British Columbia · Natural setting
Lakelse Hot Springs
Lakelse is a high-temperature spring system south of Terrace, also associated with the Mount Layton name. The natural source and any developed visitor facilities are different things; a spring’s existence does not mean a resort is operating.
Historical source coordinate; not a trailhead. Accuracy and datum have not been independently verified. Historical water readings describe source samples, not safe soaking temperatures.
An abandoned water park you can see from the road
Lakelse has the saddest recent history of any spring in the province. The site sits about 24 km south of Terrace and 40 km north of Kitimat, and what is visible from the highway today is a derelict water park — sagging slides, half the property abandoned — rather than a working resort.
The Mt. Layton Hot Springs Resort opened on 27 February 1988 after Bert Orleans bought the property from the provincial government in 1985, at which point the springs had already been closed to the public for seven years. The resort has since shut down again. Do not plan a trip here expecting to soak; verify current status first.
Commercial since 1910, Tsimshian long before
The springs were traditionally used for healing by the local Tsimshian people. Commercial development began in 1907, when Bruce Johnstone — then working as a federal fisheries officer — gained title to the land as a preemption site.
Johnstone ran a hotel at the springs from 1910 to 1929 with considerable success. Over the following century the site cycled through a log-cabin bathhouse, periods of closure, and eventually a multimillion-dollar development with waterslides and restaurants. Regional economic decline in the 1990s left the buildings vacant.
Plumbed by the same faults as a volcano
The geology here is unusually interesting. The springs form where water percolates down through hot rock along faults in the Kalum–Kitimat valley, and those same faults may have fed the Tseax Cone eruption roughly 250 years ago — one of the few eruptions in Canada recorded in Indigenous oral history.
So the hot water at Lakelse and one of the youngest volcanic events in the country may share the same plumbing.
Opening hours & season
No verified visitor timetable
Access depends on land-manager permission, closures and local conditions. No published timetable should be interpreted as 24-hour access.
All times are local to the spring. Checked 2026-10-01; this is not a live opening-status display. Closure notices override regular hours.
Our take
Geologically notable, but do not plan a soak without direct confirmation from the current property operator. Very hot source water demands particular caution.
Editorial assessment based on published information. No firsthand visit or customer score is implied.
Before you go
Sources & record notes
Geoscience BC’s 2016 compilation · 4 historical sampling records · Source name: Lakelse. References recorded in the dataset: Souther 1973; Souther 1976; Grasby 2000; Geoscience BC 2016-07.
Source notes: Coordinates from Woodsworth 2014 are for large circular pool just west of the highway; (2007 sample) Polaris Infrastructure kind permission
Sources used for this guide
- Wikipedia — Lakelse Hot Springs
- Community Stories — a history of Lakelse Hot Springs
- Terrace Public Library — hot springs history
- Hot Springs of BC — Lakelse (Mount Layton)
Written from the published sources above. Operator hours, access rules and closures change; the official link is authoritative.