THE DEWDNEY REGION Proceeding eastward along the northern side of
the Fraser River, we come to the Dewdney region, a 15- by 45-kilometer strip of
the valley extending from the Fraser River to the northern tip of Stave Lake.
The region includes the communities of Mission, Hatzic and Dewdney in the
south and the smaller rural communities of Durieu and Miracle Valley at the
head of Hatzic Valley where it then merges into the vast wilderness waterway of
Stave Lake. The Dewdney Mountain system borders the east side of the valley
and the plateau community of Mission district borders the west. Most of the
northern and eastern mountainous terrain is extremely rugged while the Hatzic
Valley lowlands are mainly farmland and floodplain. The valley phases quickly
into the mountainous wilderness of the Douglas forest skirting the Stave lake
valley. There are two chains of lakes in this region. The first takes us up the
Hatzic Valley into the Douglas forest and a second set of lakes are in the east-
erly mountains overlooking the valley. These are not readily accessible, some
being absorbed by the new reaches of the Norrish Creek watershed.
Much of the northern area is made up of Crown land in the Douglas forest, be-
ing actively logged. The Norrish Creek watershed is the next large chunk of
wilderness and the Davis Lake Provincial Park is after that. With the exception
of the southern portion of the Hatzic valley, most of the area is classified as wil-
derness, accessible through logging roads only. There are 13 lakes within the
region covering a wide range of terrain settings, sizes and difficulty of access.
The recreational value is also quite varied but most of the lakes are undevel-
oped, featuring boating, fishing, primitive camping, hiking and back road ac-
tivities. If this is your interest, this is an exceptional area to explore. |
