north-east, were first named the Theresa Hot Springs; the first boardwalk and pool facilities were built by the United States Army in 1942, and the provincial park was created in April 1957 (Wikipedia, Liard River Hot Springs Provincial Park).

What you'll find

• The Alpha pool - the main soaking pool at the end of the boardwalk.
• The warm swamp - orchids and out-of-range plants living on spring heat.
• The boardwalk - a raised walk over the thermal wetland.
• The wildlife - moose feeding in the swamp, bears in the area.

When to go

Year-round, and winter is arguably better: soaking at minus thirty with frost in your hair is the local experience. The campground books out in summer along the highway route.

Things to know

Bears use the area and the warnings are serious, not decorative. The hotter pool can scald. It is very remote, two hundred kilometres from the nearest town of any size.

Nearby

Muncho Lake lies south; Fort Nelson is south.

Key facts