Gwen Lake

Gwen Lake is a wilderness recreation lake located south of the community of Merritt, British Columbia, Canada. The lake is a remote wilderness destination popular for fishing, wilderness camping and canoeing. To the north is Iron Mountain, to the southwest is Selish Mountain and in between is Gwen Lake.

The lake is a beautiful spot to visit, well worth the drive along the rough gravel roads. On the west side of the lake is a small wilderness recreation campground with 3 campsites. The campground is heavily shaded with plenty of tree cover and is only a short distance from the lake. Each campsite has a roughed-out fire pit and one site has a picnic table. There is pit toilets onsite hidden in the trees.

A ragged pier provides the lake access for canoers and fisherman. And for overnight tenters, you may luck out on occasion, enjoying the sights and sounds of the lake all to yourself. The camping is on a first-come first-serve basis. Sometimes the campsite is full, sometimes it is not. On our overnight visit we enjoyed the whole campsite and lake to ourselves.

The 20 hectare lake attracts more day use visitors than overnight. Most day use adventurers arrive to fish Gwen Lake paddling a canoe or aluminum boat. The lake is regularly stocked with Rainbow Trout and is considered a good fishing lake that is not, yet, over fished.

Please make note that the access road to the lake is very rough, filled with pot holes and crossing over uneven gravel terrain. The lake is a beautiful spot and is tempting but the trip should only be attempted by solid 4x4 vehicles and trucks. It is not a destination for RVs or for cars. Many areas to bottom out and get stuck in the middle of nowhere.

Gwen Lake , Merritt, BC, Canada in the Thompson-Shuswap