Discover the Northern Rockies Travel Guide www.tourismnorthernrockies.ca www.celebratealaskahighway.com PROPHET RIVER FORT NELSON TETSA RIVER TOAD RIVER MUNCHO LAKE LIARD RIVER COAL RIVER Cover photo courtesy of www.tourismnorthernrockies.ca Northern BC Tourism1 Travel Guide WELCOME Welcome to the Northern Rockies 4 Distances | Climate | Emergency Services 5 HISTORY Alaska Highway 6 Fort Nelson 8 Fort Nelson First Nation 10 EVENTS 20 THINGS TO DO 22 PLACES / PARKS Sikanni 12 Buckinghorse | Prophet River | Andy Bailey 13 Fort Nelson 14 Steamboat Mountain | Tetsa River 24 Stone Mountain | Summit Lake 26 Toad River 28 Muncho Lake 30 Liard River Hot Springs 32 Coal River | Fireside | Contact Creek 36 The Highway Today 38 HOW WE DO BUSINESS: Muskwa-Kechika 40 Deh Cho | Liard Highway 42 • Advocacy and Public Policy; Workforce Development; Economic Development; Communication and Awareness; ACTIVITIES / INFORMATION • The Chamber primarily engages Businesses; Employees; Wildlife 44 Government Entities and Elected Officials; Birding 46 • We meet member needs by Championing for Local Business & Community Successes; Providing Community Photography 48 Exposure, Awareness and Connections; Providing Winter Activities 50 Information and Networking; and Providing Tangible Member Hiking 52 Benefits. Bear Smart 53 Hiking Trails 54 Hunting 58 Visitor Centre: Fishing | Boating 59 Riverboat Routes 62 Published April 2021 Backcountry 63 Northern Lights 64 Photo Credits: Winter Hawk Images, Chris Gale Wild North Photos, Jamie Smith Photography, Simon Ratcliffe / JPS Media Works, Tyler Mattheis, Heather Cobbett, Grace Bumstead, Phyllis Regional Amenities 65 Lee, Heather MacRae, Randy McLean, Wayne Sawchuck, Bev Vandersteen, Brad Westerop, Adventures & Experiences 68 Northern Rockies Lodge/Liard Air, J.F. Bergeron / Enviro Foto, DLP Graphics, Steve Baker, Mike Gilbert, Jeremy Coté, Tracy Rondeau, Taylor Burk Photography, Northkourt Imagery, Fort Nelson Dining 70 Northern BC Tourism Association and Destination BC/ Andrew Strain/ Megan McLellan/ Eman- uel Smedbol/ Albert Normandin . Fort Nelson Accommodation 71 2 www.tourismnorthernrockies.ca www.tourismnorthernrockies.ca 3 ALASKA YUKON NORTHWEST TERRITORIES BRITISH ALBERTA COLUMBIA C A N A D A UNITED STATES DISTANCE TO FORT NELSON FROM: Anchorage 2133 km 1325 miles Dawson Creek 454 km 283 miles Fort Nelson Fort St. John 379 km 236 miles Edmonton 1046 km 650 miles Vancouver 1638 km 1017 miles Fort St. John Whitehorse 968 km 601 miles Dawson Creek Yellowknife 985 km 612 miles CLIMATE: Prince George Average Summer Temperature 71˚f 22˚c Average Winter Temperature -6˚f -21˚c Average Rainfall 519 mm 20.4” Annual Snowfall 191 cm 75.0” Kamloops Elevation 422 m 1383.0‘ Vancouver RESTROOMS: Designated public washrooms between Fort Nelson and the Yukon border can be recognized Welcome to our World! by this symbol. These washrooms are free for We proudly welcome you to our world, and to the spectacular northern public use during operating hours. environment that we call home – Fort Nelson and the Northern Rockies. This travel guide will prepare you to experience your own adventure within the Northern Rockies Regional Municipality (NRRM). Encounter the places, activities and history that Fort Nelson, the Alaska FOR EMERGENCIES Highway, the Northern Rockies and the Muskwa-Kechika wilderness CALL 911 have to offer. Make us your adventure and your destination! For more detailed information on the places, activities or businesses in OTHER HEALTH AND SAFETY CONTACTS: Fort Nelson and the Northern Rockies visit the tourism website at Hospital 250-774-8100 www.tourismnorthernrockies.ca Forest Fire 1-800-663-5555 BC Conservation Service 1-877-952-7277 COVID-19: Please help keep everyone including our remote and isolated populations safe by following all health and safety protocols. Allocate extra time and enjoy the ability to not rush as we all figure out efficiencies within these new safety measures and systems. 4 www.tourismnorthernrockies.ca www.tourismnorthernrockies.ca 5 11,000 American troops 7 regiments of engineers 16,000 civilians 7,000 pieces of equipment 1,500 miles in 8 months On September 24, 1942 USA Military crews from both directions met The History of the at mile 588 at Contact Creek. The highway was officially dedicated on November 20, 1942 at Soldier’s Summit. In exchange for the highway’s right-of-way through Canada and Alaska Highway other considerations, the USA paid for construction of the highway and turned over the Canadian portion of the Alaska Highway to the The Alaska Highway, which has been dubbed the Alaska-Canada Canadian government in April 1946. After considerable improvements, Military Highway or “Alcan” begins at Mile 0 in Dawson the Alcan officially opened to the public in 1948. Since that time, Creek, British Columbia and leads in a northwesterly direction through extensive rerouting in Canada has shortened the Alaska Highway the Yukon Territory to Mile 1,520 at Fairbanks, Alaska. by approximately 35 miles (55 kilometers); mostly by eliminating winding or unsafe sections of the Highway. These improvements are The bombing of Pearl Harbor in December 1941 spurred the responsible for differences between actual miles between points and construction of the Alaska Highway. The USA Military considered the historical mileposts used as location references. When traveling Alaska to be a vulnerable target to a Japanese invasion, and the the Alaska Highway today, you will notice historical mileposts along the highway was deemed a military necessity. USA President Roosevelt British Columbia and Yukon sections of the Highway that note some 83 authorized the construction of the Alaska Highway and the build began specific locations of interest. Be sure to stop at a few of these locations five days later in March 1942. The Alaska Highway was completed in and get a sense of dedication on the making of the historic Alaska just nine short months! Highway. The general route of the highway was along a line of existing airfields from Edmonton, Alberta to Fairbanks, Alaska. But down on the ground, the road followed existing winter roads, old pack trails and rivers. Literally bulldozed through the wilderness, the road conditions along the Alcan were horrific. Construction persevered through the spring as the winter weather faded and crews were able to work from both the The Alaska Highway was completed in 9 short north and southern ends. Ninety degree turns and twenty-five percent months! grades were not uncommon. Construction accelerated after reports of a Japanese invasion of Kiska Island and Attu Island in the Aleutians. 6 www.tourismnorthernrockies.ca www.tourismnorthernrockies.ca 7 The town found its 5th and current location during the construction of the Alaska Highway. The History of Fort Nelson The North West Fur Trading Company first established Fort Nelson in 1805 and named it for the British Lord Horatio Nelson who won the Battle of Trafalgar. Fort Nelson is presently located in its fifth site (the previous four were vacated due to floods, fires and feuds) at 59˚ north latitude and 122˚ west longitude and sits at an elevation of 1383 feet / 422 metres. Step back into history at the Fort Nelson Museum. Pick your date of interest or explore it all. A little known fact is that Fort Nelson was the original “Zero” on the Alaska Highway. Prior to the American drive to build the Alaska Date 1805: Trapping and river transportation Highway, there was already a winter road established from Fort St. Date 1932: Birth of Curator Marl Brown John to Fort Nelson, which the US Army built upon during the 1942 Date 1942: Construction of the Alaska Highway. construction of the Alaska Highway. Zero was the military post that served as the launch point for road construction north to Whitehorse. When the troops building south met the troops building north at Contact Creek on September 24, 1942, it marked the completion of the southern section of the Highway. It was only after the opening of the Open May - September and by appointment Alaska Highway to the public that Dawson Creek was named Small admission charged Mile 0, as it was the Highway’s southernmost point. Box 719, Fort Nelson, BC V0C 1R0 | Tel: (250) 774-3536 WWW.FORTNELSONMUSEUM.CA 8 www.tourismnorthernrockies.ca www.tourismnorthernrockies.ca 9 Residing in the northeast of British Columbia for over 10,000 years of the Alaska Highway and the Fort Nelson airport and military base The History of Fort brought rapid economic and social change to this region. Many FNFN members have stories of those early Nelson First Nation years with the highway. FNFN did not get their “reserve” Fort Nelson First Nation (FNFN) members are “People of the Land” until the early 1960’s, (50 years after and have occupied the lands of northeast British Columbia for tens signing Treaty No. 8) at which time of thousands of years. FNFN members speak the Dené and Cree most of the community was moved to languages and have a deep connection to the land. Members were, “Mile 295” of the Alaska Highway. At that time, some of FNFN families and still are, hunters and gatherers, and have moved around the remained and continued to live on the land where their families had territory with the seasons and animals that sustained their way of life lived for generations. and livelihood. FNFN has just over 830 members and 10 reserves. The total reserve FNFN members came from different areas of the territory. Fort Nelson land base is 9556.5 hectares. IR #2 is the largest and is located at Mile was not the original home for this community. The Old Fort, on the 295 of the Alaska Highway, 7 km south of the town of Fort Nelson. This banks of the Fort Nelson River, was just where FNFN members came is FNFN’s main reserve and home to about half of their population. to trade furs and purchase goods at the Hudson Bay Post.