Porcupine Meadows Provincial Park is a 2,704 hectare provincial park in British Columbia, Canada, located north of Tranquille Lake to the northwest of

Kamloops Kamloops ( ) is a city in south-central British Columbia, Canada, at the confluence of the South flowing North Thompson River and the West flowing Thompson River, east of Kamloops Lake. It is located in the Thompson-Nicola Regional District, w ...

. Its name is a direct translation of the Shuswap word for this area, "pisitsoolsia", named so for the numerous porcupine in the area.

Region

The park is on the southern end of the

Bonaparte Plateau The Bonaparte Plateau, in British Columbia, Canada, is a sub-plateau of the Thompson Plateau which extends to the Quesnel River and lies between the Cariboo Mountains on the east and the Fraser River on the west. The Thompson Plateau is itself a ...

. It contains extensive sub-alpine wetlands, meadows and old growth forests. It is the highest elevation between

and

100 Mile House 100 Mile House is a district municipality located in the South Cariboo region of central British Columbia, Canada. History 100 Mile House was originally known as Bridge Creek House, named after the creek running through the area. Its origins ...

on the west side of the North Thompson River.

History

The park was established on April 30, 1996. The area was previously a pack-trail connecting Pass Lake and Porcupine Ridge, though the area is now unsettled.

Wildlife

Wildlife in the area includes many bird species including

sandhill cranes The sandhill crane (''Antigone canadensis'') is a species of large crane of North America and extreme northeastern Siberia. The common name of this bird refers to habitat like that at the Platte River, on the edge of Nebraska's Sandhills on t ...

, as well as moose and mule deer.

Recreational access and facilities

Park access is from the southeast off of Watching Creek Forest Service Road. There is no motorized access through the park itself, other than snowmobile access in the winter. Passing through the park is the Masters Sub-alpine Trek hiking trail, which is currently in a state of disrepair due to surrounding logging. The park can also be accessed by snowshoe and via horseback on designated trails. The park is considered a wilderness area with limited patrols. There are no formal facilities within the park. An old forestry lookout is present and can serve as an emergency lookout.

References

* {{coord, 50, 59, 00, N, 120, 32, 00, W, display=title Provincial parks of British Columbia Thompson Country 1996 establishments in British Columbia Protected areas established in 1996