Skeena West. 
Know before you go
Advisories
Safety information
- The entirety of Seven Sisters Park is a wilderness area. Visitors must be prepared for natural hazards and weather conditions at all times of the year.
Special notes
- ATVs, off-road motorcycles, and side-by-sides are strictly prohibited on any designated hiking trails in Seven Sister Park. Trails are to be respected, please do not damage or destroy any wildlife or vegetation.
- Please do not litter and pack out what you pack in.
Review the detailed guides under visit responsibly for more information on staying safe and preserving our natural spaces.
Visit responsibly
Follow these guides to ensure your activities are safe, respectful, and ecologically friendly:
Maps and location
- Park access map [PDF] (Updated 2013)
- Park Brochure [PDF]
Getting there
Seven Sisters Park is located just south of Kitwanga, between Terrace and Hazelton. Most visitors access the park by trails originating near Highway 16.
Camping
Wilderness camping
Wilderness camping is allowed but limited facilities are provided. There are picnic tables, a food cache bin, a pit toilet, and fire rings available along the Watson Lakes Trail. There is a subalpine site on the Upper Oliver Creek Trail at 17km that has a pit toilet, a food cache bin and tent pads.
When visiting the backcountry, always follow Leave No Trace outdoor ethics. To learn more about staying safe in the backcountry, read our backcountry guide.
Things to do
Seven Sisters Park and Protected area has fantastic hiking opportunities, from short lower elevation trails to multi-day backpacking excursions.
Swimming is possible at Watson Lakes during the warmest months, but even then the water is still cold.
There are no lifeguards on duty in BC Parks.
There are canoeing and kayaking opportunities in this park. Visitors must be prepared to portage their boat.
There are canoeing and kayaking opportunities in this park. Visitors must be prepared to portage their boat.
Watson Lake has been stocked with rainbow trout in the past and the three small lakes along the Watson Lakes Trail are used for fishing.
Anyone fishing in British Columbia must have an appropriate licence. To learn more, see the fishing and hunting guide.
The Seven Sisters Park offers many excellent wildlife viewing opportunities. Resident mountain goat herds use the Seven Sisters peaks and ridges during the summer and winter in the forests near Oliver Creek and Hell’s Bells Creek.
Grizzly (blue-listed) and black bears, raptors and other birds use the entire Protected Area. Wolverines are little known and rarely seen predators living in and suspected to be breeding in this area. In the low elevation forested area, marten and fisher (blue-listed) use the older forests, while moose, mule deer, coyotes and wolves tend to use the area around natural openings, burned areas and old cut blocks.
The low elevation forest between Hell’s Bells Creek and Oliver Creek provides mule deer winter range. High elevation wetlands in the Upper Price Creek drainage are likely important for migratory waterfowl in spring and fall.
Tailed frogs (blue-listed) have been found across the Skeena River from Oliver Creek, and may live in small tributaries within the Protected Area. High breeding populations of rough-skinned newts live in small ponds near Coyote Creek at the northern extent of their range. Salmon pass through the lower reaches of all creeks and trout live within most lakes and creeks.
Pets and domestic animals must be under control at all times. You are responsible for their behaviour.
Mountain biking is allowed on the Oliver Creek Trail as far as the junction with Hell’s Bells Trail. Beyond that point bicycles are strictly prohibited as the trail is too soft and muddy.
E-bikes are restricted to pedal-assist only, with a top speed of 32km per hour, and has a max continuous motor wattage of 500W. E-Bikes are currently permitted at Oliver Creek and the Hells Bells Connector Trail as far as the junction.
For details on e-biking within Seven Sisters Park, see the e-biking section.
Please note that bicycles with electric assist motors (e-bikes) are permitted on signed or designated trails within Seven Sisters Park, provided they meet the definitions and criteria for e-bike use as outlined in the BC Parks cycling guidelines. E-biking is allowed on the Oliver Creek Trail as far as the junction with Hell’s Bells Trail. Beyond that point all bicycles are strictly prohibited as the trail is too soft and muddy
Horseback riding is allowed on the Oliver Creek Trail as far as the junction with Hell’s Bells Trail. Beyond that point horses are not permitted as the trail is too soft and muddy.
The park is open to hunting. All hunters to the area should refer to the current BC Hunting & Trapping Regulations Synopsis.
Anyone hunting in British Columbia must comply with BC hunting regulations. To learn more, see the fishing and hunting guide.
Visitors can enjoy cross-country skiing and showshoeing on existing hiking trails, but there are no set tracks. Visitors can enjoy snowshoeing on existing hiking trails.
Snowmobiling is permitted in an alpine bowl located in the upper reaches above the Oliver Creek Trail. Access to this area is provided via the connection of the Flint Creek Road, Hells Bells and Oliver Creek Trails which is gated but left open in the winter. Avalanche training is strongly recommended if you plan to snowmobile in Seven Sisters Park and you need to be prepared with the appropriate rescue and emergency equipment.
Facilities
Please use fire rings where they are provided which is currently at the Watson Lakes picnic and camping sites. While campfires are allowed in this backcountry area, we encourage visitors to use campstoves for cooking purposes.
To preserve vegetation and ground cover, please don’t gather wood for fires from the area unless required for emergency situations. Dead wood is an important habitat element for many plants and animals and it adds organic matter to the soil.
Campfire bans may be in place. Before lighting a fire, check for bans or restrictions on BC Wildfire Service and on local or Indigenous government websites.
Novice hikers and families with small children can easily reach the scenic lakeside picnic and camping site 1km along the 3km Watson Lakes Trail at the first lake.
This park only has pit toilets, no flush toilets.
About this park
Seven Sisters Provincial Park lies within the traditional territory claimed by the Gitxsan and Tsimshian First Nations. Traditional activities noted by the Gitxsan include goat hunting (for meat and fur), trapping, cedar bark stripping, berry picking and harvesting of a variety of plants for medicinal and cultural purposes. In the region, prescribed fire was used traditionally to improve berry patch production. The Tsimshian people use the southern portion of the Protected Area for hunting, trapping and fishing.
The fate of the Seven Sisters area has been discussed in various forums for more than two decades. Formal land use planning began in 1989. In 1991, the Kispiox Resource Management Plan recommended the Seven Sisters as a study area. In 1994, a Kispiox planning group considered land uses in the Seven Sisters. These recommendations were presented by a special planning group and the Seven Sisters Provincial Park was announced by the Provincial Government in 2000.
The area around the Seven Sisters mountain range has stimulated interest in mineral exploration since the late 1920s. Discoveries included veins with gold, silver, lead and zinc, all in the headwaters of Oliver Creek. Several log cabins were built to facilitate exploration at the time. After a hiatus, exploration continued between 1968 and 1983, including aeromagnetic, gravity, magnetic and geochemical surveys and trenching to expose bedrock in areas of interest. No mineral occurrences were considered to be economically viable for mining. The only remnant of the area’s mining exploration history are the roads (Oliver Creek Trail and Coyote Creek Trail) and a few dilapidated buildings outside the Protected Area at the abandoned Magnetron Site on the Coyote Creek Trail.
The Seven Sisters is aptly named for a row of rugged peaks, four of which reach above 2,500 m in elevation. The Protected Area contains a complete elevational sequence of forested ecosystems from valley bottom to alpine, including ICH, CWH, MH and AT Biogeoclimatic Zones. The forest ecosystems possess a unique blend of coastal, interior and northern features and are habitat for many red- and blue-listed species of wildlife.
Resident mountain goat herds live within the protected area. They use the Seven Sisters peaks and ridges during the summer, and winter in the forests near Oliver Creek and Hells Bells Creek. Although not currently threatened, the mountain goats are sensitive to changes in habitat, noise levels and hunting pressures, so they will be monitored closely.
Grizzly (blue-listed) and black bears, raptors and other birds use the entire Protected Area. In the low elevation forested area, marten and fisher (blue-listed) use the older forests, while moose, mule deer, coyotes and wolves tend to use the area around natural openings, burned areas and old cutblocks. The low elevation forest between Hells Bells Creek and Oliver Creek provides mule deer winter range. High elevation wetlands in the Upper Price Creek drainage are likely important for migratory waterfowl in spring and fall.
Tailed frogs (blue-listed) have been found across the Skeena River from Oliver Creek, and may live in small tributaries within the Protected Area. High breeding populations of rough-skinned newts live in small ponds near Coyote Creek at the northern extent of their range. Salmon pass through the lower reaches of all creeks; trout live within most lakes and creeks.
Reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples
BC Parks honours Indigenous Peoples’ connection to the land and respects the importance of their diverse teachings, traditions, and practices within these territories. This park webpage may not adequately represent the full history of this park and the connection of Indigenous Peoples to this land. We are working in partnership with Indigenous Peoples to update our websites so that they better reflect the history and cultures of these special places.
Contact
| General questions and feedback for BC Parks | We answer emails weekdays from 9 am to 5 pm Pacific Time. |
|---|
