Avalanche Valley / Cariboo Lake

Round trip: 28.48 km
Elevation gain: Calculated 1,357 m
Walking time: Unconfirmed
Difficulty: Hard

14.24 km each way for the recorded historical trailhead–lake route. The 28.48 km retraced return excludes additional, unmeasured walking from road closures or washouts.

https://hikingprincegeorge.com/hikes/avalanche-valley-cariboo-lake

Access and trail reports

Deactivated and washed-out approach bridges

The March 2026 page warns of damaged bridges at road kilometres 17 and 18; high water may prevent crossing.

Reported 2026-03-02 · checked 2026-10-17 · Hiking Prince George

Dore River road access: closed bridge; reopening not verified

The provincial page updated October 8, 2026 still lists the Dore River Branch 1 bridge at kilometre 2.1 as closed with a zero-tonne load rating. The same page announced replacement work for the week of August 17 and expected two to three weeks of construction, but does not confirm reopening. These overlapping notices leave the current outcome unresolved. Confirm reopening with the road authority before relying on access beyond this bridge.

Reported 2024-08-06 · checked 2026-10-17 · Province of British Columbia

Reports describe the cited dates. An expected reopening date does not establish reopened access.

Cross Avalanche Pass and descend to Caribou Lake on a demanding backcountry outing near McBride. The return climbs out of the lake basin before descending the valley; damaged approach bridges can add an unmeasured walk or prevent access.

1. Getting there and parking

Access alert: the Dore River bridge at road kilometre 2.1 is listed as closed, and a reopening has not been verified. Confirm the road authority’s current status before using the approach below. Drive west from McBride on Highway 16 for about 5 km and turn onto Dore River Road. Continue on the forest-road approach to the first junction at approximately 6.5 km; take the left branch onto South Dore. At the next major junction, around kilometre 14 in the published approach, keep right and continue roughly 5 km to the road-end trailhead. The tourism guide warns about marmots around parked vehicles and recommends protective mesh where appropriate. Confirm the road end and bridge condition before relying on these forest-road distances.

The Dore River bridge at road kilometre 2.1 remains listed as closed; the road authority has not confirmed reopening. These approach instructions are conditional on lawful, passable road access.
From Highway 16 about 5 km west of McBride, enter Dore River Road. At approximately road kilometre 6.5, take the left branch onto South Dore.
At the main junction around kilometre 14, stay right toward Avalanche Valley. The published road-end trailhead is approximately 5 km farther on; washed-out bridges can prevent reaching it.

Parking: The historical road-end parking is beyond damaged approach bridges. The Dore River bridge at road kilometre 2.1 remains listed as closed; the road authority has not confirmed reopening. These approach instructions are conditional on lawful, passable road access.

2. Walking the route

The route travels up Avalanche Valley, climbs to Avalanche Pass, then drops into the headwaters of the Cariboo River at Cariboo Lake. McBride Tourism describes about 13.5 km to the lake, with more than 900 m of ascent to the pass followed by roughly 500 m of descent. The return therefore includes a substantial climb back out of the lake basin. Marking becomes poor above treeline, so the pass and lake approach require independent route-finding. Roberts Glacier lies above the basin; the published hiking description does not establish a safe glacier-travel route.

Follow Avalanche Valley toward the pass; the tourism guide describes more than 900 m of climbing to Avalanche Pass.
Beyond the pass, descend approximately 500 m toward Cariboo Lake. Alpine marking is poor, so this transition requires independent navigation.
The small backcountry camping area is beside Cariboo Lake below Roberts Glacier. Glacier travel is outside this walking description.

The return

Retrace the pass crossing. Leaving the lake requires approximately 500 m of climbing back to the pass before the long descent to the start; a return trip does not have only the outbound ascent. Access-road walking may add further distance.

3. Route map

Opening the map…

Mapped named trail

© OpenStreetMap contributors. Route geometry is available under the Open Database License (ODbL) 1.0. · Line source · Open Database License (ODbL) 1.0 · Source-line database: https://hikingprincegeorge.com/data/osm-route-lines.geojson

Partial elevation profile

This chart covers only part of the route. It does not establish the full hike or a return journey.

11.88 km along source section 1 of 1, in its mapped direction.

Approximate 90 m terrain model along this mapped section. Separate sections are not joined. This chart does not measure total trail ascent or establish current access; use the guide’s published outing measurements.

Copernicus GLO-90 terrain elevations via Open-Meteo (CC BY4.0); linework: Open Database License (ODbL) 1.0

Copernicus DEM 2021 GLO-90 via Open-Meteo. Linework source: https://www.openstreetmap.org/way/542667186. Sampled and rounded for display.

Source: https://open-meteo.com/en/licence

Licence: CC BY4.0 elevation data; Open Database License (ODbL) 1.0 linework · https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Profile source checked: 2026-10-18

Published locations

Numbered points match the map. Use the role beside each point. A summit or park reference point is not a parking location.

Place and role	Coordinates	Source and notes
Avalanche Valley / Cariboo Lake start point of published trip track (parking unverified)	53.147085 -120.387426	Embedded trip-map feature 'AvalancheValleyTrail': first recorded coordinate [-120.387426, 53.147085]. Point extracted from the original public trip map. A track start is evidence of where recording began, not certification of parking, legal access, road suitability or the complete route. Source date: 2024 https://hiking.princegeorge.tech/avalanche-valley-and-caribou-lake-trail-in-mcbride-bc/

5. Camping, facilities and seasons

Camping and tenting

McBride Tourism documents a small campsite beside Cariboo Lake. It does not confirm tent-pad numbers, toilets or a food cache.

Season and access

The alpine pass is exposed to snow and changing mountain weather. The retained source provides summer walking directions rather than a separate winter route, and the stated distance does not account for a longer approach if the forest road is inaccessible.

Practical details checked 2026-10-17.

How the elevation gain was established

Outing: Recorded historical trailhead–Avalanche Pass–Caribou Lake route, returning along the same path; road-access walking excluded

This total is calculated from explicitly published measurements for the stated route and return. Other starting points or turnarounds can produce different climbing totals.

For a retraced track, return ascent equals outward descent. Add the source’s 904 m outward ascent and 453 m outward descent: 1,357 m for the recorded return. The corresponding recorded length is 2 × 14.24 km = 28.48 km. This is arithmetic on published track statistics, not a newly surveyed or modelled track.

Conditional on retracing exactly the recorded endpoints and path. Source GPS statistics may contain error. Damaged-road approach walking is additional; its distance and climbing are not established. The alternative Kristi traverse is a different route.

Sources checked 2026-10-19.

Your trip notes

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