Stave River, Brook in Fraser Valley Regional District, Canada

The Stave River is a flowing waterway that winds through dense forests in the Fraser Valley, providing habitat for numerous fish species including salmon. The system has been shaped by multiple dams built since 1912, which altered its natural flow patterns.

Employees of the Hudson's Bay Company named the river in 1828 after recognizing the surrounding forests as an excellent source for barrel staves. This early naming reflected the economic importance the area held for European traders.

The river's name comes from Hudson's Bay Company workers at Fort Langley, who around 1828 favoured the banks' forests for making barrel staves for exported fish. Today the lower Stave is popular with sport fishermen, especially for steelhead, and Stave and Hayward Lakes hold kokanee and trout.

The only free-flowing stretch below the dams is the 3 km between Ruskin Dam and the Fraser, where the river is semi-tidal and backs up during the Fraser's spring freshet. Highway 7 (Lougheed Highway) crosses the river 8 km west of Mission, just above the mouth. North of Stave Lake there is no road; the upper valley is reached only by boat or air charter to a small bush strip.

The cedar shake mill beside Stave Falls dam was among the highest-producing in the world; its ruins still stand on the river's western shore. Most mills along the Stave made shakes, and the north end of Stave Lake has no road, reachable only by boat or a small bush airstrip.