The Stein Wardens (Lytton First Nation members) and BC Parks rangers continue to maintain the park and enhance the users’ experiences. Follow their direction and adhere to posted signs.

• Do not underestimate the demands of hiking the full length of the valley. Routes out of the valley include steep ascents and descents. Rugged terrain and deadfalls across the trail can significantly lengthen the amount of travel time required. Allow extra time to complete your trip.
• Weather changes quickly here. You may experience sun, rain and snow all on the same day. Be prepared. Sudden storms can cause white-out conditions and necessitate travel by compass, particularly at higher elevations. 
• Solid route-finding skills are a necessity. Sections of some trails may be wet, steep or difficult to see. Bring appropriate footwear, a good map and compass and watch carefully for trail markers.
• The park is far from medical help. Bring a good first aid kit and exercise caution.
• The park can be extremely dry with high wildfire risk. Take utmost caution if using any cooking appliances. It is best to bring food with you that does not need any cooking or heating. 
• Grizzly bears and black bears roam throughout the park but are not often seen. Avoid encounters by making noise as you hike, and keeping your food and garbage in a food cache or hoisted up a tree.
• Leave your dog at home. They can harass wildlife and other hikers, bring you face-to-face with an angry bear, or damage areas by digging. Stein Valley Nlaka’pamux Heritage Park is an area of cultural significance. All values need to be conserved in their natural state as much as possible. If you do bring your dog, keep them under control, discourage digging behaviour anywhere in the park, and clean up after them.

The following is prohibited in this park:

• Campfires. Bring a camp stove for cooking.
• Vehicles. Access the park on foot only. Mechanized vehicles, including 4x4s, ATVs, mountain bikes, snowmobiles, helicopters and float-planes are not allowed.
• Horses
• Touching or tampering with any pictographs, petroglyphs, or culturally modified trees. Contact between these artifacts and your fingers transfers oils and acids which damage them. In some cases these pictographs have existed for several thousand years. Please join us in protecting them for future generations. It is an offence under the Park Act to damage or destroy any park resource, including cultural artifacts. 

Park use permit applicants: 

The Stein Valley Nlaka’pamux Heritage Park is co-managed via a Stein Management Board between BC Parks and the Lytton First Nation. In order for a Park Use permit application to be considered by BC Parks, the application must be reviewed and agreed upon by the Lytton First Nation prior to submission. If an application is received by BC Parks proof of discussions with the Lytton First Nation will be required as part of the application process.

History

The park was established on November 22, 1995, following a 25 year debate over development versus protection. The name comes from the Nlaka’pamux word “Stagyn,” which means “hidden place,” referring to the fact that the valley and the extent of the watershed is not very noticeable from the Stein River’s mouth on the Fraser River. The valley has been extremely important to the Nlaka’pamux people for thousands of years, both spiritually and for sustenance. Since the establishment of the park, the Stein is managed via the Stein Valley Co-Operative Management Agreement between the Lytton First Nation and the province of BC, on the Stein Management Board. The function of the Management Board is to oversee and provide management direction for all initiatives and undertakings related to the planning, operation and management of the park. This arrangement also provides the park with two seasonal full-time Wardens who assist both the users of the park as well as maintaining values within the park particularly in the lower Stein. 

Conservation

The Stein Valley straddles the transition from the dry interior to the wetter Coastal Mountains. This, combined with the large elevational gradient, has resulted in very diverse vegetation communities within the park. Dry ponderosa pine forests characterize the lower valley compared to Douglas fir in the mid-valley. Hemlock, spruce and fir become predominant in the western end of the valley. Patches of cedar exist throughout the valley, even at the eastern end in moist, cool locations along creeks such as Stryen and Teaspoon. Floodplain forests along the river are dominated by black cottonwood mixed with aspen and birch. Higher elevations are noted for stands of Engelmann spruce, subalpine fir, white bark pine and alpine tundra. Spectacular flower blooms occur in the spring and summer, particularly at higher elevations.

Stein Valley landforms

The Stein Valley was heavily glaciated and is dominated by glacial landforms. All of the main valleys except the lower canyon have the characteristic U-shape of glacial eroded troughs, and many of the tributaries to the Stein River exhibit “hanging” valleys. The upper reaches of the watershed are dotted with a large number of small mountain lakes (tarns), many of which occupy cirques. 

The Stein River has two extensive canyon sections, one at the east end of the valley and one at the west end. The park has a wide range of elevations, from about 220 metres above sea level at the eastern end to 2954 metres at the summit of Skihist Mountain. There are about a dozen other peaks along the boundary that are over 2,438 metres. Some of the key elevations in and around the park are:

• Main (eastern) trail head 220 metres
• Cottonwood Creek mouth 675 metres
• Stein Lake 1,025 metres
• Elton Lake 1,825 metres
• Tundra Lake 1,875 metres
• Lizzie Lake 1,325 metres
• Blowdown Pass 2,175 metres

Preliminary efforts are underway to monitor glaciers within the Stein Valley Heritage Park. Learn about glaciers and glacier research. 

The Stein River and its tributaries

The main Stein River, from Stein Lake to the Fraser River, is about 60 kilometres long and drops about 800 metres over that distance. River levels are highest in June and July, and also change significantly in short periods of time due to heavy rainfalls or high temperatures in the western end of the valley. The river contains several falls, with the two largest being about six to eight metres high.

There are several other waterfalls in the park, including Cottonwood Falls, at 15 metres in height and Elton Falls which drops 60 metres and has a cascade totalling more than 300 metres. Generally speaking, the tributaries on the south side of the river are glacially fed, while those on the north side drain large expanses of meadows.

The park contains larger lakes (Stein, Elton and Tundra), as well as many small lakes. Tundra and Elton are headwater lakes which are only ice-free from July through October. Elton, with its glacier flowing into the west end of the lake and its spectacular cobalt blue colour, is one of the gems of the park. 

Wildlife

Due to its size and relative lack of disturbance, the park contains populations of many species of wildlife that indicate its relative health as wilderness. It is thought to contain over 50 species of mammals, including mountain goat, cougar, wolverine, black bear and grizzly bear. Bird species include golden eagles, sharp shinned hawks, barred owls, pigmy owls, white-tailed ptarmigan, pileated woodpeckers and rufous hummingbirds, as well as several species of chickadees, warblers and nuthatches. The Stein River contains Dolly Varden char, rainbow trout and Rocky Mountain whitefish, as well as steelhead trout, coho, pink and chinook salmon that return to the river at certain times of the year to spawn.

BC Parks honours Indigenous Peoples’ connection to the land and respects the importance of their diverse teachings, traditions, and practices within these territories. This park webpage may not adequately represent the full history of this park and the connection of Indigenous Peoples to this land. We are working in partnership with Indigenous Peoples to update our websites so that they better reflect the history and cultures of these special places.