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The Fraser River Lodge

Explore The Lodge and everything around it!

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Our Bison

Where do bison originate?

Its historical range, by 9000 BC, is described as the great bison belt. A tract of rich grassland that ran from Alaska to the gulf of Mexico, east to the Atlantic Seaboard, and as far north as New York. It also stretches south to Georgia and according to some sources, further south to Florida, with sightings in North Carolina near Buffalo Ford on the Catawba River as late as 1750.

What is a bison's life expectency?

Bison have a life expectancy around 15 years in the wild and up to 25 years in captivity. However, males and females from a hunted population also subject to wolf predation in northern Canada have been reported to live to 22 and 25 years of age, respectively.

How long have you had your bison?

The bison have been a part of our family for 15 years now. The longest of which, being our male or (Tatonka in Sioux).

What is a red dog?

Calves are born at 25-40 pounds with reddish-tan hair, giving them the common name “red dogs”. Their shoulder humps begin to protrude at around 2 months of age.

can you ride a bison?

Though it may be physically possible, we would highly advise that no one attempt to ride a Bison. Bison are wild animals, are known to be extremely aggressive, and riding one may be the last thing you ever do.

Bison or Buffalo?

It’s easy to understand why people confuse Bison and Buffalo. Both are large, horned, ox-like animals of the Bovidae family. There are two kinds of Bison, the American Bison and the European Bison, and two forms of Buffalo, Water Buffalo and Cape Buffalo.

Buffalo are indigenous to South Asia (Water Buffalo) and Africa (Cape Buffalo), while Bison are found in North America and parts of Europe. Despite being a misnomer, Buffalo remains commonly used when referring to American Bison, thus adding to the confusion.

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Nature

What Animals are Around you?

A diverse collection of wildlife call BC’s rainforest home, including five species of salmon, multiple bird varieties (including the bald eagle), black-tailed deer, grey wolf, grizzly bear, and black bear. The Kermode (Spirit) bear found in BC’s Great Bear Rainforest, is a black bear with a rare recessive gene.

IS THere Really a Rainforest In BC?

Close to 25% of the world’s temperate rainforest is in BC. Most of it is coastal (where you’ll find the protected), but BC is also home to a rare inland rainforest

Temperate vs. Tropical?

Tropical rainforests are warmer and close to the equator. Temperate rainforests are at latitudes between the two Tropics and Polar Circles. What they have in common is a lot of rain, which causes the lush rainforest canopies to flourish.

Compared to tropical rainforests, temperate rainforests decompose slowly, resulting in a rich vegetation base (including a variety of mushrooms) but few tree varieties (mostly coniferous), due to the climate and low light levels.

Less than 10% of the world’s land surface is rainforest, yet rainforests are responsible for nearly one-third of the world’s oxygen production. You know you’re breathing fresh rainforest air when you see lichen hanging from trees. Some lichens have survived for thousands of years and are extremely susceptible to pollution.

You're In Canada. Is it cold there?

The climate here is mild, and generally warm and temperate. The rainfall in Agassiz is significant, with precipitation even during the driest month. The average annual temperature in Agassiz is 8.3 °C | 46.9 °F, with the coldest months averaging a temperature of -1°C | 29°F, and the warmest months averaging a temperature of 23°C | 74°F.

The rainfall here is around 2290 mm | 90.2 inch per year.

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Our Sights

Mount Cheam

One of the most spectacular views in the Fraser Valley, Mount Cheam offers a 360-degree panoramic view from Chilliwack and the communities along the Fraser River, Jones Lake, the surrounding peaks, and Mount Baker to the south.

Othello Tunnels

The Othello Tunnels are a series of old train tunnels and bridges that cut through the solid granite walls and pass over the wild Coquihalla River. The tunnels are located just east of the town of Hope, BC, in the Coquihalla Provincial Park and the trail is a short, flat 3.5km return route.

Harrison Lake

Harrison Lake is the largest lake in the southern Coast Mountains of Canada, being about 250 square kilometres in area. It is about 60 km in length and at its widest almost 9 km across.

East of the lake are the Lillooet Ranges while to the west are the Douglas Ranges. The lake is the last of a series of large north-south glacial valleys tributary to the Fraser along its north bank east of Vancouver, British Columbia. The others to the west are the Chehalis, Stave, Alouette, Pitt, and Coquitlam Rivers.

At the north end of the lake is a small First Nations community of the In-SHUCK-ch Nation, Port Douglas, known in the St'at'imcets language as Xa'xtsa. There are three hot springs along the shores of the lake or near it, including near Port Douglas, at Clear Creek, a tributary of Silver River, and at Harrison Hot Springs.

Sasquatch Provincial Park

Located north of Harrison Hot Springs, Sasquatch Provincial Park is characterized by a series of pocket lakes, a unique second-growth and birch forest, and scenic mountain ridges.

The diversity of habitats at Sasquatch Park supports a large variety of wildlife species including beaver, mountain goat, woodpeckers, warblers, and vireos. Several rare species have been observed in the park, including the bald eagle, tailed frog, and black petaltail dragonfly. The lakes and streams in the park provide excellent fish habitat for over ten species of fish from the sturgeon, smelt, salmon, catfish, and stickleback families.

Fraser River & Tributaries

The Fraser River is the longest river within British Columbia, Canada, rising at Fraser Pass near Blackrock Mountain in the Rocky Mountains and flowing for 1,375 kilometres, into the Strait of Georgia just south of the City of Vancouver. It is the 11th longest river in Canada. The river's annual discharge at its mouth is 112 cubic kilometres or 3,550 cubic metres per second, and it discharges 20 million tons of sediment into the ocean.

The Fraser River is also fed by dozens of Tributaries.

Indigenous Tourism

We operate with respect for this land that we are on, and for the people who have and do reside here. We strive to deepen our understanding of the local Indigenous communities and acknowledging that the land on which we gather is the traditional and unceded territory of the S’ólh Téméxw (Stó:lō). This section of the Fraser River is known by local indigenous peoples as "Sto:lo" in the Halgemeylem language of the area, and this term has been adopted to refer to all of the indigenous peoples of the Fraser Lowland, other than the Squamish and Musqueam. The indigenous peoples of the area have long made use of the river valley for agricultural and commercial exploits and continue to do so today.

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Around Us

Harrison

The Village of Harrison Hot Springs is a small community at the southern end of Harrison Lake in the Fraser Valley of British Columbia. It is a member of the Fraser Valley Regional District; its immediate neighbour is the district of Kent and included in it the town of Agassiz. It is a resort community known for its hot Springs, and has a population of just over 1500 people. It is named after Benjamin Harrison, a former deputy governor for the Hudson's Bay Company.

Agassiz

Agassiz is a small community located in the Eastern Fraser Valley region of British Columbia. It is the only town within the jurisdiction of the District Municipality of Kent, it contains the majority of Kent's population.

Hope

Hope is a district municipality at the confluence of the Fraser and Coquihalla rivers in the province of British Columbia, Canada. Hope is at the eastern end of both the Fraser Valley and the Lower Mainland region, and is at the southern end of the Fraser Canyon. To the east, over the Cascade Mountains, is the Interior region, beginning with the Similkameen Country on the farther side of the Allison Pass in Manning Park. As it lies at the eastern end of the Fraser Valley in the windward Cascade foothills, the town gets very high amounts of rain and cloud cover – particularly throughout the autumn and winter.

Chilliwack

Chilliwack is a city in the Canadian province of British Columbia. Historically an agricultural community, Chilliwack's population is now primarily suburban. The Fraser Valley Regional District is headquartered in Chilliwack, it is the Fraser Valley's second largest city after Abbotsford. Chilliwack is surrounded by mountains and home to recreational areas such as Cultus Lake and Chilliwack Lake Provincial Parks. There are many outdoor activities in the area, including hiking, rock climbing, mountain biking horseback riding, whitewater kayaking, camping, fishing, golf and paragliding. The city had a population of 83,788 in the Canada 2016 Census, with a census agglomeration population of 101,512 people.