July 11, 2011 | Tips from Travellers >
Smithers, Car / Truck / Motorcycle
10 fun summer things to do in Smithers:
1. Twin Falls Recreation Site! This 20min walk is just 10km from Smithers and wont leave you disappointed
2. Scenic Main Street! Check out our main street lined with colorful flags, colorful shops and even more colorful people.
3. Driftwood Canyon! This short 300m walk leads you to a viewing platform from which you can see our famous Fossil Beds
4. The Perimeter Trail! This 12.5km walk around town will show you a glimpse of all that Smithers has to offer.
5. Fishing! Smithers is known for its fishing; come check out any one of our many great fishing destinations.
6. Scenic/Wildlife Drives! If your looking to see wildlife or even just to see some great scenery Smithers is the place to come; with our many back roads that are easily accessible with even anything between a motor home and a compact car you’ll have no problem seeing the sights
7. Water Sports! From white water rafting and wake boarding to kayaking and paddle boating we’ve got you covered; with many water sport rental and retail stores in Smithers we can assist you in what ever your water needs may be.
8. Babine Mountains! For the longer hikes we also have the Babine Mountains with trails ranging from 4km all the way to 13km. A guaranteed wild life destination.
9. Farmers Market! If you’re here on a Saturday and interested in locally grown food and even more locally grown stories this is your place to be, with live music and horse rides it’s never a dull moment.
10. Stick around and stay a while! We love having you and you’ll love being here!
For more information on what Smithers has to offer, come by the Smithers Information Center or give us a call at 250-847-5072. We’ll be happy to help you with any further questions you may have.
July 11, 2011 | Tips from Travellers >
New Hazelton, Historic & Heritage Sites
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If you're travelling in Northwest BC, the 'Ksan Historical Village & Museum is a stop that should not be missed! I recently visited the site and was really impressed by the tour that I received. The tour will cost $10 instead of the $5 fee for just wandering around, but it's WELL worth it!
My tour guide showed our small group into each of the 3 clan houses where an audio tour led us through each part of the detailed displays. My favourite was the Fireweed house, which featured the masks, clothing, and props used in ceremonies and celebrations - keep an eye out for the one-horned goat!
After our tour, I visited the site's museum and gift shop. Did you know that this was the very first First Nations museum in the country? Me neither!
I really enjoyed my first visit to the ‘Ksan Historical Village, and I’ll definitely be going back again soon!
July 11, 2011 | Tips from Travellers >
New Hazelton, Historic & Heritage Sites
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I recently visited the New Hazelton area and ventured up to Kispiox. If you travel down Totem Drive in Kispiox, it will lead you straight to 10 totem poles erected near the place where the Kispiox and Skeena Rivers meet. Each pole is completely different from the next in height, diameter, and the carved figures. I found it interesting that some of the poles were only carved partway up, and others featured birds or other animals perched on top while others had bare tops. I’ll definitely have to do some research into the meaning of this…or better yet, stop by the Kispiox cultural centre where they provide guided tours of the poles – I’m sure they’d know exactly why this is!
Seeing these 10 poles side-by-side really helped me appreciate the amount of time and skill that goes in to creating each pole. I’m hoping to travel to Kitwanga and Gitanyow to see the totem poles in those villages as well!
July 11, 2011 | Tips from Travellers >
Dawson Creek, Biking
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In my couple of months here visiting Dawson Creek there has been a copious amount of times that I have biked past this café on the side of the highway about 20km south of Dawson Creek and it always has numerous trucks parked outside. I thought to myself where there is many, many work- trucks stopping for food there must be great food. So I planned it the other day to stop in at the Lone-Wolf Road House Café for breakfast. It is only an hour long ride up and out of Dawson Creek which definitely works up an appetite, or a 5-10 minute drive. Here you will find the biggest and best omelet made, on the spot and to your liking. The pricing will definitely be to your liking as well! The café has a nice patio to sit on and enjoy your meal. They have daily specials to indulge in and leaving you feel super satisfied. Not to mention they have fresh baked goods for sale and always a fresh cup of coffee to go. I recommend this place to the hungry individual who likes to get a good ‘bang for their buck.’ Until next time Happy Chains!!
July 11, 2011 | Tips from Travellers >
New Hazelton, Attractions
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Recently 2 of the staff members (myself included) from the Smithers Visitor Informations Center went on a FAM tour in the Hazelton Area. We did many things on our trip; just one of our adventures consisted of checking out the Hagwilget Bridge.
For those who dont know the area the Hagwilget Bridge is the bridge that connects Old Hazelton to New Hazelton, it was completed in 1931 making it one of the first to be designed by Alexander Carruthers. This fantastic bridge spans 460 feet and is 16 feet wide and is 262 feet above the Bulkley River. It is made with 1 million pounds of steel and cable and over 6 mikes of wire rope.
If you think driving over this structure sounds thrilling then walking over it will be the icing on the cake, and for even more adventure; walking below it! We got the honors for walking first across the bridge and then took at 15min hike to get a look at the lower view.
It was an amazing and very thrilling adventure and I strongly recommend it to whoever is in the area!! Even bring the fishing rod, the family and a lunch, you definitely wont run out of things to do or see anywhere around the area.
July 11, 2011 | Tips from Travellers >
New Hazelton, Sightseeing Tours
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Last Wednesday me and my fellow Visitor Information Counceller from here in Smithers went on a FAM tour with the Hazelton & Terrace visitors centers to the historic town of Hazelton.
We took part in a spectacular walking tour of the historic town of Old Hazelton. Our tour guide was awesome and she definaly knew her stuff. On our tour we saw many different sights such as the war vetrines memorial sight, the home of the very first multi-cultural highschool in BC, the Old Paddle Boat. We even got luck enough to take a look in the museum/Library and the newly opened art gallery; which is located right inside of the Paddle Boat. We even got to check out the extra large Chesse & Checkers board painted right onto the basketball court, comes fully equipt with knee high rooks, pons, knights and the rest of the crew as well!
We found great things to see and do all over the place in Hazelton not to mention the weather was great and we all learned alot about the great history of the Hazelton Area; even got a bit of a tan doing it. Absolutly something everyone should take the time to check out!!!
July 11, 2011 | Tips from Travellers >
New Hazelton, Sightseeing Tours
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We finished up at the
K’san Historical Village & Museum then continued on the beautiful Pioneer style Village of Hazelton. The first thing we did was eat! We had to meet our tour guide at 1 and it was 12:30 so we had to eat fast. Some of us went to the cozy coffee shop of Mercedes Beans and Model Teas and got some good food and drinks, while the remaining people went to the BC Café that has been taken over by new owners and has had a ‘face lift’ the food was great and hospitality was even better.
Once we enjoyed our wonderful lunches we went down the River Boat where we met Carmen, our tour guide. She led us around Old Hazelton and told us some of the great history of the area. We saw the old Anglican Church that was built in the 1900’s and is still used for services today. We saw a building that looks like a River Boat. It is a replica of the original S.S Essington paddlewheel, which use to travel up the Bulkley River from Prince Rupert, delivering Hudson Bay merchandise to Hazelton. After we walked all around Old Hazelton we went into the Library that has a museum in it. In there they have information on the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway, medical history of all the Wrinch Memorial Hospitals we have had, logging and mining information. So many things to see!
The tour of Old Hazelton is free and only takes an hour and you will learn so much about the area and how little old Hazelton came to be. After the tour we went into the River Boat which is now an art gallery. Many locals have their art on display in the gallery, it is so nice to see local art on display and ready for anyone who wants to go and see it. After seeing the sights of Old Hazelton we drove back up towards New Hazelton but, before we got to New Hazelton we stopped and walked along an apart of the Eagle Down Trail that goes all the way from Hagwilget Bridge to Old Hazelton. About 200m from the bridge there is a stop with picnic tables and benches and you can sit and look at the beautiful Hagwilget Canyon. We continued along the trail for a ways and ended up at the bridge, we walked across this massive bridge then we walked all the way down the trail to the water. It is wonderful under the bridge and you can just sit and watch the water flow by, it is so calm and serene. After hanging out for a while we headed back up the trail. Going down is just fine, it is always going back up that gets you though. It is a pretty steep trail but it is totally worth it. It was a great day to see the Hazelton’s and meet the people from the other Visitor Centres.
July 11, 2011 | Tips from Travellers >
Terrace, Historic & Heritage Sites
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Living in Terrace, the beautiful cultural art of the area can really be astounding. We recently took a tour in the Hazelton area where we stopped at the Kispiox totem field. The sheer amount of totems there was stunning enough, but once we took a closer look we really got to appreciate the history and artistry of these giant symbols.
We noticed that some of the poles had carvings on the tops and bottoms but the middles were blank. Our guide informed us that this was because the Carvers would make them with their apprentices. The head carver would design the bottom and his apprentice would be in charge of the top. This is also why the bottoms were most often more intricately done.
Even though the totem poles we saw were up to a couple hundred years old, their designs may have dated back to hundreds of years before. Whenever a totem pole's design becomes too worn down and indistinguishable it is redone on a new pole. Allowing the representations and stories to live on.
The totem fields really left a lingering sense of culture and truly connected with me on a personal level. Seeing the culture of a nation expressed for everyone to appreciate was a touching and enriching experience which we were lucky to have been a part of!
July 10, 2011 | Tips from Travellers >
Prince George, Attractions
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Approximately 23 kilometers out of Prince George off Highway 97 North on Chief Lake Road is the Park Drive-In Theater. Each weekend, the theater plays two movies from Friday until Sunday on a 3200 square foot screen. Each vehicle is asked to tune their radio into the station in the venue, so you are guaranteed the great sound that you would receive from a regular movie theater. Some employees from Tourism Prince George went to the theater this weekend to see the two movies that were playing. The Drive in is open for seasonal use only and is also home to a mini golfing course and go cart track in the same facilities on the same site. There is a full concession stand on site and staff are prepared to make full meals and provide snacks for affordable prices. It is a great alternative to the regular movie theater that several towns and offers a more serene setting as it is out of town.
July 10, 2011 | Tips from Travellers >
New Hazelton, Historic & Heritage Sites
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On Wednesday, July 6th Hazelton Visitor Centre along with Smithers and Terrace Visitor Centre’s went on a tour of the Hazelton’s. We met at Hazelton Visitor Centre at 10 and then headed out to see the sights of the Hazelton area. We started out by driving along the Kispiox Valley Road out to Kispiox Village where we saw some beautiful Totem Poles. There are fifteen Totem Poles along the river where the Kispiox and Skeena River combine into just the Skeena.
After taking a billion pictures and looking at the Totem Poles we continued on to the next stop which wasn’t very far. We stopped at the Cultural Centre which is right in Kispiox Village and though we were rushed we went inside and saw all the beautiful native artwork that was on display. We then continued back to Hazelton where we stopped at K’san Historical Village & Museum.
Now, I have lived in Hazelton for 18 years and I have never been on an actual tour of K’san. I have been down there plenty of times, but have never gotten a tour and I must say I have been missing out! We aren’t even inside the buildings yet and you can feel the power of the ancient civilization in the air. The feeling K’san gives you make you feel like you are actually in a village and you want to learn more. So, the tour starts and as soon as you walk in the smells, the look everything makes you feel like you are in a real longhouse years and years ago. The audio voice tells you about how the First Nations lived in the old days and how things worked. They also tell you about how the First Nations live today. It is neat because you go along the time line and learn about the culture. It is hard to explain, all I have to say is go to K’san, spend 45 minutes of your day to get totally immersed and learn about the Native culture.