Wapiti Lake–Onion Lake

Map & elevation

Mapped named trail. Only the 18.1 km source-labelled Wapiti Onion trail section is shown. Its closest point is about 4.8 km from the separately published access coordinate; that mismatch and the missing connection remain unresolved. This is not the complete 30 km Wapiti-to-Onion itinerary. Line source (opens original source).

Getting there & parking

Approach on Ojay Main Road south of Tumbler Ridge and use the 2500 Road to the old well-site trailhead. The walking route starts at the southwest corner of that clearing. BC Parks gives inconsistent turn distances on Ojay Main, referring to both kilometre 25 and kilometre 29, so confirm the signed 2500 Road junction and current access before departure. Off-road motorized vehicles are prohibited inside the park.

Map position: 54.64999, -120.70000 · shared trailhead. RSTBC Wapiti Trail REC1076 explicitly publishes these trailhead coordinates in its driving-directions field. They differ from the management point stored in LATITUDE/LONGITUDE. BC Parks describes the lake route and falls spur as using the Wapiti Lake access trail.

On the trail

Follow the north side of the Wapiti River, passing smaller lakes and the short Wapiti Falls spur around trail kilometre 7. The main Wapiti Lake destination is approximately 18–19 km from the trailhead in the official description, with six to nine hours suggested for the outward backpack. Continuing to Onion Lake is a separate high-country stage: the route climbs very steeply above Wapiti Lake, reaches high views between route kilometres 24 and 25, then descends approximately 500 m to Onion Lake. BC Parks describes roughly 1,000 m of elevation change in the first 2 km of that climb and seven to ten hours for the Wapiti-to-Onion stage. Do not treat the entire 30 km corridor as a short lake walk or combine its different segments into one unqualified gain figure.

Conditions & seasons

This is a remote mountain route with fast-changing weather and little chance of nearby assistance. Skiing and snowshoeing are mentioned on the corridor, but no groomed winter route or winter vehicle access is established. Snow, high water and the steep alpine stage need separate assessment.

These are dated research notes. Open the trip planner for current available weather and advisory feeds; no alert found does not establish that a trail or road is open.

Check weather & available updates →

Camping & overnight plans

An approach camp is described around trail km 8 before the park boundary. At Wapiti Lake, the first-come site has tent pads, a pit toilet, food cache and a public cabin for about four people. Bring a tent in case the cabin is occupied. The manager’s page gives conflicting cabin distances of 18.2 and 19.2 km; use the current route map rather than treating either as exact.

Photos of Wapiti Lake–Onion Lake

A photograph with confirmed reuse permission has not yet been added to this guide.

Original photo galleries

These galleries stay on their photographers’ original websites.

• Wapiti Lake — photograph in the 2022–23 visitor guide (opens original source) · District of Tumbler Ridge