Lake Lillooet, east of Mount Currie, B.C

Flowing to the southeast, the Lillooet River plunges over Keystone Falls and Keyhole Falls as it flows through the Upper Lillooet Valley, the Pemberton Valley, passed the communities of Pemberton and Mount Currie, and into the nearby Lillooet Lake to the east.

The clear Birkenhead River melds with the murky green waters of the Lillooet River just as the two empty into the north end of Lillooet Lake.

The Lillooet River emerges out of Little Lillooet Lake and ends by flowing into the huge Harrison Lake. Flowing out of Harrison Lake the river is called the Harrison River, which enters the Fraser River north of Chilliwack in the Fraser Valley.

Tributaries of the Lillooet River include Meager Creek, North Creek, South Creek, Ryan River, Railroad Creek, Green River, and the Birkenhead River near Mount Currie. The lower Lillooet River and Lillooet Lake were part of a main route between the Coast and the Interior in the days of the Fraser Canyon Gold Rush.

The Lillooet and Birkenhead Rivers have been providing sport for whitewater kayakers since the invention of fibreglass. The Lillooet River can be treacherous, owing to the numbers of submerged sweepers brought down into the river as a result of logging and slope instability, particularly in the Meager Creek drainage.

The Lillooet River system runs for almost 120 miles (200 km) with Class II–III water throughout. Runs include a 3-mile (5-km) stretch on the Upper Lillooet River between the put-in at riverside on the Upper Lillooet Forest Road north of Pebble Creek and the take-out beside the Meager Creek Forestry Road bridge. A lengthier stretch of paddling runs for 9 miles (15 km) between the bridge and takeouts at the km 23 or km 25 markers on the Upper Lillooet Road.

Jet boating is available on the Squamish River, the Upper Lillooet River and its tributaries the Green and Birkenhead Rivers, Lillooet Lake, and the Lillooet River where it flows south to Harrison Lake. During periods of snow melt, high water levels on the Green and Lillooet Rivers in the Pemberton Valley allow jet boats to challenge rapids through sheer granite canyons, embarking on wild downstream runs past ancient coastal forests.

Nearest Towns: Whistler, Pemberton, Mount Currie, Lillooet

Nearest Lakes: Lillooet Lake, Harrison Lake

Nearest Park:
Upper Lillooet Provincial Park
Nairn Falls Provincial Park
Garibaldi Provincial Park
Joffre Lakes Provincial Park
Stein Valley Nlaka'pamux Heritage Park