Summary of Route
- Type: N/A
- Rating: N/A
- Season: N/A
- Length: N/A
- Vehicle suitability: N/A
The Route
Located deep in backcountry of British Columbia between the Coquihalla highway and highway 1 lies Cabin Lake and Stoyoma Mountain. This destination has been on our bucket list for years but access information is dated and relatively limited. In the summer of 2023, we set out to rectify that.
From review of our maps and the limited resources out there, we determined that there are three possible ways to access Stoyoma Mountain and Cabin Lake. Option 1 occurs from Boston Bar along Uztlius Creek FSR for a distance of approximately 57.4 km’s. Option 2 occurs just east of Merritt along Prospect/Petit Creek FSR for a distance of approximately 40.8 km’s. Option 3 occurs off the Coquihalla highway at the Juliet Creek exit along Murray Lake FSR for approximately 55.3 km’s.
Option 1 - Inaccessible
Review of the Government of BC FSR road status website quickly informed us that Option 1 would not be tenable as Uztlius Creek FSR is closed as of November 15, 2021 at km 0 due to multiple washouts. We have not confirmed this road status in person; however, even if it is in excellent condition an eventual crossing of the washed out bridge discussed in Option 3 would be required to reach Stoyoma Mountain and Cabin Lake.
Option 2 – Inaccessible
No current information was available for the Prospect FSR access route so we went out and drove this route ourselves. Unfortunately, the bridge over Prospect Creek at the 24 km mark has been destroyed (GPS coordinates 50.04166, -121.15060). In an effort to salvage this attempt, we took backroads to the nearest alternate bridge at GPS coordinates 49.96773, -121.08104 over Spius Creek. Unfortunately, this bridge was also out.
Option 3 – Inaccessible
After failing at accessing this site from Merritt, we attempted the final option of accessing this route from the Coquihalla highway and Murray Lake. While we were initially excited due to the presence of an existing bridge over Maka Creek at GPS coordinates 49.85711, -121.05064, this route also results in failure as an additional 19 km’s of travel will bring you to another washed out bridge over Spius Creek at GPS coordinates 49.93622, -121.11210.
Conclusion
As of October, 2023, Stoyoma Mountain and Cabin Lake are inaccessible by vehicle. Option 3 will bring you the closest possible by vehicle. During our attempt at option 3 we spoke with a BC government individual who indicated that the BC government intends to repair some of these bridges to allow access to Stoyoma Mountain. They were actively working in the area of the final bridge (GPS coordinates 49.93622, -121.11210) at the time of our visit. Accordingly, we will definitely be attempting access again via option 3 in the summer of 2024!
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Looking for alpine lake overland routes that are accessible? Check out our Twin Lakes and Blowdown Lake overland routes!