Liard River Hot Springs

What to expect

Liard River Hot Springs is the soak that long-haul Alaska Highway drivers plan their day around. It sits at kilometre 765 of the highway in northern British Columbia, in a provincial park created in 1957, and BC Parks calls it the second largest hot spring in Canada.

You leave the car at the day-use area and walk a boardwalk through boreal spruce forest and across a warm-water swamp. The water from the springs does not run straight into a river. It spreads into shallow swamps that never freeze, even in a northern winter, and that warmth supports plants you would not expect at 59 degrees north: ostrich ferns, tall cow parsnip, monkey flower, and 14 species of orchid. Early visitors called the area the “Tropical Valley”. Look down from the boardwalk and you will see small lake chub swimming in the warm water underneath.

At the end is the Alpha pool, the one open to the public. It has benches set into the water and a shallow end for children. BC Parks gives the water as 108-126°F42-52°C. It is hottest where the spring water enters and cools as it flows away, so you can pick your temperature by moving along the pool. There is a change house and a composting toilet at the pool.

The complex has about eight pools in all, but only Alpha is open for soaking. The smaller, hotter pool that some guidebooks still mention was closed permanently to protect the snails that live in it, according to a 2025 report in Up Here magazine.

Getting there

The park is on the Alaska Highway at kilometre 765, about 60 km north of Muncho Lake Provincial Park. Coming from the south, you drive through Fort Nelson and over the Northern Rockies past Muncho Lake. From the north, you reach it after Watson Lake in the Yukon. The turnoff is signed and the park road leads to the gatehouse, which doubles as the local visitor centre.

The highway is paved but long, and services are spread thin. Fill up whenever you can, and watch for wildlife on the road. Moose, woodland caribou and black bears all live in the area. Check DriveBC for road conditions and any wildfire closures before you set off, especially in summer.

From the day-use parking lot, the boardwalk to the Alpha pool is an easy, flat walk. Stay on it the whole way. BC Parks requires visitors to keep to the boardwalk so the swamp vegetation is not damaged.

When to go

The park is open year-round and the pool keeps the same hours all year: 7 a.m. to 10:30 p.m., with no admission after 10 p.m.

Summer is busy. The campground fills early each day, so arrive in the morning if you want a site. Moose are easy to spot feeding in the swamps in summer.

Winter is quieter. The pool keeps its hours, the swamps stay open water, and you soak in hot water with snow on the trees. Driving the Alaska Highway in winter takes proper tires, emergency gear and a flexible schedule.

Hanging Gardens, a side area with tufa terraces covered in plants, has a gate with dates that vary with bear activity and weather.

Prices and booking

• Day use (May 1 to Thanksgiving): C$5 adults, C$3 children, C$10 families. Annual passes are C$10 per adult or C$20 per family. Pay at the staffed gatehouse in cash, debit or credit.
• Camping: C$26 per party per night in peak and shoulder season (C$13 for BC seniors in shoulder season), C$16 in winter, plus a C$20 per stay fee for non-residents of BC. Camping fees are paid in cash at the park.
• Reservations: 21 of the 53 campsites can be booked at camping.bcparks.ca or by phone at 1-800-689-9025 (7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Pacific; C$5 fee for phone bookings and changes). The other 32 are first come, first served.

There is no published clothing rule beyond the normal expectation of swimwear at a public pool shared by families. There are no lifeguards.

Rules and etiquette

• Stay on the boardwalk in the swamp and garden areas.
• Pets must be leashed and are not allowed in park buildings or beach areas.
• Bicycles stay on roads, helmets are compulsory in BC, and e-bikes are not allowed on park trails.
• Do not gather firewood in the park. Buy it at the campground or bring your own.
• Share the hot end of the pool and keep noise down late in the evening.

Where to stay nearby

The Liard River Hot Springs campground is the obvious choice: 53 vehicle sites under pine, aspen and cottonwood, with picnic tables, fire rings, pit toilets and water. It is the first BC provincial park campground to be ringed by an electric wildlife fence, installed in 2020 to cut down on encounters between people and bears.

Beyond the park campground, the nearest towns with full services are Fort Nelson to the south and Watson Lake in the Yukon to the north, each a long drive away. Book ahead or arrive early in summer rather than counting on finding a site late in the day.

Safety notes

• Heat: Water near the inflow can reach 126°F52°C. Test it, keep soaks short and drink water, especially after a long day of driving.
• Bears: Bears are drawn to the dense vegetation around the springs, and a fatal attack at the springs in the 1990s is part of why BC Parks manages them so closely. Change-room doors have small peepholes so you can check before stepping out. Never leave food or coolers unattended.
• Ice: The boardwalk can be slick with frost in winter. Wear proper footwear between the car and the pool.
• Children: The shallow end is good for kids, but there are no lifeguards and the hot end is genuinely hot.

History

Robert Campbell of the Hudson’s Bay Company made the first written record of the springs in 1835. The Liard region was home to Athapaskan- and Kaska-speaking peoples long before that, and BC Parks notes that its own account may not fully reflect their history here. The US Army built the first boardwalk and pool facilities in 1942 while constructing the Alaska Highway.