Lac du Bois Grasslands Protected Area, Protected grassland area in British Columbia, Canada

Lac du Bois Grasslands Protected Area is a BC Parks reserve north of Kamloops, established on 30 April 1996. Its southern foothills of the Bonaparte Plateau rise from gently rolling hills with small lakes and ponds to rocky cliffs above Kamloops Lake. Fields of junegrass and bluebunch wheatgrass are broken by groves of ponderosa pine and Douglas fir, with big sagebrush on the southeastern benches.

BC Parks established the protected area on 30 April 1996 to protect a mixed forest–grassland ecosystem overlooking the North and South forks of the Thompson River. It lies in the southern foothills of the Bonaparte Plateau, part of the Interior Plateau.

The name Lac du Bois, French for "lake of the woods", comes from the small lakes and ponds scattered among the rolling hills. The area lies within the traditional territory of the Secwépemc (Shuswap) people, and the grasslands were used for grazing before BC Parks established the protected area in 1996. Today visitors hike, mountain bike and watch wildlife, while off-road vehicles are prohibited.

You can reach this place via Lac du Bois Road or the Tranquille-Criss Creek Forest Service Road for hiking, mountain biking, and wildlife watching. Spring through fall offers the best conditions when trails are accessible and animals are most active.

The grasslands mark the northern limit of the western rattlesnake's range, and the protected area also shelters the flammulated owl, long-billed curlew and sharp-tailed grouse. Bighorn sheep, moose and mule deer live here year-round.