Attractions
A group of friends walking on a bridge (Patrice Halley photo)
Ever since explorer Simon Fraser remarked, "We have surely encountered the gates of hell," the narrow river channel called "Hell's Gate" has been a star attraction of Lytton and the Fraser Canyon.
With 200 million gallons/760 million litres of water crashing through a 33m/110ft wide passage every minute, waves thunder into violent whirlpools as they hurtle downstream. The flow is twice the volume of Niagara Falls.
For an up-close encounter with this raging river, hop aboard Hell's Gate Airtram in one of two fully automated twin cabin air trams that glide 152m/500ft down to a patio complex. Here, at the water's edge, is Simon's Cafe restaurant, a gold panning flue and a carving called The Simon Fraser Wall, which depicts the explorer's perilous passage.
Hell’s Gate Airtram also has a fudge factory, a haunted gift shop, a suspension bridge and more.
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Fudge Factory
Fudge fans will find their Nirvana at the Hell’s Gate Fudge Factory; it produces more than four tons of candy a year, and in July 2006 broke the world record for having the most flavours of fudge (231) on-site at one time! If nothing else, enjoy a fudge-dipped waffle ice cream cone.
Haunted Gift Shop
A well-stocked gift shop was once a railroad cook house, and is one of several spots at Hell's Gate that, according to the Ghost Investigators Society, is said to be haunted.
Hell's Gate Suspension Bridge
Want to feel exhilarated? Walk across the suspension bridge that hovers a few feet above the surging waters. Note the massive fish-ways at the side of the canyon. They are the largest in the world, took 30 years to create and became necessary after a rock blast went awry in 1913.
Instead of exploding a passageway for the Canadian National Railway, rock debris smashed into the river and partially blocked the waters for returning salmon. The result was devastating: the number of fished packed in 1913 was 2,939,000; by 1921 that number had plummeted to 14,498.
Today, these giant fish-ways are able to slow water speeds down through a series of vertically opposed walls located inside a sequence of tunnels. Eight different levels of concrete allow for water depth fluctuation and reduce water flow from 40kmh/25mph to 5kmh/3mph, thus enabling over 80 per cent of the spawning salmon to complete their journey.
Hell’s Gate also has an interpretive display that describes the life cycle of the spawning salmon and includes the presentation Run Sockeye Run, a short ecological film that won a bronze medal at the New York Film Festival.
For more information, contact the Visitor Centre at 400 Fraser Street in downtown Lytton.
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43111 Trans Canada Hwy
Boston Bar, British Columbia
V0K 1C0
Websitehttp://www.hellsgateairtram.com
Toll-free
Phone604-867-9277
Drive the scenic Fraser Canyon with its 7 mountain tunnels through the historic heart of British Columbia & relive the biggest 'rush' on the Gold Rush Trail. Hell's Gate Airtram is in a location so unique, the 'afterlife' have come back to use it as a playground. Early explorers refer to it as 'a place where no human being should venture' and man & nature battle here for supremacy. Experience this place for yourself as you exchange mountain ranges aboard one of the only descending gondolas in North America.
NEW exhibit for 2013 - Chinese Legacies: Building the Canadian Pacific Railway
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