liard hot springs

Liard Hot Springs may have been the best camping situation of the trip. The provincial park is home to two thermal springs that create bathing pools of 80 to 127 degree water.

We arrived in time to just miss the last available campsite, but the park officials were so kind they allowed us to pitch our tent in the day use area, just off the parking lot for the same price as a campsite. Money-grubbing bastards.

With our tent pitched, we were off to the springs. And so were 2183 retirees. It was like a scene from Cocoon. We wandered to the far pool which was much less crowded—only one other person showed up before we left—and also cooler. Eventually, we decided to throw in with the older and wiser bunch and check out the near pool. So hot! The heat from the vent that enters the pool is so great you can’t approach it directly. In order to reach the spring, you must direct cooler water up from the bottom—the hottest water is in the top six inches—and mix it up. Even then, it was too hot for me, so I contented myself to sit on the last bench before the hottest section.

The springs here provide a microclimate different than the surrounding area. The ground thaws sooner and with the warmth of the springs beneath, more warm-weather species of plants can thrive here. There are even sixteen varieties of orchids that grow wild around the springs!

One of British Columbia’s great natural wonders, Liard Hot Springs is well worth the trip. I’d even consider staying an extra day here if I had the chance in the future.