Meziadin Lake Provincial Park to Stewart, BC and Hyder AK

The Park

We decided to camp at Meziadin Lake Provincial Park for 3 nights so we could drive into Stewart and Hyder one day and explore the lake in our kayaks the next. We were very fortunate to get a spot as we arrived on the Friday of a long weekend, and the park was nearly full. We ran into the park attendants on the way in and they told us to follow them and they led us to a site right on the lake that someone had already reserved but had chosen not to take so they let us have it…very nice!!

View from our Campsite

Enjoying Margaritas

Meziadin Lake Prov Park has a number of reservable sites as well as first come first serve sites. Some of the reservable sites actually have 30 amp power and there is wifi available, but at $5.00 per use. I like this park as the sites are all quite nicely set up to give you decent privacy and they are out in the open, so it’s nice and bright. Most of the sites, water front or not give you spectacular views of the lake and surrounding mountains.

Pollen on Meziadin Lake

The Drive to Stewart, BC and Hyder, AK

The drive cutting through the Coastal Range and over the Bear Pass from Meziadin Lake to Stewart and Hyder is truly one of them most scenic in BC. The road takes you past more than 20 hanging glaciers, all visible from the highway. The highlight of the drive is the Bear Glacier, ending in a slate green lake right on the edge of the road. You can also see dozens of waterfalls, plunging hundreds of meters down the steep rocky cliffs.

Short Hike on the way to Stewart

The Bear Glacier

Stewart is a very small town sitting at the head of the Portland Canal but it is surrounded by some of the most spectacular scenery anywhere. The pre World War I population was over 10,000 but now it is under 500 and depending on the time of year you are here, you won’t find a lot of amenities open beyond the gas station a small coffee shop/deli, a small grocery store and an inn or two. Stewart has a fair share of historic buildings and homes, which make it interesting and quaint and there is a long boardwalk walkway crossing the tidal flats, which is worth the walk.

Enjoying Coffee & a Snack in Stewart

Some of Stewarts Historic Buildings

Backstreets of Stewart

Hyder, Alaska

A couple of kilometers past Stewart you will cross the Canadian/US border into Hyder, Alaska, known as the friendliest ghost town in Alaska, and a pretty apt description I might add, as there isn’t much here beyond a small gift shop, a post office, a small general store and Camp Run-A-Muck.

Entering Hyder, AK

Hyder is one place you can cross into the United States without having to stop at US customs, as there are no US customs services here. You just drive in. However, take your passport with you because there is Canadian Customs on the way back, just in case you happened to find something to buy in Hyder. Make sure you’re back before midnight as the border is closed between 12 midnight and 8 AM.

Leaving Hyder

The Border

Once in Hyder you can drive out over a bridge to a small island and wharf right on the Portland Canal. It is a good spot to look around and take pictures. Just before you cross the bridge, there is a sign explaining what all the remains of pilings in the tidal flats are. When miners Daniel and Andrew Lindeborg arrived here in 1903 looking for gold and silver, they staked a homestead on 72 acres of land above the high tide line. Because of this, later arrivals were forced to establish a small commercial camp over the tidal flats built entirely on pilings. This became Portland City. When the residents applied for a US post office the name Portland City was rejected and the name Hyder, after a mining engineer, was adopted. The entire piled area reached a peak of 254 residents by 1929 and was completely abandoned by 1940.

Portland Canal

Portland City Pilings

Stewart from Hyder Wharf

The Salmon Glacier

Since the weather was incredible with blue skies and warm temperatures, we decide to drive the 36 km up to the Salmon Glacier, Canada’s largest glacier accessible by road. The road up to the glacier is gravel but it is well maintained as there is a small hydro project along the way and operating mines at Premier and Granduc.

The Salmon Glacier is well worth the drive. The trip up the valley to the glacier is absolutely stunning and the road gets you right up into the high alpine looking down over the glacier. There is a picnic spot at the summit with pit toilets. From here there are amazing views of the glacier and surrounding mountains.

Starting up towards the Salmon Glacier

View of the Valley

The Salmon Glacier

Another viewpoint of the Salmon Glacier

The Salmon Glacier

Kayaking Meziadin Lake

The next day we explored the west arm of Meziadin Lake, about a 14 km return journey. The lake is a deep sage green colour and this time of year the surrounding mountains are emerald green with new growth and the mountain peaks still covered with snow. Overall the lake is about 18 km long and 3 km wide on average.

We got on the water early as the winds generally come up later in the afternoon. We were rewarded with flat calm conditions, making it an absolute delight to paddle and awesome for photography.