McDougall Lake is a lake 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 ...
in east-central British Columbia, Canada. It drains through File Creek into
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 flow ...
.
Naming
McDougall Lake and
McDougall Falls on the
Murtle River
The Murtle River is a river in east-central British Columbia, Canada. It rises from a large unnamed glacier in the Cariboo Mountains at an elevation of and flows southwest for to the head of gigantic Murtle Lake. The river also drains Murtle Lake ...
were named for Pete McDougal who homesteaded in the
Clearwater River Valley from 1913 to 1936. The different spelling of these names has evolved over the years.
[Neave, Roland (2015). ''Exploring Wells Gray Park'', 6th edition. Wells Gray Tours, Kamloops, BC. .]
Access
There is no road or trail to McDougall Lake. Some maps show a trail from Murtle Lake up File Creek, but it has been impassable since the 1980s. The
Kostal Lake
Kostal Lake is a lake located in Wells Gray Provincial Park, east-central British Columbia, Canada. It is located west of Murtle Lake and east of Clearwater Lake.
Naming
Kostal Lake was named by Angus Horne in 1936 for Frank Kostal, one of the ma ...
trail from
Clearwater Lake was permanently closed by B.C. Parks in 2013. Float planes and helicopters are allowed to land at McDougall Lake with a permit from B.C. Parks.
Canoes and kayaks can be portaged from Murtle Lake around some outlet rapids on File Creek, then one can paddle upstream. The creek is impassable at a log jam, and a flagged route starts here. The hike to McDougall Lake is and takes about 3 hours cross-country over the lava flows from
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 ...
.
References
{{authority control
Lakes of British Columbia
Interior of British Columbia
Wells Gray-Clearwater
Kamloops Division Yale Land District