Explore Northern BC — Road Trips from Smithers | Xplore Smithers

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Down Highway 16 & 37

Explore northern BC.
Road trips from Smithers.

Fifteen minutes down the valley or four hours to the coast. Here is what waits at the end of every drive out of Smithers, and how long it takes to get there.

9destinations to drive to

267trails beyond Smithers

33fishing lakes

4 hr 30the longest drive, to Stewart

Every road out of town

Nine destinations, one tank of gas

Ordered by how long the drive takes. Trail and lake counts come straight from the town guides.

15 min 15 km

TelkwaBC

Riverside trails and quiet lakes at the confluence of the Bulkley and Telkwa.

29trails

3lakes

While you are there

Plan a trip to Telkwa

55 min 68 km

HoustonBC

Waterfall tours, forest trails and world-class steelhead water.

60trails

11lakes

While you are there

Plan a trip to Houston

1 hr 74 km

HazeltonBC

Trails beneath the Rocher de Boule range, where the Skeena meets the Bulkley.

37trails

3lakes

While you are there

Plan a trip to Hazelton

~1 hr 20 min 110 km

GranisleBC

A mining town on the shore of Babine Lake, with Red Bluff park at the end of the road.

2trails

1lake

While you are there

Plan a trip to Granisle

1 hr 55 min 150 km

Burns LakeBC

Lakes District riding, paddling and hiking on the Highway 16 corridor.

65trails

4lakes

While you are there

Plan a trip to Burns Lake

~3 hr 265 km

KitimatBC

Coastal rainforest, canyon trails and river mouths at the head of the Douglas Channel.

34trails

4lakes

While you are there

Plan a trip to Kitimat

~4 hr 350 km

Prince RupertBC

Rainforest boardwalks, tidal rapids and Mount Hays above the harbour.

13trails

2lakes

While you are there

Plan a trip to Prince Rupert

4 hr 30 min 354 km

StewartBC

Glaciers, bear viewing and coastal mountain trails at the head of the Portland Canal.

9trails

2lakes

While you are there

Plan a trip to Stewart

Three and a bit hours west

The Nisga’a lava beds

Canada’s youngest lava flow, and the only volcanic eruption in the country recorded in oral history.

16 trails

Gitlaxt’aamiks · Gitwinksihlkw · Gingolx

Nisga’a Memorial Lava Bed

Anhluut’ukwsim Lax̩mihl Angwinga’asanskwhl Nisg̩a’a

Around 1700 a fissure on the Tseax opened and buried the Nass Valley floor in lava. The flow is still bare rock: tree casts where trunks stood, a drowned forest, and waterfalls pouring off the edge of it. Sixteen mapped trails cross it, and the road carries on past the villages to Gingolx, where the Nass meets the Pacific.

~3 hr 15 min from Smithers Easy to moderate Nisga’a Memorial Lava Bed park

The three village guides

Open the lava bed guide

Worth the drive

Trails beyond Smithers

Photographed routes in Telkwa, Houston and Hazelton, each tagged with the drive that gets you to the trailhead.

Blue Lakes trail near Hazelton

Blue Lakes

10.1 km / 541 m 3/5

Ganokwa Falls trail near Telkwa

Ganokwa Falls

2.9 km / 154 m 3/5

Aitken Falls trail near Houston

Aitken Falls Trail

2.1 km / 76 m 3/5

Seaton Ridge alpine trail near Hazelton

Seaton Ridge

17.1 km / 1,057 m 4/5

Moose Mountain trail near Telkwa

Moose Mountain Trail

5.1 km / 326 m 3/5

Peacock Falls trail near Houston

Peacock Falls Trail

2.3 km / 132 m 3/5

New Hazelton Falls and lookout trail

New Hazelton Falls

2.9 km / 114 m 3/5

Byman Falls trail near Houston

Byman Falls Trail

0.2 km / 3 m 1/5

Browse every trail Or start from a town

Pack the rod

Lakes down the highway

All outside Smithers. Close enough for a morning cast, far enough to have the shoreline to yourself.

Summit Lake near Houston

55 min Best in summer

Summit Lake

Rainbow TroutCutthroat Trout

Hidden Lake near Houston

55 min Best in spring

Hidden Lake

Cutthroat Trout

Tyhee Lake near Telkwa

15 min Best in spring

Tyhee Lake

Rainbow TroutCutthroat Trout

Ross Lake near Hazelton

1 hr Best in spring

Ross Lake

Kitwancool Lake near Hazelton

1 hr Best in spring

Kitwancool Lake

Rainbow TroutDolly Varden+3

Irrigation Lake, also known as Dunalter Lake, near Houston

55 min Best in spring

Irrigation Lake

Round Lake near Telkwa

15 min Best in spring

Round Lake

Rainbow TroutCutthroat Trout+1

Klinger Lake near Houston

55 min Best in spring

Klinger Lake

Rainbow TroutBrook Trout

See all fishing lakes

Spend it where you stop

Support local along the way

A road trip is only as good as the coffee, the bed and the tackle shop at the other end.

Art and Soul Pottery

Arts & gallery

A working pottery studio and gallery in Telkwa, featuring handmade functional pottery.

1269 Highway 16, Telkwa

View details

Kispiox River Lodge

Accommodation

We host private gatherings & Kispiox adventures!

Family-owned lodge rooms and cabins up the Kispiox Valley, with catering, retreats and seasonal dining.

2424 Kispiox Valley Rd, Hazelton

View details

See the full directory

Someone already worked it out

Self-guided tours out of town

Stop-by-stop driving routes with the whole day mapped in advance.

Waterfall on the Houston Waterfalls Tour route

Houston · 55 min from Smithers

Houston Waterfalls Tour

Seven waterfalls in one drive, strung along the forest service roads around Houston.

Easy to moderate Half a day, plus 55 min each way

Open the tour

The whole region

Every road out of Smithers

Smithers sits in the middle, with all nine destinations around it. Each colour matches the town’s colour on the trail map.

Open the interactive map

A hiker sitting on an alpine slope checking a phone, with mountain ranges beyond

Before you turn the key

Pick a direction and go

Save the trails you want to hit, take the maps offline, and find out what is at the far end of Highway 16 before you leave the driveway.

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