Ranch History

Meadow Lake Guest Ranch was established in 2017 – the year the Jefferson family acquired the property. Since then three generations of our family have been involved in getting it up and running.

Members of our family find solace here, in the peacefulness of the environment and in the comfort of the homes. We hope Meadow Lake Guest Ranch can offer this experience to you and yours.

Some of the history of the property has been passed down to us.

The Meadow Lake Roadhouse was originally built in 1865, during the Cariboo Gold Rush, by a Mexican man named Rafael Valenzuela, for him and his family. The creek that runs through the ranch is named after him, as is a nearby lake, just north of the ranch. The house was purported to be a bunk house and a stage coach stop and the pastures used by the Gang Ranch cowboys to rest their cattle during their drives to market and for their freight delivery stopovers.

The Roadhouse fell into disrepair over the century and by 1992 had greatly deteriorated. In 2000, the Canuel family decided to restore Meadow Lake Roadhouse, which they called the Old House. The house was dismantled log by log, each log numbered and cleaned. To rebuild the house on secure footing, a new concrete foundation was poured. The bottom row of logs, which had rotted out, were replaced and then the numbered logs were stacked back up.

The house was rebuilt with great attention to detail and with respect for the history of the building. It was determined that the house would serve as a guesthouse and the few changes made to the interior were made in order to accommodate the needs of today.

The Jefferson Ranch House was built in 1998. Both the Lakeview House and the Hunters Cabin were built in 2004. Extensive renovations on the Lakeview House were completed in 2019.

Other buildings of note on the property include a collection of old log cabins believed to belong to a small community of miners and the remains of an old homesteader house. Please ask the Ranch Managers for more information and directions.

Please be respectful of the old buildings and sites. We are very fond of them.