July 15, 2010 | Tips from Travellers >
Fort St. John, Parks
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One of the biggest drawing features to outdoor activities in Fort St John and Northeastern BC is that in the summer months the daylight seems to linger for a long while past its due set time. When I am in Fort St. John in the summer months I enjoy getting out in the community and enjoying the long days with beautiful sunsets!
The other night I enjoyed one of these great summer nights and played tennis at a great outdoor court at Surerus Park.
Surerus Park is one of the newest parks in Fort St. John, it has over 6 baseball diamonds, many horseshoe pits, a playground, soccer field and 2 tennis courts. Another great feature of Surerus Park is it has a section of the Fort St. John Paved Walking Trail – this is great for people who want a fresh pavement surface to rollerblade, skateboard or bike on!
July 15, 2010 | Tips from Travellers >
Rossland, Theatre & Performing Arts
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Just went to see the fabulous Gold Fever Follies in Rossland at the historic Miners Hall. The show was so entertaining and my kids loved it. The quality of singing and dancing was phenomenal for such a small town. My son especially loved the can-can girls, while my daughters thought that the costumes were beautiful. It is an all ages show and I am sure anyone would enjoy it. Worth checking out while in Rossland.
Editor's note: Learn more about Gold Fever Follies and other Rossland festivals and events here.
July 14, 2010 | Tips from Travellers >
Prince Rupert, Camping
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Prince Rupert may get its share of rainy, overcast weather but this is not always the case! I just returned from a week-long visit where it was sunny and hot, and the skies, blue and cloudless - perfect camping weather!
A few friends and I headed out to Kasiks Wilderness Resort, located between Prince Rupert and Terrace along the Skeena River. The drive along the Skeena is incredibly scenic, and you can often spot bears, eagles, moose, waterfalls and idle fishermen standing by their lines in the river.
Kasiks Resort was great. The camping spots are set back from the property and surrounded by dense wood, so it was quiet and private - true wilderness camping. But after a night of roughing it, we were very excited to find that the main lodge had a lounge/TV room (with satellite) and a kitchen which served up delicious - and cheap - breakfast...just in time to watch the Netherlands/Spain World Cup final match! Awesome. Not exactly "camping," but we were pretty happy for modern amenities that day.
Here are a few other things to do in Rupert when the sun is shining: stroll along the waterfront rocky beach and hunt for sea creatures or look for glimpses of seals and sea otters, kayak next to huge anchored ships in the harbour, and hike to views of rapids from Butze Rapids trail. Or my favourite: sit out on a patio and eat fresh seafood - there's nothing better!
July 14, 2010 | Tips from Travellers >
Chetwynd, Camping
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I have lived in Chetwynd BC my whole life, and I love living here! The many years I have been living here I haven't spend much time at Dinosaur lake... Dinosaur lake is BEAUTIFUL, but cold!
When I first got to the camp sites I was a little confused due to the sites all being full, but my friend had a great idea of boating farther down the lake and camping on a point. So off we went, the point was about 25 minutes from the main camp site and it was beautiful.
On the point there was a grassed area with a picnic table and a fire pit. We were set to camp! if you have a boat and feel adventurous, I would for sure take a trip and stay on one of the points at Dinosaur Lake.
July 14, 2010 | Tips from Travellers >
Dawson Creek, Festivals & Events
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We just attended one of the largest show and shines in BC.
Most of the streets in downtown Dawson Creek were blocked off for the day as hundreds of shiny vintage cars and trucks gathered for the grand finale of the annual Summer Cruise.
We met people from all over BC and Alberta. Some of the locals actually drove the vehicles here and many hauled them here in special trailers.
The streets were alive with proud owners, vintage car enthusiasts and eager spectators.
There were sandwich signs in front of the vehicles telling us about them.
Most of the hoods were up and the owners were happy to answer any questions and tell stories about them. While some were for sale as the owners were planning their next restoration project, it was obvious that many were considered family members and would never be for sale.
One man jokingly told me that he would sell his kids before he would sell his car.
Later in the afternoon, awards were given in several categories.
July 13, 2010 | Tips from Travellers >
Chetwynd, Boating & Sailing
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On a hot summer day who doesn't enjoy a beautiful day at Gwillim Lake! A great way to spend time with friends and family, doing something everyone enjoys.
We started the day off by packing up the boat and a picnik. As it was a very hot day we also packed up the tube... little did we know Gwillim Lake is FREEZING cold.
A combonation of the hot weather and the cold water, we ended going tubing. As i was behind the boat on the tube and the water is splashing in my face, the wind picked up and next thing i knew i was in the water and the boat was coming back to pick me up. What a great way to cool off the heat of the day.
July 13, 2010 | Tips from Travellers >
Vanderhoof, Sightseeing Tours
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This weekend I drove from Terrace, BC to Vanderhoof, BC (about 480km) to visit a friend. On the way I picked up a Vanderhoof information guide at a visitors centre.
My friend and I thought it would be a fun way to explore the town by going through the guide and trying to see as many things as we could.
We started off at their Welcome to Vanderhoof sign and proceeded to check out the local stores and eateries, the Vanderhoof Public Library (home of a giant reading worm), the Vanderhoof Community Museum, Riverside Park and Campground, Nechako River, wheat and canola fields, and lastly but certainly not least, Greer Creek Falls. It was a great weekend of sightseeing and exploration.
I encourage you when you visit a new community, or even when you're in your own, pick up a local community guide and go for a day of new discoveries and adventure.
July 13, 2010 | Tips from Travellers >
Hudson's Hope, Sightseeing Tours
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What a day in Hudson’s Hope was like for us. Well we started off by driving from Fort St John along the Peace River. What a beautiful drive. Along the way we saw a black bear and a few deer with their babies.
Once we got to Hudson’s Hope we decided to go the Visitor Centre to get some ideas of where we should go and what we should do. The staff there was very helpful and nice. They started us off by pointing out the museum and the great view that was over by the museum to see the Peace River. Then they told us to go on a tour of the W.A.C Bennett Dam. So we checked out the museum which had a lot of great facts and history about Hudson’s Hope and then we headed up to the Dam 22km out of town. The W.A.C Bennett Dam had a wonderful and interesting hour long tour of the dam with great tour guides.
Once the tour was done we thought that it would be a great idea to go for a hike up on one of the mountains. The staff at the Visitor Centre had given us a few choices of different places that we could go to hike. We chose the hike up Bullhead Mountain. It was a very nice day for a hike. As we walked up the mountain we looked back and we could see for miles and miles it was such an amazing view and as we got higher the view was even more spectacular.
By the time that we were done our hike it was lunch time we thought that it would be a great idea to have lunch out at the Torwood Lodge. On our drive out to the lodge we saw to sheep and two elk. The lunch we had at the lodge was very good plus as we ate our lunch we had a great view looking out over the Williston Lake.
Once we finished it was time for us to head back home. We had a GREAT time and can’t wait to come back and see and do more in Hudson’s Hope.
July 12, 2010 | Tips from Travellers >
Fort St. John, Wildlife Tours
One of the most amazing things about the Peace Region in the summer is all of the butterflies that are around. There are many different varieties but my favourite to find are the beautiful Monarch butterflies. I was told these amazing creatures migrate to the north from Mexico! I can’t believe they can fly over the Rocky Mountains to reach their destination.
My mother and I decided to go for a drive in the rural country roads of the peace, directly north of Fort St. John. The farm land out there is beautiful, the agriculture rich land spans far and wide, and the lovely rolling hills are very pastoral.
Driving along the road we could see many fields of canola, wheat and barley, but along the side of the road there were wild berries and wildflowers, and dancing amongst these wildflowers were many butterflies.
We pulled over to pick some of the berries and seating ourselves in the tall grass, butterflies fluttering around us, and eating some delicious berries, it was something out of a book. It was such a pleasure; this beautiful drive with berries, barley & butterflies.
July 12, 2010 | Tips from Travellers >
Fort St. John, Parks
One of my favourite places to explore the wilderness without venturing too far from my home in Fort St. John, is Charlie Lake Provincial park. Located about 12 km north of Fort St. John on the Alaska Highway it makes for a quick weekend getaway of camping or even just an evening campfire.
Of the many provincial parks I have been to in northern BC this one is the best for a multitude of reasons. I love that there are so many tall trees, it blocks out the noise from the Alaska highway so the sound is truly that of a truly serene wilderness. There are birds sweetly chirping, butterflies dancing and little chipmunks quickly darting around the tall trees.
I also love that the sites are NOT pushed right next to each other, don’t get me wrong I enjoy getting to know the other people in the campsite, but when it feels like you are in a parking lot, it certainly lessens the experience. Each site is a good distance from the neighbours for definite privacy.
The park itself is quite large with numerous site, but one of my favourite things about the park is in the centre of park there is a great picnic and play area that is perfect if you just want to spend the day. There is a really fun playground for children and youth and a large open field for things like Frisbee, soccer or even a fun round of touch or tackle football.
Check out Charlie Lake Provincial Park, it is fun for the whole family.