The community of Summit Lake has a long and chequered history. Today, outdoors enthusiasts come to enjoy canoeing down the popular Crooked River canoe route or climb nearby Teapot Mountain. The tiny population increases significantly in the summer when people flock to their cabins. In winter, however, apart from the occasional snowmobile, a lone skier can cross the lake without seeing another soul.
There are several Summit Lakes in BC, but this one is situated 50 km north of Prince George. In the early part of the last century it served as an important transportation hub, being situated on the Arctic Divide. This lake is the most southerly lake in the arctic drainage along Hwy 97. The Crooked River flows north from Summit Lake to the Parsnip and Peace rivers and then to the Arctic Ocean. The lake is U-shaped, approximately 12 km long, has several islands, three basins, and a complex shoreline. The lake lies at an elevation of 706 m (2329 ft), making it one of the lowest locations along the Continental Divide of North America north of Mexico. For more detailed information about the Importance of Summit Lake and its Watershed you can visit the BC Ministry of Environment website.
The nine-mile-long Giscome Portage trail connects the Fraser River to Summit Lake. First Nations originally used this trail, then later Europeans, during the Omineca and Peace gold speculation of the 1860s. In 1871 the trail was upgraded to a wagon route and was used extensively by miners and fur-traders. For more detailed information about the History of Summit Lake you can visit the Northword Magazine website.

The community of Summit Lake has a long and chequered history. Today, outdoors enthusiasts come to enjoy canoeing down the popular Crooked River canoe route or climb nearby Teapot Mountain. The tiny population increases significantly in the summer when people flock to their cabins. In winter, however, apart from the occasional snowmobile, a lone skier can cross the lake without seeing another soul.
There are several Summit Lakes in BC, but this one is situated 50 km north of Prince George. In the...