Kostal Lake is a lake located in
Wells Gray Provincial Park
Wells Gray Provincial Park is a large wilderness park located in east-central British Columbia, Canada. The park protects most of the southern, and highest, regions of the Cariboo Mountains and covers 5,250 square kilometres (524,990 hectares or ...
, east-central British Columbia, Canada. It is located west of
Murtle Lake
Murtle Lake is a lava dammed lake located in Wells Gray Provincial Park, east-central British Columbia, Canada. It is fed primarily by the Murtle River which rises from a large unnamed glacier in the Cariboo Mountains at an elevation of and flo ...
and east of
Clearwater Lake.
Naming
Kostal Lake was named by Angus Horne in 1936 for Frank Kostal, one of the many trappers and prospectors who visited this remote region during the first quarter of the 20th century. Kostal had a cabin by the lake which he used when collecting animals from his trapline on Kilpill Mountain.
Access
Visits to Kostal Lake are rare due to difficult access. A trail from Clearwater Lake Campground was built in 1971 and originally extended to
McDougall Lake
McDougall Lake is a lake in Wells Gray Provincial Park in east-central British Columbia, Canada. It drains through File Creek into Murtle Lake.
Naming
McDougall Lake and McDougall Falls on the Murtle River were named for Pete McDougal who homestea ...
and the west arm of Murtle Lake. The section beyond Kostal Lake has been impassable since the mid-1980s. The rest of the trail was permanently closed by B.C. Parks in 2013 and only the first from the campground as far as the Dragon's Tongue lava flow can still be used. A rigorous access route is still possible by canoe up File Creek, then a cross-country hike over the lava flow.
[Neave, Roland (2015). ''Exploring Wells Gray Park'', 6th edition. Wells Gray Tours, Kamloops, BC. .]
Float planes and helicopters are not allowed to land at Kostal Lake. Landings are permitted at McDougall Lake, 6 km northeast. A permit from B.C. Parks is required.
Geology
Kostal Volcano
Kostal Cone, also called Kostal Volcano and Fire Mountain, is a young cinder cone in Wells Gray Provincial Park in east-central British Columbia, Canada. It rises from the northeast shore of Kostal Lake in the Cariboo Mountains. With an elevation o ...
rises from the lake's northeast shore.
References
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Lakes of British Columbia
Wells Gray-Clearwater
Kamloops Division Yale Land District