Bowers Lake

MU 5-1, Cariboo
51.6686° N, 120.6958° W

WaterTraced road inRoadRough surface roadRec siteShoreline from the BC Freshwater Atlas, roads from the BC Digital Road Atlas, under the Open Government Licence, British Columbia. Rec site position from BC Recreation Sites and Trails, checked 11 September 2026. The lake's depth is not drawn on this map.

Surface area: 612.7ha
Maximum depth: 43.6m; 143 ft
Elevation: 1,116m
Campsites: 2; At Bowers Lake South rec site

Turn east, off Hwy 97, onto Hwy 24. Follow Hwy 24 to Sheridan Lake. Turn north to Needa Lake. Bowers is located a few miles north of Needa on the same road.

Open Bowers Lake in the appThe 7-day forecast, max depth and wildfire smoke check, on the lake's own coordinate.

Trophy fish at Bowers Lake

Bowers Lake is known for trophy Rainbow trout to 5 lb.

Rainbow trout to 5 lb

Trophy sizes this lake is known for, not a typical catch. They are historical records from our own big fish list, with no date on file, not recent catches.

Bowers Lake at a glance

Region: Cariboo
Management unit: MU 5-1
Species: Rainbow Trout (last recorded 1994), Longnose Sucker (last recorded 1970)The newest of these fish records is from 1994.Species from the province's fish observation records.
Lake size: Large Water (> 500 ha)
Ice fishing: No ice fishing closure on file
Coordinates: 51.6686, -120.6958

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Fish on record at Bowers Lake

Species in the Province's fish observation records
Species	First recorded	Last recorded	Records
Rainbow Trout	1970	1994	2
Longnose Sucker	1970	1970	1

A year is when the Province last recorded the fish here, not a statement that it is caught today.

How to fish Bowers Lake

Best times of year at Bowers Lake

May - June
September - October

Bowers Lake fishing regulations

We have no lake specific regulations on file for Bowers Lake yet.

Getting to Bowers Lake

A small BCFS campsite in a well treed area located beside Jim creek. This site is suitable for small trailers and the creek can provide interesting fly

19.6 km of traced road to the campground by way of Windy French FSR, 193 Road FSR, Windy Mountain FSR, Womack Rd and Burgess Rd. The road at the end is a loose surface. It stops 180 m short of the campground.

The route traced over the BC Digital Road Atlas. A trace is a line on a map, not a report on the road: check conditions before you drive it.

Coordinates: 51.6686, -120.6958

Camping and rec sites at Bowers Lake

Bowers Lake South
Campsites
2 designated
To the shore
37 m

Access: A small BCFS campsite in a well treed area located beside Jim creek. This site is suitable for small trailers and the creek can provide interesting fly
Coordinates: 51.657482, -120.686967
The site on Recreation Sites and Trails BC

Depth chart for Bowers Lake

43.6 mdeepest

Bowers Lake runs to 43.6 m (143 ft) at its deepest.

The Province sounded Bowers Lake and published the depth chart surveyed in 1972.

Depth chart (PDF)

The ice year at Bowers Lake, modelled

Modelled from air temperature, not an ice report. It says nothing about whether ice will hold you.

In the model Bowers Lake froze in 65 of the 65 winters since 1960. Freeze-up falls most years between 1 November and 15 November, and ice-off between 1 May and 18 May. The median winter freezes on 8 November and opens on 11 May.

the middle half of modelled winters the median ice cover in the median winter

Winter 2024-25 in the model: frozen from 15 November 2024 to 10 April 2025, 146 days.

No ice fishing closure is recorded for Bowers Lake, so the general regional regulations apply.

Whether a lake is open to ice fishing says nothing about whether its ice will hold you. Ice conditions vary year to year and across a single lake. Check locally before going out, every time.

Bowers Lake climate, 1960 to 2025

Averaged over a year, the air above Bowers Lake is 1.1 C warmer than it was in the 1960s. That is 66 years of daily readings, not a forecast.

+1.1 Csince the 1960s
2.3 Caverage year now
1.2 Caverage year then
-11 daysbelow freezing, change

Average year at Bowers Lakedegrees C, yearly mean

each yearthe trend across 1960 to 2025

Days below freezingdays a year averaging under 0 C

each yearthe trend across 1960 to 2025

This week at Bowers Lake

The forecast on this lake's own coordinate, refreshed through the day. The app reads these seven days for fishing and scores each one.

Day	Sky	High / low	Wind	Rain	Pressure
Tue 20 Oct	Mainly clear	11° / 0°	14 km/h, gusts 29	dry	Steady
Wed 21 Oct	Overcast	12° / 3°	14 km/h, gusts 34	dry	Falling (-9.4 hPa)
Thu 22 Oct	Light drizzle	7° / 0°	18 km/h, gusts 42	dry	Rising (+2.2 hPa)
Fri 23 Oct	Overcast	5° / -2°	12 km/h, gusts 29	dry	Rising (+13.7 hPa)
Sat 24 Oct	Overcast	5° / 1°	6 km/h, gusts 13	dry	Falling (-2.0 hPa)
Sun 25 Oct	Overcast	6° / -2°	9 km/h, gusts 24	dry	Rising (+5.0 hPa)
Mon 26 Oct	Overcast	8° / -1°	6 km/h, gusts 15	dry	Falling (-2.3 hPa)

Open Bowers Lake in the app

Bowers Lake, in brief

What fish are in Bowers Lake?

Rainbow Trout (last recorded 1994). Species from the province's fish observation records.

Which management unit is Bowers Lake in?

Bowers Lake is in MU 5-1, in the Cariboo. The BC Freshwater Fishing Regulations Synopsis is organised by management unit; check it before you go.

Trout lakes near Bowers Lake

Preacher Lake 6 km away
Cougar Lake 6 km away
Deka Lake 6 km away
Needa Lake 7 km away
Dragonfly Lake 8 km away

All 328 lakes in the Cariboo, with today's conditions on each.