Part one two .three four .five..six


Trans Canada
Yellowhead
Highway


Introduction
Manitoba
Saskatchewan
Alberta
BC
Summary

Man- Sask
Winnipeg
Portage
Minnedosa
Neepawa
Russell
Yorkton
Saskatoon
Battlefords,
Lloydminster

Alberta-BC
Vegreville
Elk Island
Edmonton
Jasper,
Kamloops
Prince George,
Prince Rupert
Islands



"On every side the snowy heads of mighty hills crowded round, whilst, immediately behind us, a giant among giants, and immeasurably supreme, rose Robson's Peak."

I am the Yellowhead

 

Heading westward through the "Yellowhead Pass," with the gentlest grades of all great Canadian mountain passes, I cross another historic border entering beautiful British Columbia, Canada's most westerly province. Near Tete Jaune Cache, in the shadow of Mount Robson, tallest peak in the Canadian Rockies, I give motorists two pleasant options. One of my long arms points northwest, as I follow the Fraser River to Prince George, and the Skeena River to Prince Rupert. My other arm points south where I follow the North Thompson River to Kamloops, then carry on to Merritt and Hope, gateway to the Fraser Valley and Port of Vancouver.

 

Valemount and Tete Jaune Cache

Read the above quote. That's how adventurers Milton and Cheadle described the scene in 1865. At first sight, Valemount is a mere dot on the map, but look closely and you'll appreciate its strategic location. A tribal crossroads for centuries, new links were shaped by surveyors, railway builders and pioneers of our great highway system. Tete Jaune Cache was once a bustling community of 10,000, and mementos of that brief period are displayed at the Valemount and Area Museum. Worth visiting while your're in the vicinity are Mount Robson Provincial Park, one of the world's largest protected areas, R.W. Starratt Wildlife Sanctuary; Jackman Flats Nature Reserve, Salmon Spawning and George Hicks Park.

McBride

Alpine Adventure. The Robson Valley's breathtaking scenery and unlimited opportunities for heli-skiing, fishing, back packing and white water sport, assures McBride a promising future in eco and adventure tourism. Birdwatchers take note; at nearby Horseshoe Lake, over 170 species of birds and waterfowl have been identified. Before leaving, make sure your gas tank is full to the brim; McBride to Prince George is one of the longest stretches on the entire Trans Canada Yellowhead Highway without a community of any size. Check your supplies too -- the highway follows the Fraser River, which offers ample opportunities for fishing, hiking and roadside camping. McBride's economy was built on railroad activity and forestry

Prince George

Spirit of the North. To wilderness adventurers, canoeists, hikers and anglers, Prince George is a Mecca. A quick glance at the Trans Canada Yellowhead Highway map will show you that this is Northwest British Columbia's crossroads of highways, railways, trails and waterways. Located where the Fraser and Nechako rivers meet, this former Hudson's Bay Company fort offers easy access to numerous fishing lakes, linked by a superb trail system. Explorers Alexander Mackenzie and Simon Fraser, who traveled these same arteries in the late 1700s, would be awestruck by this large, modern city with over 120 parks, a major university and one of BC's busiest airports.

Looking for a Theme Tour? Prince George offers Forestry Tours, University Tours, Brewery Tours, Nature Tours, Horse and Carriage Tours, Bison Farm Tours, Horseback, Snowmobile and All Terrain Vehicle Tours. Other options include tours of art galleries, museums and heritage sites. Visitor attractions abound, from Fort George Park, Fraser Fort George Regional Museum Regional Museum, the Heritage River Trail to the Prince George Railway and Forest Industry Museum. A modern Provincial Courthouse, Civic Center and Plaza are other symbols of civic pride. The annual Prince George Air Show in July and Salmon Valley Country Music Festival are key events. The Prince George Symphony Orchestra is well supported, and a thriving community of musicians, writers and artisans live in the area.

Park -Like Campus. The University of Northern BC is perched atop Cranbrook Hill, its 750-acre campus offering a panoramic view of the city, Forests for the World Nature Park is located on the same grounds, which stands to reason, with forestry being the area's number one employer. In addition to Canfor, largest Canadian-owned forest products company, the area has 15 sawmills and 3 pulp mills. Pacific Rim ties are a key to the future. Thanks to the University, this position is strengthened by faculty and student exchanges with universities in Japan, Korea and New Zealand.

Vanderhoof and Fort St. James

Hit the Bullseye! The town of Vanderhoof is in the geographical center of British Columbia, and was named for Herbert Vanderhoof, who launched a 1908 government publicity campaign to attract settlers. To many travellers Vanderhoof is their base for at side trip to Fort St. James National Historic Site. A connector (hwy. 27) takes you through ranch country, by rivers lined with cottonwoods and sparkling lakes. Explorer Simon Fraser founded Fort St. James, in 1806. Here, BC's oldest continuously inhabited community salutes its fur trading past, as the past comes alive at an authentic Hudson's Bay Trading Post, stocked with furs and trade goods..

Fort Fraser and Fraser Lake

Fort Fraser provides a full range of services and amenities. Its annual Fall Fair, dating back to 1928, is one of the province's oldest agricultural expositions. The Hudson Bay Company fur trade brought explorer Simon Fraser and his crew to nearby Stuart Lake and from there to what 's now called Fraser Lake, near the Nadleh Whut'en Indian Reserve. The Fraser Lake HBC Post evolved into Fort Fraser, to become one of the most important and strategic sites in New Caledonia, British Columbia's original name.

Burns Lake

Burns Lake is the main gateway to Tweedsmuir Provincial Park, second largest park in British Columbia The community of Burns Lake anchors Northern BC's "Lake District," which is known to produce rainbow trout up to 15 pounds, char (lake trout) up to 30 pounds, and a variety of other game fish. Wildlife is abundant throughout the Lake Country. In the early 1900's Burns lake was a major supplier of railroad ties for the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway. Today's economic pillars are logging, lumber production, agriculture, ranching, and tourism.

Houston

Prepared to catch the big ones? Perhaps the townsfolk at Houston are trying to tell us something. "The world's largest fly rod" on display here for the world to see is a massive icon that's sixty feet long and weighs eight hundred pounds. Plan to do some fishing? Then stop at a local supply store and get information on the best times and locations to catch your limit. While there, be sure to stock up on rods, bait and tackle.

Regional District of Bulkley-Nechako

Wide Open Spaces. This vast area, which includes Smithers, Fort St. James, Vanderhoof, Burns Lake, Fraser Lake, Granisle and Telkwa is a favourite of those who love the great outdoors. It is a magnet to thousands of visitors from Western Europe, who love the unhurried, laid back way of life along this scenic stretch of the Trans Canada Yellowhead Highway.

Smithers

With Hudson Bay Mountain filling the scene as a powerful backdrop, little wonder the postcards we receive from Smithers are so impressive. Now all we need are postcards showing the record size fish that are caught in these parts. A true Alpine community, Smithers is the gateway to several of British Columbia's most remote wilderness parks, and offers a selection qualified guides on location. For a Great Northwest Wildlife Safari, Babine Mountain Provincial Park is ideal, being the home of grizzly bear, deer, mountain goats and birds of every colour and variety. Located in the heart of fertile Bulkley Valley, Smithers has prospered during many financial cycles. Speaking of other ups and downs, Ski Smithers offers downhill skiers and snow boarders a variety of options, and Bulkley's Valley Nordic Centre provides a day lodge, back country cabins and a first class system of well-groomed trails. For the backcountry enthusiast there are hundreds of km of terrain to play in for both skier and , with cabins available through the Ski Club and Snowmobile Association.

Regional District of Kitimat-Stikine

A most significant area in terms of native culture, the Regional District of Kitimat-Stikine includes The Hazeltons, Terrace and Kitimat, as well as Stewart, a border community on the route to Alaska.

The Hazeltons

"Totem Pole Capital of the World." Heartland of the Tsmishian, Kitsumkalum and Gitskan, the Hazeltons are a Mecca of First Nations Culture. A centuries old Gitksan community was firmly established on this site when settlers began arriving in the 1870s. The village's name was Git-an-maks, "place where the people fish by torch light." A huge attraction with most tourists is K'san Tribal Village, with its carved interior poles, artifacts and native dancers who perform the ancient rituals.

It was from Hazelton that tribal elders and Royal Canadian Mounted Police launched Vision Quest, a 1,200 km canoe voyage along the Skeena and down the Pacific Coast to Victoria. What a colourful spectacle they made &endash; and for a worthy cause. British Columbia's icon of the art world, Emily Carr, loved the area with its sacred forests and rich heritage. Hailed as one of Canada's great artists, Ms. Carr loved the native people, and created many of her priceless sketches in this area.

Kitwanga

North to Alaska..At the village of Kitwancool, just north of Kitwanga, visitors can marvel at the world's largest standing totem pole, "Hole-through-the-Ice," just one among many historic totems in this region. From Kitwancool, travellers can take the Cassiar-Stewart Highway (37) that leads north to the Upper Liard in Canada's Yukon.

Terrace and Kitimat

How did Terrace get its name? Geography played the major role. As an example, the city's airport occupies a flat gravel plateau or benchland, formed 10,000 years ago during the Ice Age's glacial retreat. Here, layers of gravel deposited by rapidly retreating glaciers and further eroded by the action of rivers, formed an impressive series of natural benches. It was like a giant Roman amphitheatre. More recently, the Tseasx Lava Beds and Nisga'a Memorial Lava Bed display a lunar landscape left behind by a volcanic eruption. This catastrophe happened over 250 years ago, destroying two Nisga'a villages. These sites are important tourist attractions.

Native culture is a huge attraction. With a row of totem poles standing tall like sentries at the gate, Terrace's House of Sim-oi-ghets is a showcase of the Kitsumkalum people. Here visitors can buy woodcarvings, rawhide moccasins, baskets, unique jewelry and other souvenirs. There's a definite Northwest flavour to the Terrace Farmers' Market, and at Heritage Park, you can step right into the horse and buggy era, with pioneer cabins, horse stables, barns, and an early 1900s hotel. At Deep Creek Fish Hatchery, visitors can follow the growth of Chinook salmon, from egg to fry stage. Folks are buzzing about the Skeena Sawmill Tours, so don a hard-hat and see why BC is known as the world's forestry capital.

Perhaps a local guide or seaplane operator at Kitimat can arrange a safari to view the famous Kermode Bear, seen only in Northern BC and its Coastal Archipelago. The Terrace-Kitimat Gateway Airport is only 5-minutes from Terrace and 20 minutes from Kitimat.

On Cannery Row. Beyond Terrace, the Skeena, called "River of Mists" by the Gitskan First Nations, widens into a broad lake leading to an inlet of the Pacific at Port Edwards. Fishing is the port's economic engine, as visitors to its busy waterfront and marina soon discover. The star attraction is the ongoing restoration of an 1889 North Pacific Cannery. Stretching northwest from Port Edward is Chatham Sound, a noted recreation spot for boating enthusiasts and fishermen. Other natural attractions are Diana Lake for freshwater swimming, Proudhomme Lake Provincial Park, Kloiya Bay and Porpoise Harbour.

Prince Rupert

"I first saw Prince Rupert from the deck of The Princess Louise, one of a fleet of Canadian Pacific passenger ship that plied the Inside Passage to Alaska," a friend relates. "The harbor was alive with canneries, fishing fleets, coastal ferries, deep-sea ships, and a huge grain elevator - it was fascinating."

Today, Prince Rupert is buzzing with news of a great revival, as the port gears up for a long awaited cruiseship facility. Grand Trunk Pacific Railway tycoon, Charles Hayes envisioned greatness for this Northern port decades ago, but the plans and dreams of Prince Rupert's biggest booster went down with the Titanic in 1912. Today at Mount Hayes, named in his honour, you can ride on the world's second steepest gondola lift. BC Ferry trips are a popular way to see the north coast, from Queen Charlotte Islands to Port Hardy on Vancouver Island's northern tip. Prince Rupert is the western terminus of Via Rail Canada's Skeena Route, part of one of the world's greatest transcontinental services. The city's railroading past is honoured at the Kwinitsa Station Railway Museum.

The Oldfield Creek Hatchery provides an insight into the migration of coastal game fish. Speaking of a pristine environment. Remote hikes take you deep into the rain forest or to the rarified air, high above tree line. There are dozens of other options - on foot or by helicopter, float plane, horseback, kayaking, cruising and sailing. Whale watching is a huge draw and for a "safari type experience" the North Coast and Alaska Panhandle provides access to some of the best wildlife viewing in North America.

Native Culture Abounds. The Museum of Northern BC has totem pole carving on site, and at the same time, displays 10,000-year-old works of art. Visitors can enjoy an archeological boat tour or visit some of the north coast villages of Port Edward, Lax Kw'alaams (Port Simpson), Metlakatla, Oona River, Gitkxaahla (Kitkatla), Gitga'ata (Hartley Bay), Kitasoo (Klemtu) and Gingolx (Kincolith). Prince Rupert's harbour is more active than ever, from float plane sport fishing excursions to small craft charters and cruises

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Haida Gwaii - Queen Charlotte Archipelago

Canada's Galapagos. So you think you've conquered the Yellowhead, right? Wrong! There's still a 6 hour ferry trip to the Highway's far western terminus. From Prince Rupert, your voyage to the "Misty Islands" of Haida Gwaii (Queen Charlotte Archipelago) is a salty experience - an authentic taste of North Pacific life. Imagine making this same crossing in a Haida canoe.

Of more than 150 islands in the Haida Gwaii archipelago, only a few larger ones are populated. Main communities are Skidegate on Graham island, where the BC Ferries dock, and the towns of Massett and Port Clements on Massett Island. Queen Charlotte City is an active community and Sandspit has a full service airport operated by Transport Canada. Anthony Island's abandoned village, Ninstints, is a UNESCO World Heritage site. There are over 500 archeological and historical Haida sites in the area.