Partners • Conservation Northern Lights Wildlife Society Where Orphaned Bears Learn to Be Wild Again September 9, 2026 Written by Thomas Camus Smithers, BC...
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Partners • Parks & Trails
BC Parks Near Smithers
Fossil Beds, Alpine Meadows & a Lake with a Beach
Driftwood Canyon, Babine Mountains & Tyhee Lake — Bulkley Valley, BC
Three provincial parks sit within easy reach of Smithers, and between them they cover an unlikely range: a 50-million-year-old fossil bed ten minutes up the road, thirty-one thousand hectares of alpine wilderness behind it, and a sandy beach with a playground near Telkwa.
What ties them together isn't geography so much as origin. Two of these parks exist because people who lived here decided they should. A resident who donated his land, and another who spent years arguing for protection of the mountains he walked in. BC Parks manages them now, but the valley asked for them first.
More valuable in the ground than in a pocket.
Driftwood Canyon Park • Near Smithers, BC
The Story
Gordon Harvey & Joe L'Orsa — Two Parks, Two Locals
Driftwood Canyon Park was established in 1967 to protect the fossil beds on the east bank of Driftwood Creek. A portion of that land was donated to the province by Gordon Harvey, a Driftwood Canyon resident with a serious interest in what was buried in the rock behind his home. In the park's early years, he served as its interpreter, the person who explained the fossils to whoever showed up.
The Babine Mountains got their park later, and it took a campaign. Joe L'Orsa, another local resident, spearheaded the effort to have the range protected. The park was established in 1984, and the backcountry cabin in Silver King Basin now carries his name, built, as BC Parks notes, through donations from many businesses in the area.
That pattern of local involvement never really stopped. The Driftwood Canyon interpretive trail was later rebuilt by BC Parks in partnership with the Bulkley Valley Naturalists and the Smithers Rotary Club, with funding that included the Wetzin'kwa Community Forest, producing a new bridge over the creek, a wheelchair-accessible trail and new interpretive signage.
Driftwood Canyon lies within the traditional territory of the Wet'suwet'en people. BC Parks acknowledges all First Nations on whose territories its parks were established, and honours their connection to the land and the importance of their teachings, traditions and practices within these territories.
Both parks are open year-round, though winter maintenance is limited and access can depend on snowfall. The Babine Mountains contain significant avalanche terrain. Winter users should check Avalanche Canada and know how to manage it.
Three Parks, Three Very Different Days
Pick Your Distance
From a 300-metre stroll to a 26.7-kilometre thru-route
Driftwood Canyon
One of the world's most significant fossil beds, 10 km northeast of Smithers. A short interpretive trail, a creek viewing platform, and signage explaining what you're looking at.
Babine Mountains
Over 31,000 hectares of glacier-fed lakes, rugged peaks and sub-alpine meadow. Day hikes, the Silver King Basin trail, and the Joe L'Orsa Cabin for overnights.
Tyhee Lake
The family option, near Telkwa. Campsites, a swimming beach, showers, a playground and a boat launch, the easiest of the three to bring kids to.
More Than a Day Out
Protected Because Someone Asked
It's easy to treat a provincial park as scenery that was always going to be there. Driftwood Canyon and the Babine Mountains are a useful correction: neither was inevitable. One exists because a man gave away part of his property, the other because someone spent years making the case.
Why This Matters
The fossil beds hold water striders, march flies, and some of the oldest known specimens of salmon, trout and sucker anywhere. BC Parks asks visitors not to remove fossils, they're worth more in the rock, where they can still be studied, than they are in a pocket.
Before You Go
A few things worth knowing:
- Bring your own drinking water. There's none at Driftwood Canyon, and backcountry water should be boiled or treated
- Grizzly and black bears are present in the Babine Mountains, which also support mountain goat, moose and marmot and be bear aware
- Stay on the trails and behind the viewing platform at Driftwood Canyon. Standing under the cliff face is dangerous
Fifty million years ago this valley was subtropical wetland. The proof is sitting in a creek bank, ten minutes from town, behind a railing someone had to fight for.
Plan Your Visit
Getting There
Directions
Driftwood Canyon
10 km northeast of Smithers. Take Old Babine Lake Road off Highway 16, just east of the Bulkley River bridge, and follow the park signs.
Babine Mountains
East end: Babine Lake Road, 4 km east of Smithers. Little Joe Creek and Cronin Creek trailheads at 30.5 km and 32.5 km. West end: the summer lot is 7 km north of Driftwood Canyon.
Book & Check Conditions
Camping
camping.bcparks.ca
Joe L'Orsa Cabin is first-come, first-served — no reservation
Joe L'Orsa Cabin is first-come, first-served — no reservation
Advisories
Check before you go
Wildfire, flood and closure notices
Wildfire, flood and closure notices
Start with the Short One
Driftwood Canyon takes an hour and needs no gear. The Babines will still be there when you want a longer day.
