Did you know that there are over 90 national historic sites that you can visit in B.C. alone? If retracing the steps of an 18th-century trek across North America sounds like your cup of tea, you’ll want to add Sir Alexander Mackenzie Park to your map.
Situated 65 km northwest of Bella Coola, the park sits at the westernmost terminus of the very first European journey across North America in 1793, made by Alexander Mackenzie of the North West Company.
The first to cross the continent north of Mexico
According to Parks Canada, Mackenzie first set out from Montreal in the spring of 1792, eventually becoming the first person to cross the continent north of Mexico. While the route he travelled was not the “practical trade route” he sought, his voyage marked the completion of the journey Cabot and Cartier attempted nearly 300 years prior.
From Fort Fork on the Peace River, near Fort Chipewyan, Alberta, Mackenzie journeyed to the Pacific Ocean. He and his party canoed up the Parsnip River before heading to the upper Fraser River, which they were convinced was unnavigable. They backtracked to the West Road River and eventually made their way on foot to an Indigenous settlement at Bella Coola.
Two days later, they reached their destination: a rocky headland at what is now the provincial park.
Once he and his party arrived on July 22, 1793, Mackenzie wrote the following on a rock using grease and vermilion:
“Alex Mackenzie from Canada by land 22nd July 1793.”
The rock is still there by the water today, permanently inscribed upon the designation of the park as a national historic site in 1926.
How to get to the park
Visitors to this remarkable park are limited to one-day excursions by air or boat, according to BC Parks. It also marks the end of an extensive backcountry hiking adventure or horseback riding journey along the Alexander Mackenzie Heritage (Grease) Trail, which travels through Kluskoil Lake and Tweedsmuir (South) Parks.
In order to reach the park, hikers must still travel the final segment of the journey by boat, as Alexander Mackenzie once did. Temporary anchorage is possible in the cove to the west of the point, as the historical rock where Mackenzie once anchored is not as strong as it was.
BC Parks notes that better protection is found at the head of Elcho Harbour, situated 3.2 km west. Several campsites await a short distance northeast from this point, though they are not within the park’s boundaries.
So if you’re up for a bit of extra research and planning, this trip definitely sounds like a bucket list spot.
How to get there: Drive 11 hours and 20 minutes from Vancouver to Bella Coola via Chilcotin-Bella Coola Highway/BC-20 W. Travel by boat or air to the park, situated on the Dean Channel approximately 65 km northwest of Bella Coola.
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