Bonaparte Provincial Park


Bonaparte Provincial Park is an 11,811 hectare provincial park in British Columbia, Canada. It is located within the Bonaparte Plateau.

History

The park was established April 30, 1996 under the Kamloops Land and Resource Management Plan through the Environment and Land Use Act.
First nations use of the land is not well known. More recently it had been used as a ranchland by settlers and for fly in tourism. Prior to the development of the park a moratoria had been placed on timber harvesting in the area in 1974.

Geology

The park has many small hills formed by lava flow. This has led to the over 50 small interconnected lakes located within the park.
LakesLava Cones

  • Bare Lake - contains a wilderness lodge
  • Dagger Lake
  • Grant Lake group
  • Hiahkwah-Shelley Lake chain
  • Hoopatakwa Lake
  • Moose-Dumbell Lake chain
  • Stadia Lake
  • Willowgrouse Lake
  • Skoatl Point - 1640m
  • Bare Hill - 1574m

    • Geography

    The park is located 55 kilometers northwest of Kamloops. Motorized vehicle access is most easily obtained via Jamieson Creek Road.

    Park Boundaries

    The Southern boundary of the park is formed by the Hiakwah-Shelley Lake chain. To the east are tree farm license lands. To the north and west are Provincial Forest lands.

    Ecology

    The park contains sub-alpine forest, small lakes and wetlands at high elevation. There are no known threatened species within the park. Cattle grazing is permitted within the park.
    PlantsBirdsMammalsFish
    Subalpine fir
    Montane spruce
    Engelmann spruce
    Lodgepole pine
    Fairyslipper orchids    		Sandhill crane
    Fisher
    Great horned owl
    Osprey
    Ruffed grouse
    Spruce grouse
    Barrows goldeneye    		Marten
    Moose
    Timber wolf
    Mule deer
    Beaver
    Black bear
    Cougar    		Rainbow trout
    Pike minnow

    Recreation

    There is no access within the park to motorized vehicles though snowmobile use is permitted in the southern portion. The park can also be accessed by floatplane and there are fly in fishing lodges. Horses are also permitted. All camping and hiking in the park is in the backcountry without any regular service or parks patrol. Seasonal hunting is permitted.