Tatlayoko Lake

Tatlayoko Lake is located approximately 175 km west of Williams Lake and 30 km south of Tatla Lake on a well maintained gravel road.

Tatlayoko Lake is in the path of a route from the coast that many early surveyors were sure would be the best way to ship beef and goods from both the eastern and western part of the Chilcotin to city centres such as Vancouver rather than go the long, arduous overland route.

The first attempt led by Alfred Waddington (for whom the highest mountain entirely inside B.C.'s border is named), failed after cutting 30 miles of trail by way of Bute Inlet and the Homathko.

Fourteen members of Waddington's survey party were massacred by the Chilcotin tribe. This led to a series of encounters between the Tsilhqot'in and the British colonial government, which came to be known as the Chilcotin War. Some 30 miles of road with bridges was built but the route turned out to be arduous and would have required 8 miles of tunnel through the Coastal Mountains to succeed.

Tatlayoko Lake is unusual in that it sits on a corridor that ranges from the wet rainforest of the coast to the high dry interior forest of the Interior. As such, the valley provides a critical inland route for coast species such as the Grizzly Bear that migrate through the Coast Range, travelling between salmon runs on the Homathko and Chilko Rivers.

The immense Homathko Icefield lies south of Tatlayoko Lake. Ice caves may be found in the area, and fossils in the Potato Ranges speak of the ancient sea that covered the region. Windsurfing is very popular. The word "Tatlayoko" is in fact derived from the native Tsilhqot'in language, and means "lake of the big winds".