Overview: Fowl Lake is a easy to moderate difficulty backcountry route that offers lakeside meadow camping with sandy water access. Shorter access camping opportunities are available, allowing one to complete the majority of the elevation of this route with a day bag if desired.
Summary of Route:
- Type: Out and back, alpine lake camping
- Rating: 3/5
- Season: Summer
- Length: 4.2km one way to Fowl Lake,
- Duration: 1 night
- Difficulty: Easy to Moderate
Access: Access to Fowl Lake is found approximately 12km north of Pemberton, British Columbia, Canada. From Pemberton, proceed east towards Mount Currie. Once at Mount Currie, take the north road (Pemberton-Portage Road) for 5.3 km’s until GPS coordinates 50.35643, -122.73430. Turn left onto Owl Creek Forest Service Road. You will travel on Owl Creek FSR for the entirety of the access, approximately 9.1 km’s. This FSR has recently (2023) been utilized for logging and is accordingly in excellent condition; however, it is quite steep and older vehicles may risk overheating. This road provides beautiful views upon your return journey overlooking Lillooet Lake. While utilizing an off-line map tool such as Gaia is always recommended, following the best condition road should ensure that you stay on Owl Creek FSR. After travelling 9.1 km’s you will see a sign on your left indicating the trailhead for Fowl Lake, Ogre Lake and Tenquille Lake (GPS coordinates 50.40224, -122.79693). Approximately 100m’s further is an excellent spot to park your vehicle.
The Hike:
After parking your vehicle, return to the trailhead and follow the obvious path. The first portion of this trail has received some recent maintenance and is in excellent condition. Due to the surrounding lakes, this area can be quite buggy in summer months. After approximately 1.5 km’s you will come to a signed intersection indicating bear left for Fowl lake and bear right for Chain Lakes.
A quick detour towards Chain Lakes will bring you to an excellent campsite. As you gain views of the first of the Chain Lakes, bear right and proceed for approximately 100m. A wonderful open site with lake views and easy access waits. In July 2023 this site had significantly fewer mosquitos than Fowl Lake. Utilizing this site as a staging ground will allow easy day hikes along the Chain Lakes and up to Fowl Lake and beyond.
Should you be continuing to Fowl Lake, return to the prior intersection. Immediately after this intersection the route begins to gain elevation, with the steepest section occurring in approximately 500m. Almost the entirety of the 380m elevation gain of this hike occurs in this portion. With overnight packs and the omnipresent mosquitos, this section is not particularly enjoyable. Fortunately it is short and a wonderful viewpoint awaits approximately ¾ of the way up. While portions of this climb are overgrown, the trail is well marked and navigating is not difficult with a little attention.
Once the hill climb is completed you will enter into a meadow landscape with multiple lakes. The route for this portion often fades in and out but is easily reacquired. For the most part, proceed north through the lakes, keeping to the flat ground with hills to your left. We were fortunate enough to see a loon family and grouse family in this section.
Before long, views of Fowl Lake begin to appear. This is a lovely, large lake with ample camping opportunities along the west shore with sandy water access. In July 2023, mosquitos were ferocious anytime the wind died down. Fishing opportunities can also be had at Fowl Lake, with particular activity occurring in the evening. Continuing north from Fowl Lake further exploration into the 8 Peaks Recreation Reserve can be done.
