Skookumchuck Hot Springs is a

hot spring A hot spring, hydrothermal spring, or geothermal spring is a Spring (hydrology), spring produced by the emergence of Geothermal activity, geothermally heated groundwater onto the surface of the Earth. The groundwater is heated either by shallow ...

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

, Canada. Its pre-colonial, Indigenous name is Tsek Hot Spring or T'sek Hot Spring. The former colonial name is Saint Agnes Well. The springs are located near the First Nation community of Skookumchuck (former name on older maps, now known by the original name Skatin), on the historic Harrison Lillooet Gold Rush trail in the

Lillooet River The Lillooet River is a major river of the southern Coast Mountains of British Columbia. It begins at Silt Lake, on the southern edge of the Lillooet Crown Icecap about 80 kilometres northwest of Pemberton and about 85 kilometres northwest of W ...

valley, south of

Lillooet Lake Lillooet Lake is a lake in British Columbia, Canada about 25 km in length and about in area. It is about 95 km downstream from the source of the Lillooet River, which resumes its course after leaving Little Lillooet Lake, aka Tenas Lak ...

. The

hot springs A hot spring, hydrothermal spring, or geothermal spring is a Spring (hydrology), spring produced by the emergence of Geothermal activity, geothermally heated groundwater onto the surface of the Earth. The groundwater is heated either by shallow ...

themselves, named Tsek (pronounced "chick") in the St'at'imcets language were on private property purchased from "Goodwin Purcell" family by the Trethewey family after his death in the 1909 and acquired by the Government of Canada in 2008 to be held in trust for the local aboriginal people until a potential treaty settlement. Tsek Hot Springs, formally known as Skookumchuck Hot Springs was also known as Saint Agnes Well during the days of the

Fraser Canyon Gold Rush The Fraser Canyon Gold Rush, (also Fraser Gold Rush and Fraser River Gold Rush) began in 1858 after gold was discovered on the Thompson River in British Columbia at its confluence with the Nicoamen River a few miles upstream from the Thompson's ...

and the

Douglas Road The Douglas Road, a.k.a. the Lillooet Trail, Harrison Trail or Lakes Route, was a goldrush-era transportation route from the British Columbia Coast to the Interior Plateau, Interior (NB another route known as the Lillooet Trail was the Lillooet Cat ...

, along which it is located, while

Harrison Hot Springs Harrison Hot Springs is a village located at the southern end of Harrison Lake in the Fraser Valley of British Columbia, Canada. It is a part of the Fraser Valley Regional District; its immediate neighbour is the District of Kent, which inclu ...

farther south was known as St. Alice's Well; both were named by Justice Bailey for the daughters of Governor Douglas. Near the community of Skatin were road houses known as "18 Mile House" or "20 Mile House", a reference to its distance from

Port Douglas Port Douglas is a coastal town and locality in the Shire of Douglas, Queensland, Australia, approximately north of Cairns. In the , the locality of Port Douglas had a population of 3,650 people. The town's population can often double, however, ...

, at the Douglas Road's commencement at the head of

Harrison Lake Harrison Lake is the largest lake in the southern Coast Mountains of Canada, being about 250 square kilometres (95 mi2) in area. It is about 60 km (37 mi) in length and at its widest almost 9 km (5.6 mi) across. Its sou ...

. An

Oblate In Christianity (specifically the Roman Catholic, Orthodox, Lutheran, Anglican and Methodist traditions), an oblate is a person associated with a Benedictine monastery or convent who is specifically dedicated to God and service. Oblates are i ...

mission was established in the 1860s and under direction of the priests, the native community began to build a village at Skookumchuck, about 4 kilometres south of the hot springs. As settling progressed, the Stl'itl'imx people built a striking

Carpenter Gothic Carpenter Gothic, also sometimes called Carpenter's Gothic or Rural Gothic, is a North American architectural style-designation for an application of Gothic Revival architecture, Gothic Revival architectural detailing and picturesque massin ...

/ Wood Gothic church in 1908, which was designated a

National Historic Site of Canada National Historic Sites of Canada () are places that have been designated by the federal Minister of the Environment on the advice of the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada (HSMBC), as being of national historic significance. Parks C ...

in 1981, and remains standing and in use today, the Church of the Holy Cross. A prominent feature are the simple but elegant stained red & blue glass windows (see Skatin for details). The hot springs are managed by members of the Skatin community; camping is available for a fee. Many local families still use the hot springs, and visitors are asked to respect local family values, be discreet in language and behaviour, and to wait until children have finished bathing before entering the hot tubs. Road improved most of the way. In the Spring of 2015 dirt In-SHUCK-ch Forest Service Road / FSR was widened from 1 to 1 1/2 lanes to 2 lanes + two 1/2 lane shoulders (i.e. 3 lanes) for the whole length of

. The last section is still rough.

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BCGNIS listing "Skookumchuck (locality)"BCGNIS listing "Harrison Hot Springs"
{{authority control Populated places in the Fraser Valley Regional District Lillooet Country Sea-to-Sky Corridor St'at'imc Indian reserves in British Columbia Unincorporated settlements in British Columbia Hot springs of British Columbia