Camping aside, Clearwater is the most realistic place to stay along Hwy 5 if you're planning on doing Wells Gray. By far the best prospect, thanks to its lovely views over Dutch Lake, is the Jasper Way Inn Motel , 57 E Old North Thompson Hwy, two blocks off Hwy 5 (tel 674-3345; $60-80), 1km off the highway to the west and well signed from the infocentre; some rooms have cooking facilities. If it's full, try the big Wells Gray Inn (tel 674-2214 or 1-800/567-4088; up to $40), close by on the main road; the doubles here are more comfortable, but lack the view. The latter is virtually the only place to eat locally. As the park becomes more popular, so more places are opening on its fringes: the big new Clearwater Adventures Resort , 373 Clearwater Valley Rd (tel 674-3909) on the corner of the Yellowhead Hwy and the Wells Grey Park Road, is one such, a combination of cabins ($40-60), chalets ($80-100) and camping and RV sites ($18-32; March-Oct). If you've come for wilderness you probably won't want to be in such a place, but it does also have three restaurants, endless facilities and a whole host of equipment-rental possibilities and organized tours.

Three other campsites lie more or less within walking distance of the infocentre: the best - again, on the lake - is the Dutch Lake Resort and RV Park (tel 674-3351 or 1-888/884-4424; cabins $60-80, pitch $18; mid-April to mid-Oct;). Don't forget, though, that there are four simple provincial park campsites within the park . If you want to be slightly away from Clearwater, stop at the Birch Island Campground (tel 674-3991 or 674-4054; $14-19; mid-April to Oct), a treed seventy-acre area with tent sites and B&B units ($40-60) overlooking the Thompson River 8km north of the village on Hwy 5.