It flows west from Bulkley Lake past Perow and is joined near Houston by the Morice River, its major tributary.

The Bulkley continues north past Quick, Telkwa and Smithers.

The Bulkley River is a major tourist destination for anglers targeting wild steelhead.

The name Bulkley was given for Colonel Charles S. Bulkley, the U.S. Army engineer-in-charge of the survey team who, in 1866, explored the area in preparation for the failed Russian American Telegraph.

This article related to a river in the Interior of British Columbia, Canada is a stub.