Stop by the Hope Visitor Centre and take a walk through the adjoining Hope Museum; it's a rich exploration of the region's history from the Sto:lo First Nations people, their first encounter with explorer Simon Fraser, and the building of the Hudson Bay Company's Fort Hope.
Self-Guided Walking Tour
Then pick up a self-guided walking tour map and follow it along the historic riverfront, around Memorial Park and past the small Japanese Friendship Gardens, dedicated to all of the 2,300 Japanese-Canadians who were sent to internment camps nearby during the Second World War. The walk points out Hope's masterful wood carvings and with Rambo fans in mind, several of the First Blood film sites.
Chainsaw Carvings
As self-proclaimed Chainsaw Carving Capital of Canada, Hope's oversized wood carvings are a sight to behold. There are over 30 carvings of wildlife and pioneer scenes scattered around town but weather damage and new inspiration makes them a forever changing display.
Carving Studios
Some carvers have their own studios: Pete Ryan who initiated the concept by transforming fallen trees into a public arts program; Randy Swope who carves huge bears out of cedar trunks to tiny frogs out of apricot pits, and Rob Forde, a chiropractor whose office includes an impressive gallery of carvings that represent the provinces of Canada from coast to coast.
Christ Church National Historic Site
This white clapboard, Gothic Revival-styled Anglican Church first ministered to gold rush prospectors who, no doubt, sought salvation for playing as hard as they worked. Built on this site in 1861, the church still holds services making it the longest serving parish on the British Columbia mainland. In summer, costumed interpreters bring its history alive - James Douglas, BC's first governor, attended services here as did several other historical headliners. Many of the original lead-paned windows were brought by steamship from England.
Hope Slide
A pullout off the Hope-Princeton Hwy #3 towards Manning Park (about a 15-minute drive from Hope), overlooks the largest earth and rock landslide in BC's recorded history. When Johnson Peak collapsed in 1965, it took only seconds for 46 million cubic m/60 million cubic yds of mud, rock, soil and snow to fill the bottom of the Nicoum Creek Valley to a depth up about 61m/200ft. The crashing wave engulfed three vehicles and their four occupants; two victims were never found.
Emory Creek
Once the site of a bustling city, Emory Creek is a part of Canyon lore. Located 18km/11mi north of Hope, this frontier town grew with the gold rush and by the time Canadian Pacific Railway slated it to become its western terminus, the community comprised 25,000 men, a thriving newspaper and sawmill operation, two hotels, nine saloons and other enterprises including 'less reputable businesses'.
Ghost Town
When the railway then bypassed Emory City for Yale just 5km/3m upstream, all was abandoned and within a decade not a trace of the city remained. Today, Emory Creek is a small treed-campground. The occasional remnant may surface in the bush but its history is far better explored at the Hope River General Store and picnic park.