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Map of Quesnel Lake

Quesnel Lake

52.5083° N, 120.9389° W

Shoreline and neighbouring water from open government data.

Download the map (SVG)

Quesnel Lake, British Columbia. 52.5083° N, 120.9389° W

Not for navigation. Depths are from government surveys and may be outdated.

borealbound.ca/lakes/bc/quesnel-lake/, compiled October 9, 2026

  • Canadian Geographical Names Database, Natural Resources Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Canada.
  • HydroLAKES v1.0, Messager et al. 2016 / WWF HydroSHEDS. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.
  • Census boundaries and population, 2021, Statistics Canada. Adapted from Statistics Canada. This does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada.
  • Known BC Fish Observations and BC Fish Distributions, Government of British Columbia. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – British Columbia.
  • Recreation Sites and Trails BC: recreation site points, Government of British Columbia. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – British Columbia.
  • Wildlife Management Units, Government of British Columbia. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – British Columbia.
  • Real-time hydrometric data, Environment and Climate Change Canada. Contains data from Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC Data Servers End-use Licence).
  • National Water Data Archive (HYDAT) daily means, Environment and Climate Change Canada. Contains data from Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC Data Servers End-use Licence).
  • City page weather forecasts and alerts, Environment and Climate Change Canada. Contains data from Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC Data Servers End-use Licence).
  • Air Quality Health Index observations and forecasts, Environment and Climate Change Canada. Contains data from Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC Data Servers End-use Licence).
  • Photographs, Wikimedia Commons contributors. Each photo carries its own licence (CC0, public domain, CC BY or CC BY-SA), credited where shown.

Quesnel Lake covers 271 km², making it larger than 99% of the 4,577 lakes in British Columbia. It lies 1 km southeast of Likely.

Government surveys have recorded 15 fish species here, including burbot, lake trout and mountain whitefish.

Area
271 km²
larger than 99% of the 4,577 lakes in British Columbia
Shoreline
324 km
longer than 99% of the 4,577 lakes in British Columbia
Fish species
15
more than 98% of the 2,793 surveyed lakes in British Columbia
Elevation
723 m

Today on the water

11 °C

CloudyWind SE 7 km/h, gusts 33

Observed at Williams Lake, as of 10:00 p.m. PDT

choppy Estimated waves, next 12 hours: up to 0.5 m.

Time11 p.m.2 a.m.5 a.m.8 a.m.11 a.m.2 p.m.5 p.m.8 p.m.
Wind km/hS 15S 15NW 20NW 20N 30N 30N 30N 15
Gusts505050
Waves (est.) m0.20.20.40.40.5
Temp. °C98876542
Precip. %100100100100100606060

Tonight: Rain. Amount 10 to 15 mm. Wind southeast 20 km/h becoming northwest 20 after midnight. Low 7.

Weather: Williams Lake (local forecast), as of 10:02 p.m. PDT

Water level

Quesnel Lake near Likely: 0.46 m at 7:55 p.m. PDT: 18 cm below the median for this time of year, below the normal range.

1.020.45

Normal range (25th–75th percentile, HYDAT) Last 7 days

Provisional real-time data, subject to revision. hydrometric station 08KH011

Sun and moon

Civil dawn
6:43 a.m.
Sunrise
7:17 a.m.
Sunset
6:24 p.m.
Civil dusk
6:58 p.m.
Moonrise
4:56 a.m.
Moonset
5:30 p.m.
Moon
Waning crescent, 4% lit

Air Quality Health Index

2 low risk

Williams Lake, as of 10:00 p.m. PDT

Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada. Local times.

How waves are estimated

Significant wave height from the forecast hourly wind and the open-water distance (fetch) upwind, using the SMB method (US Army Corps of Engineers Shore Protection Manual, 1984), rounded up to the next 0.1 m. It is not a measurement: gusts, leftover swell and shoals can make water rougher. Under 0.2 m: calm; 0.2–0.5 m: choppy; over 0.5 m: rough.

Fish

Sport fish by the share of the 497 government surveys (1957–2022) that recorded them.

  • Burbot44 of 497
  • Lake Trout41 of 497
  • Mountain Whitefish39 of 497
  • Kokanee38 of 497
  • Sockeye Salmon35 of 497
  • Rainbow Trout32 of 497
  • Bull Trout7 of 497
  • Chinook Salmon2 of 497
  • Coho Salmon2 of 497
Forage fish and other species (6)

Forage fish

  • Peamouth Chub 65
  • Redside Shiner 31
  • Longnose Dace 8

Other

  • Northern Pikeminnow 65
  • Largescale Sucker 63
  • Longnose Sucker 21

Numbers are the surveys that recorded each species.

Fishing regulations: Region 5 – Cariboo. Check seasons and limits before you fish.

Getting on the water

9 listed access points, 6 of them boat launches. marks launches on the map.

Photos

Quesnel Lake - Deception Point
Photo: larry griffith, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Quesnel lake dock
Photo: larry griffith, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Quesnel Lake looking east
Photo: larry griffith, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons