Meet your Hosts
Learn about the Upper Nechako Wilderness Council
Crystal Lake Resort
Crystal Lake Resort is the legacy of the Brooks family since 1975. Your hosts Dan and Ellen Brooks want to share the Crystal Lake experience and their passion for the outdoors with you. We offer a wide variety of activities, from reunion rentals, fishing, renting cabins or lodges, boat and quad rentals, guided hunts and more.
We are located 1.5 hours southwest of Vanderhoof – we truly are ‘accessible wilderness’ – we offer diverse options of outdoor experiences not so far away.
We are open for summer fishing, fall hunting, winter snowmobiling and more. The Crystal Lake experience offers the beauty, peace and relaxation of a wilderness in a comfortable lodge or backcountry cabin setting.
Learn More about Crystal Lake Resort on their Website:
Fawnie Mountain Outfitters
Fawnie Mountain Hunts’ beginnings can be traced back to 1971 when John and Mary-Lou Blackwell, along with their two sons, homesteaded at Moose Lake and established Fawnie Mountain Outfitters. After discussions with neighbours Leonard and Michelle Banga, a deal was reached in 2015 for the Bangas to take over operation of Blackwell’s guiding outfit. Several of Blackwell’s long time guides “came with the outfit” and are now continuing with Fawnie Mountain Hunts. Their knowledge of the area, combined with their love of the land and the enjoyment of guiding helps ensure the tradition of providing a quality hunting experience continues.
Fawnie Mountain Hunts is based at Laidman Lake BC in the north east portion of BC’s vast Chilcotin Plateau. The area has a long history of outfitting and “frontier” cattle operations. Our guiding territory is roughly 1500 square miles and encompasses the Fawnie Mountain Range, Entiako Park Protected area, and portions of Tweedsmuir Park. While our main Lodge is reached by road, a large portion of our guide territory can only be accessed by airplane.
The area hosts an array of wildlife with good populations of moose, bears (black and grizzly), caribou, wolves, and numerous other fur-bearing animal species. Fishing in the area can be excellent with a healthy population of Rainbow Trout that are renowned for their fighting ability and flavor.
Fawnie Mountain Hunts conducts 7 day bear hunts beginning each Spring, and may be combined with a wolf hunt for an additional fee. They also have 10 day moose hunts beginning each fall in September, which can be combined with a fall black bear and wolf hunt for an additional fee.
Our area is well known for its dense population of Canada Moose. Our main lodge at Laidman Lake is in the heart of prime moose country. Each fall we harvest good bulls from the shore of Laidman Lake. The area has many lakes, which provide easy floatplane access to our outpost camps. Moose like the habitat provided by the lakes and meadows that interconnect the lakes. Fawnie Mountain Outfitters also offers lodging outside of hunting for those who just want to come and enjoy the land and all it has to offer.
Learn more about Fawnie Mountain Hunts on their website:
Lucas Lake Lodge
More information coming soon!
Nechako Lodge
Joe and Elisabeth Doerig have owned and operated Nechako Lodge as a family business for more than 30 years. They provide clean, comfortable facilities and quality services in an environmentally sustainable manner.
They offer self contained cabins and basic campsites. The boat launch with over night parking and seasonal boat storage is available to independent boaters as well.
Nechako Lodge is located near Kenney Dam, on the shore of Knewstubb Lake, which is part of the Nechako Reservoir. Easily accessible by a public gravel road, yet far away from “civilisation”, guests can truly experience wilderness recreation.
Nechako Lodge is open from June to October for all services they offer, and closed during the winter.
To learn more, please visit Nechako Lodge’s website:
Tatuk Lake Wilderness Resort
Lance and Ken had a dream to own a hunting/fishing resort; and their wives; who are sisters; were on board with the idea. This is how the current owners came to own Tatuk Lake.
This seasonal business is located approx. 1 hour south of Vanderhoof in Finger/Tatuk Provincial Park. The resort offers 7 modern cabins, with one being wheelchair friendly, complimenting the accessible dock area and lift. In addition, there are 10 campsites with a large grassy area, overlooking the creek where grizzly bears can be spotted in the fall: fishing for spawning kokanee. Wonderfully serene and with great fishing; this is the perfect location for families to get-away, undisturbed, from the outside world.
Tetachuck Wilderness Lodge
Katharina and Theodor Temperli are your welcoming and friendly hosts, originally from Switzerland.
Tetachuck Wildnerness Lodge offers accommodations, with full board service. All cabins have a direct view over Tetachuck Lake, and have ensuite showers and flush toilets.
While staying at Tetachuck Wilderness Lodge, there are many activities you can partake in – flyfishing on Redfern River, fishing on beautiful Tetachuck or Eutsuk Lake, canoeing, hiking, and more! Finish off your day by taking in a relaxing sauna and hot tub session.
They are located directly on Tetachuck Lake, an awesome place in the raw wilderness – there is no road access, only fly or boating in! They are open seasonally from June to the end of September.
For wilderness holidays with the fly in lodge experience, and excellent food and hospitality, try Tetachuck Wilderness Resort!
To learn more, visit Tetachuck Wilderness Resort’s website:
HSP Ranch
Moose Lake Lodge
Moosehead Lodge
Nechako Retreat
Tatelkuz Lake Ranch and Lodge
About the unwc
The Upper Nechako Wildnerness Council was formed in 2005 by a group of local tourism operators to have one voice on behalf of wilderness tourism at land and resource-use planning tables.
Over the years the group has been engaged with many local resource companies and government agencies to provide input into their operational planning from a wilderness tourism perspective.
It is our mission to protect vitally important wilderness values such as visual quality, riparian zones, lakes and watersheds, wildlife habitat, and biodiversity; not only for the benefit of our members and their customers, but for everybody caring about a sustainable, healthy backcountry in the Vanderhoof region.
Without continuous attention to all resource issues in our area of operation, our second mission, to promote and encourage recreational tourism opportunities within the region, and to enhance marketing opportunities for our members, will not succeed.
