Big Bar Lake lies in the southwest corner of the Cariboo, not far from the Big Bar Reaction Ferry on the Fraser River.   The simplest route is to drive north of Clinton and then follow the gravel road for 33km to Big Bar Provincial Park.   This is a beautiful spot just north of the Marble Range (a favorite area for hiking).   We camped there on the southwestern corner of the lake.

A 3.5 km hiking trail follows the lakeshore to the outlet stream.   Wildflowers lined the path along the way.

Jacob’s ;adder

chickweed

Ducks Unlimited and BC Parks have established a wetlands corridor from Big Bar Lake to Little Big Bar Lake by providing some small earthen dams.   The result are the Otter Marshes.   A hiking trail goes around the north side of the marshes and loops back over a causeway and back to the campground.

There was an osprey circling the marshes and ducks, geese, blackbirds, marsh wrens, and vesper swallows were spotted while hiking the loop trail.   At the west end of the lake is a large esker, the “dam” that is responsible for Big Bar Lake.  The trail followed the esker back to the campground.

We like Big Bar Lake as a basecamp for hiking and exploring the area.   We have hiked Lime Ridge, Mt. Bowman, Wild Horse Ridge, Porcupine Ridge, and the Jesmond Lookout (there are several articles on this website on these trails/hikes) and we hope to hike Mt. Kerr, Mad Dog Mountain, and Lime Ridge East this year.   We explored the High Bar Road, and we will explore Churn Creek and Meadow Lake sometime soon.  Big Bar Lake is a good choice for camping and a short hike into the Otter Marshes is an added bonus.