August 10, 2011 | Tips from Travellers >
Smithers, Historic & Heritage Sites
Join me on a tour of the Driftwood Canyon fossil beds in Smithers, BC!
August 09, 2011 | Tips from Travellers >
Smithers, Historic & Heritage Sites
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Located in Moricetown, BC - approximately 30 kilometers west of Smithers, is another hidden BC gem! As you drive on the highway, you will come across the Bulkley River where several First Nations fisherman will be setup for the day. Above the river, you will see a small wood building, otherwise known as Moricetown Museum. This museum outlines the past and present of First Nations fishing on the Bulkley River and how the area became one of the most desirable salmon fishing locations in the area. The museum also has a section set off for the gift shop, featuring First Nations jewelery from the Wet'suwet'en nation.
There is also a campground on the same grounds as the museum that is accessible for any vehicle type.
I suggest this as a stop for all ages and travelers passing through or spending the evening in Moricetown. Admission is by donation and it is great to support such a fabulous collection of archives!
July 29, 2011 | Tips from Travellers >
Smithers, Historic & Heritage Sites
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Ever taken the time to check out the Moricetown Canyon? or stop and learn about the history behind this small town nestled in between Smithers & Hazelton? If you haven't I strongly recommend it!
A few friends and I took a drive out to this spectacular down a couple nights ago to see some of the great sites in our area. First of all we stopped off at The Little Frog Cafe & Bistro for a light snack before our evening of history and great scenery.
After that we took a walk over to "Idiot Rock" to take a look at how the fishing is doing this year; however, we haven't gotten the chance to get our fishing permits so we couldn't do any fishing of our own.
Once we were done admiring the view from the rock we crossed the road again and walked over to check out the famous Moricetown Canyon. The canyon is where all the water from the Bulkley River must pass through a 1/4 mile wide opening which makes beautiful white cascading falls.
While we were at the canyon we ran into a local man who told us a little bit about the history of Moricetown and its peoples history; we learned such things as Moricetown is known as Kyah Wiget, and was built on the Moricetown Canyon aroud 4000 years ago! We also learned that the Moricetown Canyon is a territorial fishing ground held by 5 clans of the Kyah Wiget people.
We learned so much more about the native history in the area, if you're interested in more information i highly recommend heading to Moricetown on your next visit throught the Bulkley Valley! If you stop off at the Moricetown Interpretive Center located just off of highway 16 (turn at Telkwa Highroad, cross the bridge and just up the hill) they will be more then happy to fill you in on some more history of this fascinating area.
August 07, 2010 | Tips from Travellers >
Smithers, Historic & Heritage Sites
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Driftwood Canyon Provincial Park (otherwise known as the fossil beds) are a great local attraction to the Smithers area. Located right before Babine Mountain Provincial Park, it is a good place to bring a picnic and sit by the creek, and go enjoy some archeological history.
Fossils were found in this area approximately 50 years ago, and ever since have been excavated by professionals from museums and universities from all over the country. Their are a few species are indigenous to the Bulkley Valley of plants, fish and bugs from 50 million years ago. Note: no fossils are allowed to leave the park.
Recently, BC Parks upgraded the park with $200,000, with now a new bridge, information signs, new benches and upgrading to the trail among most of the improvements.
Definitely a good place to go with your family on a nice day.
August 07, 2010 | Tips from Travellers >
Smithers, Historic & Heritage Sites
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If you’re interested in beautiful art work, native history, and a great drive, then Kitwancool is the place to stop.
From Kitwanga, it is about a 30 minute drive to this small community, where some of the best (and oldest) totem poles you can find anywhere stand. I’ve seen quite a few totem poles in my day, and these ones take the cake. Beautifully carved, and in such a breath-taking area, this is definitely worth a stop off of your trip to go see.
August 07, 2010 | Tips from Travellers >
Smithers, Historic & Heritage Sites
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If you are travelling on highway 16 west of Smithers, you can stop 5 minutes off onto highway 16 where you can see some of the most beautiful totem poles (and greatest assortment) in the west. I quote the old adage, “the best things in life are free”, because it is truly a wonderful place that you can stop, admire spectacular history and art, all for the price of willing to stop.
August 07, 2010 | Tips from Travellers >
Smithers, Historic & Heritage Sites
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Recently, I heard that there was a national historic site an hour down the road from Smithers that I has never known about before, called Battle Hill. Not wanting to be in the dark, I ventured down to Kitwanga and took a turn up highway 37. About 15 minutes off of highway 16 is a place called Battle Hill, a historic site where epic battles between first nation groups took place.
Essentially, it’s a grassy hill where archeologists excavated and found remains of human habitation, and through history knew that people as far away as Haida Gwaii would come to join in battle. There’s a trail you can walk from the parking lot all the way up to the top of the hill, where the people who lived there had an advantage against their enemies.
You can feel a sense of long-ago history, and actually see where they built these people lived. This is an important sight that shouldn’t be missed if you are travelling up highway 37.
Editor's note: Learn more about driving routes in the Smithers area here.
June 02, 2010 | Tips from Travellers >
Smithers, Historic & Heritage Sites
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Hi, this is Ali from the Smithers Visitor's Centre. On May 18th, the welcoming people from Fort St. James National Historic Site invited us to come experience what their site had to offer. Because it's a bit of a hefty drive, they offered to let us stay in one of the heritage homes to make it an overnight trip as opposed to a very long day.
4 of us from Smithers went to Fort St. James- 2 of my coworkers and myself stayed in the designated women's quarters in the officer's dwelling house, and my other male coworker stayed in the (appropriately named) men's quarters. The site is turning these amazing heritage houses into bed and breakfasts, which I highly recommend to anyone with an appreciation of history, and also looking for a rustic stay, as there are no showers for use. What there is though is a delicious homecooked meal, people dressed in period costumes, campfires, and an authentic blast into the past.
After driving in torrential downpour to Fort St. James, we were introduced to our place of stay, and given time to explore the town. Set on the shores of Stuart Lake, Fort St. James is a town of approximately 3000 people. It's a very beautiful, and somewhat unknown place, as it is 30 minutes off highway 16. We came back to a delicious meal cooked on an old-time fire stove of baked potatoes, corn on the cob, and a choice of fish or steak(or salad for us vegetarians). For dessert, there was homemade apple pie, and then off to bed.
I slept in a bed from approximately 1896, and it's interesting to note that at 5 foot 5 inches, I barely fit lengthwise on the bed. Apparently, everyone was much shorter in the 1800s, primarily from lack of good nutrition. Fort St. James was called the "Siberia of the North", because the residents were unable to restock on supplies in the winter, and had to rely on smoked fish.
The next day, after a breakfast of sausage and pancakes, we gathered on the site to play historic games, such as lahal (traditional Aboriginal game), tug-of-war, and try our best on stilts. We were served lunch by the culinary students from the College of New Caledonia, and then were given a tour of the site. The fur building, which would store, among many things, furs and supplies from the Hudson Bay Company. We tried our hand at trading (at which I failed miserably) in a mock trade of a fur with one of the staff in the trading building. We tried "hunting" with sling shots, after which we were told we would all make good vegetarians. We were also shown how fur was made into fabric, and our tour was concluded for the day.
It was all a great experience, especially for the reason that I had never been to Fort St. James. Though I have lived in Northern BC my whole life, I have never seen these places before because of a whole list of excuses that seem pretty lame now that I look back on them. So my advice to anyone travelling in BC, and especially to those living here- get out and experience everything, even if it isn't on your way to wherever you're going. If it happens to be a few hours down the road, then more the better. Remember, as I well know, people come from all over the world for these experiences.