Powell Lake Float Cabin

If you are looking for a secluded recreational cabin in one of British Columbia’s most beautiful settings, you’ve found it. This magical 4 bedroom, 1 bathroom float cabin, located at the mouth of Goat River in the southeast portion of Powell Lake, will provide you with incredible experiences and lifelong memories. If you buy this be prepared that your family and friends will be wanting to come back to stay with you again and again.

The offering includes the main cabin, boathouse/shop, basic tools and all the furnishings, linens, dishes and comforts of home, and assignment of the lease tenure.

The main cabin is a 2-storey wood frame building on a cedar log float built in 1982 with the following details:

Total square footage is approximately 1,464 sq. ft. living space comprising of main floor kitchen, living, dining, main bedroom, 3-piece bathroom and flex room.
Main floor outside access to:
- Outside shower/changing room.
- Laundry/electrical room with front-loading LG washer and dryer.
- Utility room with composting toilet unit.
- Large front deck area with full length retractable awnings and lower swim platform with ladder into the lake for easy in-and-out access.
Upper floor has 3 bedrooms:
- Bedroom 2 has a double bed, double closet with built in drawers on either side and sliding glass door onto private balcony.
- Bedrooms 3 and 4 each contain double beds in common room with full height wall divider and shared access to sliding glass door and balcony.
Cabin footprint is 915 sq. ft. and sits on a 2,600 sq. ft. log float.
Steel tank floatation was added, and re-pinning main brow logs occurred in the mid 2000s.
New anchor chains, poly rope extensions and shackles replaced in 2021.
Boathouse is a 1,600 sq. ft. 2-storey building on a separate cedar log float. The lower floor consists of a 10’6” x 32’ “U” shaped boat slip and an 8 x 20 ft workshop along with sidewall storage along either side of the boat slip. The upper storey is wood framed unfinished space.
Outer sections of the boathouse have 5’ walkways that run the full length of the float.
At the rear of the boathouse there is a 650 sq. ft. wood plank log float which is used to store smaller utility boats, canoes, clothesline, etc.

Breakwater and Protection

The cabin, boathouse and floats are protected by a recently re-bundled and reinforced log breakwater.

Utility Out-building

The utility building sits on the same float as the main cabin and contains:

Outdoor hot and cold-water shower.
A separate room containing recycling, composting toilet and water toy storage.
The power and mechanical room.

Power Details

Cabin is fully wired with electrical room lighting and receptacles connected to 100A service panel.
Electrical supply comes from 4,000W Magnum 24V Inverter Charger connected to 24V Slovak 925Amp/hr lead acid battery bank (12 x 2V batteries).
Battery storage is charged via 1425W solar array on the roof of the cabin.
Honda EM 5,000W gas generator is used as a back up for overnight power use and bulk charging of the batteries during longer periods of low solar output.

Water Details

Lake water is supplied by a 1/2 hp Grundfos water pump and pressure tank.
Hot water is supplied from a 40-gallon propane fired hot water tank located in the laundry/electrical room, distributing hot water to the kitchen, bathroom and outdoor shower.
2 stage water filter under the kitchen sink with separate faucet for drinking water.
Outdoor garden hose tap/hose located near mechanical room.

Heat Details

Fisher wood burning airtight fireplace on stone hearth with full height heat shield.

Toilet Details

The cabin has an Envirolet Vacuum flush composting toilet consisting of a low water use toilet in the bathroom and remote vacuum pump and composting unit in the utility out building.

Powell River is located on the coast of British Columbia approximately 145 km (90 miles) north of Vancouver and immediately across from Courtenay on Vancouver Island.

Powell Lake is adjacent to Powell River and sits on the low rise of land forming a natural dam between the lake and the Strait of Georgia. The lake is fed by Powell River and features Goat Island, a large mountainous island. It serves as a reservoir for a small hydroelectric generating station which was built to serve the City's paper mill, and it also served as a water supply for that mill.

The civic address of the property is 11662 Powell Lake, Powell River, BC.

Contact listing agent.

With a population of 20,000, Powell River is a friendly seaside town that offers 'big city' amenities and luxury services without the 'big city' parking and traffic hassles. A full service hospital, medical, dental, chiropractic, physiotherapy and massage therapy clinics, health and beauty spas, a newly renovated recreation complex, full banking facilities, marine services, outdoor guides and outfitters, plus a wide range of retail outlets, art galleries, gift shops and fine dining are all within easy access.

The Upper Sunshine Coast, from Saltery Bay to Desolation Sound, boasts approximately 1,900 hours of sunshine annually. Summer temperatures vary from 20 to 30 degrees Celsius (70-90 degrees Fahrenheit) while winter temperatures are mild.

The Powell River and Powell Lake area is the jewel of the Sunshine Coast.

Powell River is renowned as the "hot spot" for scuba diving. Hikers, naturalists, fishermen and photographers will find vast areas for exploration. The main centre of town is about a 10-minute drive to Powell Lake.

Powell Lake is ideal for boating, water skiing, wakeboarding, paddle sports and swimming. It has a full scale launch and marina and is home to The Shinglemill Pub & Bistro, which offers lakeshore dining with a gorgeous view. You can also fish for cutthroat, kokanee or rainbow trout year-round, as the waters of the lake rarely experience a freeze in any but the coldest of winters.

Powell Lake has over 300 km of scenic shoreline stretching deep into mountain valleys, and is surrounded by snowcapped mountains, waterfalls and streams. There are two large rivers flowing into the lake, with one connecting to pristine Goat Lake, and over 250 float homes on the lake that are very unique and accessible by boat only.

Powell Lake is also one of 12 lakes that comprise the Powell Forest Canoe Route, located within the southern portion of the Sunshine Coast Forest District. Kayakers and canoeing enthusiasts can weave through well maintained portages, protected lake waterways and magnificent forest reserves.

Powell Lake was named in 1881 after Dr. Israel Wood Powell, a medical doctor from Ontario who worked for the British Columbia government during the 1800s. A fjord lake, it spans some 50 km in length and is 24 km wide. In 1924, when the Powell River Company raised its dam on Powell River for a second time, the lake level rose to 56 metres above sea level. Although a fresh-water lake, a 1961 study by the University of British Columbia proved the existence of salt water at the bottom of the lake.

There is conflicting historical evidence that a village of the Tla'amin First Nation people was ever located on its shores. However, any evidence will likely be found under the current waters of Powell Lake, since it was only a river system meandering between mountainous valleys before the dam at the river head was built to provide power for the timber mill, and a floating highway to deliver logs from cutting areas in the adjacent mountains. One view is that the original Powell River was a salmon breeding ground before settlement and logging interests dammed the water's use, suggesting ecological, cultural and geographical desirability for native settlements on the life giving river close to the ocean.

However, there is no doubt that at one time Powell Lake was once an ocean inlet, as it contains ancient salt water at its deepest points, some of which are more than 500 metres. Geologists posit that the mouth of Powell Lake rebounded with the recession of glaciers at the end of the last Ice Age, creating a fresh water barrier system, which led to the destruction of its salmon runs and it becoming a fresh water lake. If there were indigenous communities based on salmon runs in that system, that must have been many thousands of years ago.

Please see mapping section, all boundaries are approximate.

50° 1'45.73"N and 124°19'47.25"W

Cellular reception is poor, however, most cabin owners now have Starlink allowing communication and streaming services.

$528.90 (2025)

Annual Lease:$512.90 (2025)

Resource
Qathet Regional District, Electoral Area A OCP, Bylaw No.500

Additional zoning information can be found on the Qathet Regional District website.

Unsurveyed foreshore or land covered by water being part of the bed of Powell Lake, Group 1, New Westminster District, Float Cabin Site close to entrance of Goat Lake, File #2407582