Charlie Lake Provincial Park
Fort St. John, British Columbia, Canada

Charlie Lake Provincial Park is an easy access recreation destination situated just off of the Alaska Hwy located north of the community of Fort St. John, British Columbia, Canada. The park rests on the shores of Charlie Lake and for years the park has provided hours of activity for many who enjoy swimming, fishing, camping and hiking.

Charlie Lake is a hot spot in the summer months for many who enjoy a day on the lake boating, canoeing or windsurfing. The boat launch in the park provides easy access for fishing in the spring, fall and summer months . Most fish the lake trolling in hopes of catching some walleye, northern pike and yellow perch as shore fishing is very limited.

In the winter months the campground is closed but the frozen lake is open to recreation and the die hard fisherman. Bundled up nice and warm with hot liquids in hand fisherman brave the weather and hike the surface of the frozen lake so to go ice fishing. Make a hole and fish for walleye even in the winter time.

The park is over 85 hectares in size and is situated within the Interior Plains of the Peace River region. The campground area is mostly under the cover of aspen trees with a healthy sampling of alder, lodgepole pine and spruce trees mixed in. The trails in the park provide many of the best viewing opportunities of the forest eco system and of some of the smaller wildlife species.

The day use area near the boat launch is set out on a large grassy lawn with picnic tables and a picnic shelter. Also onsite is a children's playground, horseshoe pits and some pit toilets. The parking lot is large enough to accommodate boat trailers, so parking should not be an issue.

The area around the lake is home to smaller wildlife like squirrels, chipmunks, beaver, rabbits and muskrat . Moose and bear have been known to wander into the park, but it is rare because the bigger wildlife in the region tends to stay in the more remote areas around the community of Fort St. John, BC, Canada.

Charlie Lake Provincial Park is one of two public parks on the lake. The shoreline of the lake is shared with the Beatton Provincial Park . Both parks provide good opportunities for birdwatching. Some of the birds that visit the wetlands and woodlands of Charlie Lake include the Ovenbird, American Redstart, Northern Oriole, Rose-breasted Grosbeak and White-throated sparrow.

The soopolalie, waxberry, flat-top spirea, saskatoons and squashberry provide cover for many of the birds and for some of the smaller wildlife like the squirrels.

Charlie Lake is THE lake in Fort St. John. It is today and was many years ago. Even archaeologists have recorded human activity in the caves surrounding Charlie Lake dating back 11,000 years ago.

How to get to Charlie Lake: Travel north on the Alaska Hwy from Fort St. John for approximately 11 kilometres. Where the Alaska Highway meets Highway 29 is the location of the entrance to Charlie Lake Provincial Park.