---
title: "Punchaw Lake recreation site, 1 h 25 min from Prince George"
description: "Punchaw Lake: recreation site, 1 h 25 min from downtown Prince George. Fishing, camping. 5 campsites, toilets, picnic tables, fire rings."
url: https://princegeorgepulse.ca/outdoors/punchaw-lake/
markdown: https://princegeorgepulse.ca/outdoors/punchaw-lake.md
site: PG Pulse (https://princegeorgepulse.ca), The pulse of Prince George, British Columbia
generated: 2026-10-16T16:13:10.700Z
---

# Punchaw Lake

Recreation site, 1 h 25 min from downtown Prince George.

[Directions](https://www.google.com/maps/dir/?api=1&destination=53.42557,-123.03553) [Recreation Sites and Trails BC](https://www.sitesandtrailsbc.ca/resource/REC1153) [Map](https://princegeorgepulse.ca/outdoors/punchaw-lake/#map)

## About

> This site is nestled amongst mature spruce and deciduous trees along the shores of Punchaw Lake. There is space for 5 camping parties, and the basic amenities of tables, fire rings and pit toilets are provided. There is an unimproved gravel boat launch at the site.

From Recreation Sites and Trails BC (BC Data Catalogue).

## What’s there

### Activities

- [Fishing](https://princegeorgepulse.ca/outdoors/?activity=fishing)
- [Camping](https://princegeorgepulse.ca/outdoors/?activity=camping)

### Amenities

- 5 campsites
- Toilets
- Picnic tables
- Fire rings
- Gravel boat launch

As published by Recreation Sites and Trails BC (BC Data Catalogue).

## Getting there

Travel west of Prince George and turn left on to the Blackwater Rd - proceed 27kms until you reach Baldy Hughes community. The highway turns to gravel and begins at 0km. The site is located at 24km. The final stretch of road into the site may be rough and subject to seasonal water issues; please drive with caution as you enter the site.

Driving directions from Recreation Sites and Trails BC (BC Data Catalogue). Forest service roads can be rough or closed: check [DriveBC](https://www.drivebc.ca/) for highways.

## Map

[Read the full list without the map](https://princegeorgepulse.ca/maps/list/?layer=rec-sites)

Tap a marker for details and directions. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors.

## Nearby

- [Punchaw Lake](https://princegeorgepulse.ca/outdoors/punchaw-lake-43y1s7i/) Lake 1.2 km
- [Cleswuncut Lake](https://princegeorgepulse.ca/outdoors/cleswuncut-lake/) Recreation site 9.3 km
- [Cleswuncut Lake](https://princegeorgepulse.ca/outdoors/cleswuncut-lake-uxld7oo/) Lake 9.3 km
- [MacKenzieLake](https://princegeorgepulse.ca/outdoors/mackenzielake/) Lake 14 km
- [Mackenzie Lakes](https://princegeorgepulse.ca/outdoors/mackenzie-lakes/) Recreation site 14 km
- [Alexander Mackenzie Trail](https://princegeorgepulse.ca/outdoors/alexander-mackenzie-trail/) Trail (Recreation Sites and Trails BC) 14 km
- [Blackwater Canyon](https://princegeorgepulse.ca/outdoors/blackwater-canyon/) Trail (Recreation Sites and Trails BC) 15 km

- **Drive from downtown**: 1 h 25 min, 64 km by road
- **Straight-line distance**: 58 km from downtown
- **Campsites**: 5
- **Maintenance**: Maintained to Standard
- **Access**: Road, 2 Wheel Drive
- **Good for**: Summer
- **Coordinates**: 53.42557, -123.03553

## Links

- [Recreation Sites and Trails BC page](https://www.sitesandtrailsbc.ca/resource/REC1153)
- [BC freshwater fishing regulations](https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/sports-culture/recreation/fishing-hunting/fishing/fishing-regulations)
- [Recreation Sites and Trails BC](https://www.sitesandtrailsbc.ca/)
- [Fire bans and restrictions](https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/safety/wildfire-status/prevention/fire-bans-and-restrictions)

[Wildfires and fire bans](https://princegeorgepulse.ca/dashboard/wildfire/)

Source: [Recreation Sites and Trails BC (BC Data Catalogue)](https://www.sitesandtrailsbc.ca/resource/REC1153). Open Government Licence – British Columbia.

Drive time: OSRM routing on OpenStreetMap data.

Source read 2 days ago

[Report a problem](https://princegeorgepulse.ca/feedback/?kind=correction&page=%2Foutdoors%2Fpunchaw-lake%2F&subject=Outdoors%3A+Punchaw+Lake)

## More in Explore

[See all in Explore](https://princegeorgepulse.ca/browse/#explore)

- [Things to do Parks, trails, indoor fun](https://princegeorgepulse.ca/visit/)
- [Indoor fun Things to do on rainy and cold days](https://princegeorgepulse.ca/visit/indoor-activities/)
- [Where to stay Hotels, motels, B&Bs and campgrounds](https://princegeorgepulse.ca/visit/where-to-stay/)
- [History and places The bowl, the rivers, the railway](https://princegeorgepulse.ca/explore/)
- [Lheidli T’enneh Whose land this is](https://princegeorgepulse.ca/indigenous/)
- [Land and resources Forests, mines, geography](https://princegeorgepulse.ca/dashboard/resources/)

## Data

Machine-readable data behind this page, from the free PG Pulse API (https://princegeorgepulse.ca/developers/).

### Place data

Source: [BC Parks Data API, Recreation Sites and Trails BC and the BC Freshwater Atlas (BC Data Catalogue), OpenStreetMap](https://catalogue.data.gov.bc.ca/dataset/bc-parks-data-api-access). Licence: Open Government Licence – British Columbia (https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/data/policy-standards/data-policies/open-data/open-government-licence-bc) for BC Parks, Recreation Sites and Trails BC and Freshwater Atlas places; ODbL 1.0 © OpenStreetMap contributors (https://www.openstreetmap.org/copyright) for OpenStreetMap places and drive times; each place names its own source. Updated 2026-10-14T11:40:15.055Z.
JSON: https://princegeorgepulse.ca/api/v1/outdoors/punchaw-lake

- **slug**: punchaw-lake
- **name**: Punchaw Lake
- **category**: rec-sites
- **categories**: rec-sites, campgrounds, boat-launches
- **kind**: Recreation site
- **lat**: 53.42557
- **lng**: -123.03553
- **kmFromCentre**: 57.8
- **driveKm**: 63.7
- **driveMinutes**: 85.4
- **offRoadMetres**: _none_
- **elevationM**: _none_
- **areaHa**: _none_
- **lengthKm**: _none_
- **activities**: fishing, camping
- **amenities**: 5 campsites, Toilets, Picnic tables, Fire rings, Gravel boat launch
- **seasons**: summer
- **lake**: _none_
- **park**: _none_
- **closure**: _none_
- **advisories**: _none_
- **description**: This site is nestled amongst mature spruce and deciduous trees along the shores of Punchaw Lake. There is space for 5 camping parties, and the basic amenities of tables, fire rings and pit toilets are provided. There is an unimproved gravel boat launch at the site.
- **directions**: Travel west of Prince George and turn left on to the Blackwater Rd - proceed 27kms until you reach Baldy Hughes community. The highway turns to gravel and begins at 0km. The site is located at 24km. The final stretch of road into the site may be rough and subject to seasonal water issues; please drive with caution as you enter the site.
- **page**: <https://princegeorgepulse.ca/outdoors/punchaw-lake/>
- **source**: Recreation Sites and Trails BC (BC Data Catalogue)
- **sourceUrl**: <https://www.sitesandtrailsbc.ca/resource/REC1153>
- **licence**: Open Government Licence – British Columbia (https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/data/policy-standards/data-policies/open-data/open-government-licence-bc)
- **fetchedAt**: 2026-10-14T11:40:15.055Z
- **onShore**: _none_

#### links

| label | url |
| --- | --- |
| Recreation Sites and Trails BC page | https://www.sitesandtrailsbc.ca/resource/REC1153 |


#### nearby

| slug | name | category | categories | kind | lat | lng | distanceKm | kmFromCentre | driveKm |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| punchaw-lake-43y1s7i | Punchaw Lake | lakes | lakes | Lake | 53.42156 | -123.01952 | 1.2 | 57.9 | 70 |
| cleswuncut-lake | Cleswuncut Lake | rec-sites | rec-sites, campgrounds, boat-launches | Recreation site | 53.35207 | -123.1013 | 9.3 | 67 | 74.1 |
| cleswuncut-lake-uxld7oo | Cleswuncut Lake | lakes | lakes | Lake | 53.35057 | -123.0971 | 9.3 | 67 | 74.3 |
| mackenzielake | MacKenzieLake | lakes | lakes | Lake | 53.54017 | -122.9417 | 14.2 | 43.8 | 49.8 |
| mackenzie-lakes | Mackenzie Lakes | rec-sites | rec-sites, campgrounds, boat-launches | Recreation site | 53.54276 | -122.94598 | 14.3 | 43.6 | 49.8 |
| alexander-mackenzie-trail | Alexander Mackenzie Trail | rec-trails | rec-trails | Trail (Recreation Sites and Trails BC) | 53.33933 | -122.87555 | 14.3 | 64.8 | 86.1 |
| blackwater-canyon | Blackwater Canyon | rec-trails | rec-trails | Trail (Recreation Sites and Trails BC) | 53.29901 | -123.08652 | 14.5 | 72.2 | 82.7 |

_Nested fields (links) are in the JSON version._

---

Markdown version of https://princegeorgepulse.ca/outdoors/punchaw-lake/. Guide for AI agents: https://princegeorgepulse.ca/llms.txt. Free API: https://princegeorgepulse.ca/developers/