Big day of wildlife sightings on the Alaska Highway

On the Alaska Highway from Beaver Lake Recreation Site just beyond Fort Nelson to Liard River Hot Springs, we saw so much beautiful scenery and more wild animals than we ever have! It’s been one of our most beautiful drives yet. And we caught some of the animals and views on video.

We keep the yakking in the beginning to a minimum so we can get right to the beauty and the animals. And also so we can get in the springs.

Muncho Lake

muncho lake canada.

We stopped for a quick photo op at Muncho Lake. There are several pull-offs along the lake that you can probably get away with staying overnight. The jade green lake with the snow-topped mountains behind it pretty much requires a stop to admire it.

So many animals!

wild black bear next to the alaska highway.

Wild animal tally (this has been our biggest sighting day so far):
Ten black bears, one beaver, one weasel-like thing, two deer, two caribous five sheep, about two dozen bison

Look at the baby bison!

herd of bison on the alaska highway.

Liard River Hot Springs Provincial Park

Liard River Hot Springs Provincial Park has no services. The sites are partial to wholly shaded and well-maintained. There are vault toilets, and camping comes with 24-hour access to the springs. The cost is CAD $26/night. There seems to be a free lot across the street where you can overnight. Then I think it’s CAD $10/carload for the use of the spring.

camping at liard river hot springs provincial park.

There’s a boardwalk out to the springs where you’ll find changing rooms and three vault toilets in another building. There are no showers here. The springs themselves are natural. They don’t add chlorine or other chemicals to the water. The banks are plants and dirt.

liard river hot springs.

The mainspring has small stones covering the bottom. The cooler pool has more of a rock/mud mixture on the bottom. The water does smell of sulfur, but it isn’t as bad as Pagosa Springs and doesn’t linger on your skin.

Past the springs, there’s a short walk and some stairs to the hanging gardens. It’s worth a stroll to check them out.

hanging gardens at liard river hot springs provincial park.

Next post: Liard River Hot Springs and surrounding wildlife

Check out all the videos in our Alaska 2018 adventure here.

Laura Nunemaker

About the Author

Laura Nunemaker

vegan. full-time traveler. rv dweller. food lover. cow petter.

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