Williams Lake

Williams Lake is a city located within the Central Interior of BC. The city of Williams Lake is located in the central area of the province referred to as the Cariboo. It is the largest urban center between Prince George and Kamloops. The population of the city is approximately 10,744.

Williams Lake plays hosts every year the Williams Lake Stampede. This Stampede happens during Canada Day long weekend. Rick Hansen, the Canadian paraplegic athlete also calls the town home. He became popular during his fundraising for the Man in Motion world tour and is also an activist for people who have spinal cord injuries.

The city of Williams Lake is located 74 miles or 119 km south of Quesnel and south of the biggest Cariboo region city, Prince George by 151 miles or 241 km. Williams Lake could be situated at the intersection of the Bella Coola Highway, the Cariboo Highway 79 and Highway 20. The city of Williams Lake sits 451 or 282 miles east of Bella Coola and 343 miles or 548 km northeast of Vancouver.

Williams Lake has for over 100 years been a service center and focal point for various ranches within and all-around the Cariboo and Chilcotin areas.

The original founding of the city of Williams Lake comprised a single building in the Comer and Glendale region. A small chapel was built in the 1840s, in a Shuswap settlement. The encampment and church flourished with the arrival of European fur traders and gold prospectors and eventually, the region turned into a small service centre.

The city of Williams Lake quickly became a commercial and transportation hub for the famous Cariboo region. The town has still been able to retain its western frontier character. The friendly and relaxed atmosphere makes it a fantastic place to explore the nearby regions. The central location of the city has made it a fantastic place to visit. It is a great base to explore the gold rush country of the east, the cedar forests, or travel west and explore the enormity of the Chilcotin Plateau. Individuals could head south to see the Okanagan valley and further on the Lower Mainland and the Pacific Ocean and venture north and discover Prince George and carry onto Alaska.

The Scout Island Nature Centre is amongst the unique places to visit in William's Lake. Within the areas wetland marshes, tourists can see numerous waterfowl and shorebirds. Tourists can see black-capped chickadees, ospreys, bald eagles, marsh wren, great blue heron, yellow-headed blackbird, flycatchers, songbirds, gulls, hummingbirds, swallows, hooded merganser and Brewer's blackbird.

Muskrats, river otters, beavers, otters, mink are just among the local animals in the region. The Scout Island Nature Centre has small forests, a lake, a marsh grasslands, and 1.5 miles or 2.5 km of nature trails. These trails are great for people to experience numerous bird and wildlife encounters. There are viewing platforms and the Nature House provides various natural history displays where it is possible to study local ecosystems.