2017 Lillooet Visitors Guide

2017 LILLOOET & AREA VISITORS GUIDE

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For more information, please see our webpage: lillooetchamberofcommerce.ca or call us at 250-256-3578

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Lillooet’s Golden Miles of History

In 2015-16, the District of Lillooet embarked on an ambitious project – creating Lillooet’s “Golden Miles of History” historic panels and plaques. Here is an overview of the panels in the kiosks around the community.

1.The Fraser River “Tacoutche Tesse” – The Mighty One In the spring of 1808, Nor’wester Simon Fraser and his companions set out from Fort George (now Prince George) in four canoes to follow Tacoutche Tesse – a river they thought was the Columbia – to its mouth.

The expedition camped below the present town of Lillooet north

Photo Credit: BC Archives

of Cayoosh Creek. Across the creek stood a fortified village of the St’át’imc who called the visitors “the Drifters” and said the leader had a tattoo of the sun on his forehead and the moon on his chest.

It was an uneasy night - some St’át’imc wanted to raid them but a chief restrained them saying, “They might be able to help us one day.”

“I have never seen any thing equal to this country,” Fraser wrote in his journal June 28, 1808.

Aided by First Nations all the way down, Fraser noticed the onceseething river began to rise and fall with the tide. His expedition almost reached salt water but were driven away by Musqueam warriors when they tried to land.

of gold to San Francisco in 1857, word got out and the stampede was on.

By 1858, there were 30,000 miners along the Fraser River and they faced a winter without re-supply.

Douglas contracted Otis Parsons to build a pack trail along the route along the lakes between Harrison Lake and Lillooet, with labour supplied by the miners themselves.

Two years later, the Royal

2. The Gold Rush In 1856, Hudson’s Bay Chief Factor James Douglas began supplying First Nations with hand tools to collect placer gold for trade on the Fraser River while American miners trickled in from Oregon Territory. Douglas sent a shipment 5

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Travel West on Main Street, turn right on Mountainview Road, up the hill turn right on Bouvette Road, around the and curve you’ll see our sign.

1264 Bouvette Rd., Box 286, Lillooet, BC V0K 1V0 Phone: 250-256-2090 RESERVATIONS: 1-866-456-2090 Fax: 250-256-2091 Website: www.retasketlodge.com Email: retasket@shaw.ca 6

Engineers upgraded the trail into a wagon road and steamboats were built to operate on the lakes.

Lillooet became Mile Zero of the Cariboo Road and blossomed into the largest settlement north of San Francisco with a population of 16,000 at its peak.

3. The Bridge River Hydro System The Bridge River is approximately 120 kilometres long and flows from the snow fields of Monmouth Mountain to connect with the Fraser River near Lillooet.

Hydro-electric development of the Bridge River system began in 1927 and was completed in 1960.

The system consists of three reservoirs, three dams and four generating stations. BC Hydro engineers designed the system to use the water three times before releasing it to the Fraser River.

Waters from Downton Reservoir initially pass through the LaJoie Dam and powerhouse before entering the Carpenter Reservoir. From there, water is diverted through tun-

nels and penstocks from Carpenter Reservoir to two powerhouses on Seton Lake Reservoir. Finally, the water passes through the Seton powerhouse before joining the Fraser.

The system generates 492 megawatts, or six to eight per cent, of B.C.’s electrical supply.

4. Declaration of the Lilllooet Tribe On May 10, 1911, 16 St’at’imc Chiefs signed a declaration asserting their ownership of territorial lands and protesting the poor treatment they were receiving from the provincial and federal governments with respect to the alienation of land by settlers at Seton Portage.

The Declaration begins: “We the underwritten chiefs of the Lillooet tribe (being all the chiefs of said tribe) declare as follows: “We speak the truth, and we speak for our whole tribe, numbering about 1400 people at the present time. We claim that we are the rightful owners of our tribal territory, and everything pertaining

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thereto. We have always lived in our Country; at no time have we ever deserted it, or left it to others.

We have retained it from the invasion of other tribes at the cost of our blood. Our ancestors were in possession of our Country centuries before the whites came. It is the same as yesterday when the latter came, and like the day before when the first fur trader came. We are aware the B.C. government claims our Country, like all other Indian territories in B.C.; but we deny their right to it. We never gave it nor sold it to them.”

The Declaration has been described as an important document in the history of relations between First Nations and the Governments of Canada and British Columbia.

5. St. Mary the Virgin Anglican Church (Lillooet Museum) St. Mary the Virgin was one of three Anglican churches built under the supervision of the Royal Engineers for the new colony of British Columbia. The original St. Mary’s, which was torn down in 1961 after a century of serving the

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Lillooet Business Directory ACCOMMODATIONS

4 PINES MOTEL 108 8th Ave. 250-256-4247 FRASER COVE CAMPGROUND 1234 Davis Rd. 250-256-0142 HOTEL DEORO 639 Main St. 250-256-2355 LIL’TEM’ HOTEL & CRANE’S LANDING RV PARK Seton Portage 250-259-8052 MILE 0 MOTEL 616 Main St. 250-256-7511 RETASKET LODGE & RV PARK 1264 Bouvette Rd. 250-256-2090 REYNOLDS HOTEL 1237 Main St. 250-256-4202 WILLOWS AT 6 MILE www.willowscampground.com 250-256-0429

AUTOMOTIVE

INTEGRA TIRE & LILLOOET GLASS 561 Main St. 250-256-4111 KAL TIRE 249 Main St. 250-256-4198 LORDCO AUTO PARTS Old Mill Plaza 250-256-0599 SHULAPS SERVICE CENTRE 151 Moha Rd. 250-256-4040

CHURCHES

BETTER LIVING CENTRE-7TH DAY ADVENTIST CHURCH 603 Main St. 250-256-9218 LILLOOET GOSPEL CHAPEL 1147 Main St. 250-256-7655 ST. MARY’S ANGLICAN/ST. ANDREW’S UNITED CHURCH 577 Main St. 250-256-7037

DINING/BARS

DEANO’S PIZZA 107 7th Ave. 250-256-0064 DINA’S PLACE 690 Main St. 250-256-4264 FORT BERENS ESTATE WINERY 1881 Hwy 99 North 250-256-7788 ROYAL CANADIAN LEGION BRANCH 66 737 Main St 250-256-7332 RUGGED BEAN CAFE 824 Main St. SUBWAY Across from Old Mill Plaza 250-256-7807

Bridge River

RECREATION

BLACKCOMB AVIATION www.blackcombaviation.com 250-256-6000 DISTRICT OF LILLOOET REC CENTRE 930 Main St. 250-256-7527 FRASER CANYON RIVER RANCH 250-256-9282 HISTORIC HAT CREEK RANCH www.hatcreekranch.ca 250-457-9722 LILLOOET MEMORIAL CURLING CLUB 178 Mountainview Rd. 250-256-4370 LILLOOET SHEEP PASTURE GOLF COURSE 5000 Texas Creek Rd. 250-256-0550 MOHA RV PARK 760 Moha Rd. 250-256-3636 MIYAZAKI HOUSE 643 Russell Lane 250-256-6808 RIVER MONSTER ADVENTURES 778-983-8224 XWISTEN EXPERIENCE TOURS www.xwisten.ca 250-256-7844

RETAIL

ABUNDANCE ARTISAN BAKERY Main St. BUY-LOW FOODS Old Mill Plaza 250-256-7922 CARIBOO APIARIES 4007 Moha Rd. 250-256-7231 CREATIVE HAVEN 657 Main St. 250-256-2280 ENERGY PLUS 626 Main St. 250-256-4796 FIELDS DEPARTMENT STORE Old Mill Plaza 250-256-7555 JAR ENTERPRISES 313 E. Lillooet Rd. 250-256-4050 LILLOOET FARMERS MARKET May - October Fridays 250-256-7797 LILLOOET TIMBER MART 129 Moran Place 250-256-4141 LINDA’S PLACE ON MAIN 777 Main St. 250-256-1884 OLD AIRPORT GARDENS FARM MARKET Hwy 12 South 250-256-7051 PHARMASAVE Old Mill Plaza 250-256-4262 WINNER’S EDGE 644 Main St. 250-256-4848

Lillooet News www.lillooetnews.net

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SERVICES

BLACK TUSK/ROYAL LEPAGE REALTY 250-2567-8383 BRIDGE RIVER - LILLOOET NEWS 979 Main St. 250-256-4219 CAYUSE FLATS TRANSPORT Hwy 99 250-256-7155 DIRECT ELECTRIC 250-256-4157 DISTRICT OF LILLOOET 615 Main St. 250-256-4289 FOUNTAIN FLAT TRADING POST Hwy. 99 250-256-0411 HUB INTERNATIONAL BARTON INSURANCE 682 Main St. 250-256-7596 LILLOOET CONTRACTING 109 Main St. 250-256-7669 LILLOOET & DISTRICT CHAMBER OF COMMERCE www.lillooetchamberofcommerce.com 250-256-3578 LILLOOET ELKS 250-256-7972 LILLOOET LIONS CLUB 250-256-1968 LILLOOET MUSEUM & VISITORS CENTRE 790 Main St. 250-256-4308 LILLOOET NATURALIST SOCIETY www.lillooetnaturalistsociety.org LILLOOET PUBLIC LIBRARY 930 Main St. 250-256-7944 LILLOOET REGIONAL INVASIVE SPECIES SOCIETY www.lriss.ca 250-256-4292 LILLOOET ROYAL PURPLE MAIKE ENGELBRECHT - BOOKKEEPING 250-256-9468 RADIO LILLOOET www.radiolillooet.ca 250-999-2086 RE/MAX REAL ESTATE LILLOOET 909 Main St. 250-256-7166 SKOOKUM TOWING 250-256-4789 THOMPSON VALLEY FUNERAL HOME www.tvfh.ca 1-800-295-5138 TRADEWINDS HAIR PLUS Old Mill Plaza 250-256-7431

The Lillooet Visitors Guide is produced by The Bridge River - Lillooet News. www.lillooetnews.net • Email: pub@lillooetnews.net Toll Free: 1-877-300-8569 • Phone 250-256-4219 Fax: 250-256-4210 • Cover Photo Credit: Clint Ely

community, was endowed with furnishings and silver liturgical service by a wealthy English gentlewoman.

The original chancel was incorporated in the new St. Mary’s and the melodeon and bell from the old church are displayed in the museum, which opened in the new St. Mary’s building in 1972. The museum also features First Nations artifacts, Gold Rush era relics, and a recreation of Ma Murray’s old newspaper office downstairs.

6. Multi-Cultural Lillooet Following the 1846 partition of British and American Pacific territories, trappers, traders and packers – British, French Canadians, Métis, eastern First Nations, Mexican muleteers and Kanakas from Hawaii – found refuge from U.S. race laws north of the border.

In August of 1858, Queen Victoria proclaimed the Colony of British Columbia and appointed James Douglas as its Governor. His first priority was to put an end to open warfare between American gold miners and First Nations in the Fraser Canyon.

Lacking firepower, Douglas

had to rely on diplomacy and sent “three English gentlemen,” including Judge Matthew Baillie Begbie, to restore law and order.

Cayoosh Flat was the Fraser River terminus of the Douglas Trail, the first road built into the Colony of British Columbia, but that name was never popular. After consultation with St’at’imc Chiefs, the town was renamed Lillooet.

Thousands of people and pack animals made their way north to the Cariboo goldfields. Some stayed here to farm and open shops to supply them.

The boom didn’t last. With the construction of a new road between Yale and Clinton in 1863, Lillooet was bypassed. Twenty years later, unemployed Chinese rail workers started mining to survive. They discovered gold in Cayoosh Creek and the town boomed again.

The boom and bust economy of Lillooet continued in successive waves brought about by big game hunting, the construction of the Pacific Great Eastern Railway, gold mining in Bralorne, the development of the Bridge River Power Project, the internment of Japanese

Canadians during WWII and forestry, with value-added agriculture a new boom on the horizon.

7. The Chinese in Lillooet Thousands of Chinese nationals flooded into California when gold was discovered in 1848 but stringent laws against them were passed ten years later and many of them headed north where their rights were protected by British colonial law.

Photo Credit: BC Archives

When visiting Lillooet, discover...

artisan

BAKERY & CAFÉ Our Artisan Breads and Pastries are baked fresh daily using the best local organic and regional ingredients, a testament to the rugged beauty of this Foodie Frontier.

Opening in the late spring, our New Café provides rustic comfy seating along with freshly made Sandwiches, Salads, Soups and select Entrées. Just look for the Red Rolling Pin across from the museum.

You can also find us at fb.com/AbundanceArtisanBakery, on Trip Advisor, on Instagram and at:

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XWĂ?STEN

EXPERIENCE TOURS

Traditional Fishing & Archaeological Village Tours Available June to September

BOOK NOW

250-256-7844 www.xwistentours.ca email: tours@xwisten.ca

Shuttle Service Available

Community Link Bus

Serving Bridge River & Lillooet Areas Operates July and August Schedule available at: www.xwisten.ca

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for in-town pick-ups.

Call for more details.

Photo Credit: BC Archives

improved once cash registers started ringing and the two communities began playing baseball together.

When B.C. became part of Canada in 1871, work started on a railroad that would connect the Pacific Coast to the rest of the country. Thousands of workers were required and, at the time, the easiest way to bring them in was by ship from China.

Once the CPR was completed in 1884, many of the Chinese workers came to the Lillooet area to re-work tailings left behind by miners bound for the Cariboo. The Chinese miners discovered that Cayoosh Creek had been overlooked. Over the next three years they mined it to a depth of 14 feet and took out millions of dollars in placer gold.

A Chinatown sprang up in Lillooet behind Wo Hing’s store at the entrance to Fraserview Street opposite the park. By the 1930s, most of the merchants on Main Street were Chinese.

It didn’t have monetary value to others, but there was treasure found here by the Chinese miners - jade.

Revered as the “Stone of Heaven” in their culture, they shipped many tons of it back to China. Cut and polished to perfection, Lillooet’s

Jade Walk displays the beauty and variety of some of the boulders they left behind.

8. Japanese Canadians in Lillooet When Canada declared war against Japan in 1942, there were more than 20,000 Japanese Canadians in B.C. The majority were Nisei, born and raised in Canada.

Following the declaration of war, a 100 mile “security zone” was declared on the west coast and Japanese-Canadians were forcibly and, under the Geneva Convention, illegally removed from this area.

Four internment camps were established in the Lillooet area – Bridge River, Minto, McGillivray Falls and East Lillooet. They were selfsupporting and held almost 1,000 men, women and children. The East Lillooet internment camp consisted of 61 uninsulated tarpaper shacks without indoor plumbing, a garage, a schoolhouse/community hall and a community garden.

Initially, the arrival of 300 “enemy aliens” was greeted with suspicion in the town but relations

100.5 FM www.radiolillooet.ca 250-999-2086 Local news, weather, music and community events

9. The Story of the Miyazaki Heritage House The Miyazaki Heritage House’s large porch, shuttered windows, bell eaves and Mansard roof reflect the 1880s era when it was built by Gold Commissioner, Government Agent and prominent merchant Casper Phair and his wife, Cerise.

Like his father, the Phairs’ son Artie held many of the town’s official positions but, above all, is remembered as a photographer who documented the rugged landscapes, people and events of the area.

Artie Phair was taking pictures in Bridge River (South Shalalth) when he met WWII Japanese-Canadian internee Dr. Masajiro Miyazaki.

As Lillooet was without a doctor, Phair drafted a petition that allowed the Miyazaki family to move into his fine home and turn one of its front rooms into a medical office. In 1945, Dr. Miyazaki purchased the property.

With a practice covering over

Photo Credit: Laurie McEwen

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theatrics always guaranteed an appreciative audience.

When one convicted miner complained about his legal defense, Begbie agreed to set him up with another trial “by your Maker,” thereby earning the epithet – The Hanging Judge.

Yet Begbie was a compassionate man who sought extenuating circumstances when a jury pronounced a death sentence and

4,000 square miles of some of the most rugged country on earth, Dr. Miyazaki was known for his optimism and sunny personality. He was a true country doctor who also acted as a dentist, veterinarian & mortician.

In 1950 he became the first Japanese-Canadian elected to public office in Canada.

He was awarded the Order of Canada in 1977 for his “unselfish service” to Lillooet and his home is now a community landmark.

Dr. Miyazaki donated his home to the Village of Lillooet in 1983. His office is preserved as he left it.

10. Sir Matthew Baillie Begbie A 6’5” giant of a man with piercing blue eyes, prematurely white hair and an impeccable Victorian wardrobe, Matthew Baillie Begbie travelled on horseback or on foot over “goat tracks” and by canoe on “foaming torrents.” He presided over goldfield courts in tents, shacks or the open air. His eloquence and

Lillooet Museum and Visitors Centre Celebrating Lillooet’s History!

• See artifacts from the Cariboo Gold Rush days • First Nations Displays • View the old presses & printing equipment used by ‘Ma’ Murray to print the Bridge River - Lillooet News • Free local, regional & provincial information & maps We can help you make BC Ferries & Accommodation Reservations and so much more! FREE WIFI OPEN - JULY & AUGUST - Every Day - 9 am to 5 pm MAY, JUNE, SEPT. & OCT. - Tues. to Sat. - 10 am to 4 pm

Public Washrooms located in Museum

www.lillooetbc.ca 790 Main Street, Lillooet, B.C. 250-256-4308 lillmuseum@cablelan.net 12

Photo Credit: BC Archives

the Fraser after a nine-mile long flume/irrigation ditch from Fountain Lake was built in 1861. Miners were missing tobacco even more than their wives and for the next 20 years he sold plugs and cut tobacco straight off his presses.

The first grapes in the Lillooet area were grown at Fountain from cuttings sent from Italy in 1863.

After experimental trials verified the superior terroir of local soils, our first commercial winery was established in 2009. Since then, Fort Berens has won many awards and

medals.

The first attempt to grow hops on what is still known today as “The Hop Farm” ended in failure but in 2009 two enterprising biologists succeeded. Their ambition is to make Lillooet the organic hops capital of Canada.

Lillooet boasts B.C.’s best tomatoes. When JapaneseCanadians were interned here, they shipped many train carloads of luscious Lillooet tomatoes to Vancouver.

Food lovers now come here every year and buy hundreds of kilos of

Photo Credit: Debbie Pietila

defended Chinese miners and First Nations against discrimination.

After Confederation with Canada in 1871, Matthew Baillie Begbie was knighted by Queen Victoria and served as Chief Justice of British Columbia until the end of his life.

11. History of Agriculture Jonathan Scott, a planter from Kentucky, farmed the upper bench of the magnificent tablelands across

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tomatoes at the Old Airport Gardens.

Stone fruits, especially apricots, thrive in Lillooet.

Lillooet’s annual Apricot Tsaqwem Festival also honours native saskatoon berries, equally prolific and widely used by First Nations, eaten fresh or dried for storage.

Throughout our area, historic farms and ranches are rising to meet a growing demand for healthy food.

Local organic vegetables, fruits, garlic, honey, eggs and poultry are available in local shops or at the Farmers Market.

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• Pharmacist on Duty 5 Days/Week • Gift Shop • Toys • Seasonal Supplies • Books/Magazines • Greeting Cards • Lottery Centre

12. Highways and Byways of Lillooet In the Lillooet area, ancient St’at’imc First Nation trails formed a sophisticated trading network later used by fur traders.

In 1862, as gold miners pushed north, Parsonville, directly across the Fraser from the town, became Mile Zero of the Cariboo Road with the Royal Engineers in charge of its construction.

Lillooet is also the gateway to the legendary Skumakum or Land of Plenty as it was known to its St’at’imc people. In the summer, they would fish and wind dry salmon along the Fraser River. In the fall, they would hunt in Skumakum.

In 1827, a Hudson’s Bay sketch map of the Lillooet area showed a First Nations bridge accessing Skumakum and from then on, the waterway it crossed became known as the Bridge River.

By 1896, miners had discovered the upper Bridge River and within a year, there were over 200 claims on it with extensive hydraulic mining carried on at Horseshoe Bend.

Unlike the placer gold of the Fraser River, most of the Bridge River gold was in quartz veins deep in the underground. From 1928 to 1971, the community of Bralorne was one of Canada’s most productive gold mining towns. Today, Highway 40 connects Lillooet’s Main Street to the Hurley Forest Service Road at

Old Mill Plaza 250-256-4262 www.pharmasavelillooet.com email: pharmasave178@gmail.com Hours: Mon. - Thurs. - 9:30 am - 6 pm Friday - 9:30 am - 8 pm Saturday - 9:30 am - 6 pm Sunday - 11 am - 5 pm Photo Credit: Nate Moyer

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Gold Bridge and then back to the Pemberton Valley.

Access to the rugged Anderson Lake Douglas Trail/Highline Road starts at Terzaghi Dam off Highway 40 going up and over Mission Mountain to the community of Seton Portage and follows Anderson Lake to D’Arcy.

13. The Pacific Great Eastern Railway Construction of the historic Pacific Great Eastern (PGE) Railway was an epic undertaking vital to the

development of 20th Century British Columbia.

The PGE Railway reached Lillooet in 1915 and continued on into the Interior of BC. Construction of the railway during times of war and economic depression is a credit to the railway crews who built the PGE on some of the toughest and most challenging sections of rail line anywhere in North America.

Still, in its early days, the PGE’s reputation for reliability was occasionally less than sterling and it was jokingly referred to as Past God’s

Photo Credit: BC Archives

Endurance, Please Go Easy and Prince George Eventually.

Its name was changed to the British Columbia Railway in 1972.

Until 2002, Lillooet had daily passenger service from Vancouver via B.C. Rail’s Cariboo Prospector and its famed Budd cars. Unfortunately, the entire B.C. Rail passenger service was discontinued in 2002.

Today, the Kaoham Shuttle transports residents and visitors between Seton Portage and Lillooet.

14. Vernon Pick and Walden North Vernon Pick was one of Lillooet’s most fascinating residents. Born in rural Wisconsin in 1903, Pick had very little formal education but he had an appetite for knowledge, studying philosophy, literature, science and religion.

At age 48, after nine gruelling months of prospecting, he made the lucky strike that catapulted him into wealth and fame as the Uranium King of America.

With part of his fortune, Pick purchased an 800-acre site in California. There, he built a research facility staffed by 20 scientists. To honour his hero Henry

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Fort Berens ESTATE WINERY

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15. Ntqwixw Ntqwixw refers to the area in the vicinity of the Old Bridge where St’at’imc catch salmon.

“The St’at’imc way of life is inseparably connected to the land.

David Thoreau, he named a retreat on the property Walden West.

In the 1970s, he built his 100acre Walden North complex outside Lillooet.

Vernon Pick died in 1986 and is still fondly remembered in Lillooet for creating many jobs in the construction of Walden North and then producing photocopier drums, microchip components and fine furniture in his state-of-the-art workshops.

By all accounts he was a gentle and magnanimous man who embodied the American spirit of

Photo Credit: BC Archives

Our people use different locations throughout the territory of rivers and mountains and lakes, planning our trips with the best times to hunt and fish, harvest food and gather medicines. The lessons of living on the land are a large part of the inheritance passed on from St’at’imc elders to our children.

As holders of one of the richest fisheries along the Fraser River, the St’at’imc defend and control a rich resource that feeds our people throughout the winter and serves as a valued staple for trade with our neighbouring nations. The St’at’imc can think of no better place to live.”

(Nxekmenlhkalha lti tmxicwa, St’at’imc Land Use Plan) Please be respectful of our St’at’imc fisher people. It is every person’s obligation to keep the lands healthy for future generations.

16. White Sturgeon, Bats and Osprey White sturgeon are the largest freshwater fish in North America, attaining lengths in excess of six metres and weights of more than 600 kilograms. An ancient relic of the Jurassic Period, they can live

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Naturalist Society, decided to make the Old Bridge bat friendly and bat houses were installed under the structure. If you are watching closely at dusk by water in the Lillooet area, you may see some of our bats performing their amazing aerial stunts.

In 2013, volunteers from the Lillooet Naturalist Society installed a web-cam to view the activity in the osprey nest on the Old Bridge.

We have enjoyed watching successful nestings and young fledgllngs each season since.

17. and 18. Welcome Welcome to St’at’imc Territory and Welcome to the spectacular District of Lillooet located in the traditional territory of the St’at’imc Nation. for over 150 years. To help save the species, in 1994 the Province of B.C. imposed catch-and-release sport fishing regulations, commercial harvesting of sturgeon was banned and aboriginal authorities placed a voluntary moratorium on the fishing. Of the three major remaining world populations of white sturgeon (Sacramento, Columbia and Fraser), the Fraser River stock is the only remaining

wild population.

There are over 1,000 species of bats worldwide and unlike other mammals, bats are unique in their ability for sustained, flapping flight.

Our bats navigate and pursue their insect food by using an enhanced sonar system (ecolocation). Contrary to popular belief, bats are not blind; in fact most bats have excellent vision. In 2003, the District of Lillooet combined with the Lillooet

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Photo Credit: Ian Routley

Stay with us at a peaceful riverside setting and enjoy the Lillooet & Lytton wilderness.

• We offer Fishing – Kayaking - Paddle Boarding • Go for an Alpine Hike – Visit some Water Falls • Explore the backcountry on a Mountain bike • Take in a Scenic Fraser River Boat Tour • Enjoy a Winery tour or an Aboriginal Cultural Experience • Visit some Organic Farms and learn about our own Sustainable Year-Round Vertical Gardens

Photo Credit: Betty-Lou Cahoon

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your photo ke

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Your face here!

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TOURS, GROUPS, & BUSES WELCOME!

250-256-7231

CARIBOO APIARIES

4007 Moha Rd. Lillooet, B.C. 4 km North on Hwy 40 to Gold Bridge at the Bottom of the Hill

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Come join us for

Canada Day Celebration in the Park

Saturday, July 1st, 2017 11:00 am in Downton Park • Family Activities • Live Music • Face painting • Free Balloons • Great Food and Much More

Proudly Sponsored in part by:

Lillooet Museum & Visitor Centre Bridge River

Lillooet News www.lillooetnews.net

For more information, please contact: www.lillooetchamberofcommerce.com 250-256-3578 20

Photo Credit: Betty-Lou Cahoon

STOP INVASIVE SPECIES IN YOUR TRACKS

Photo Credit: Megan Menhinick

Help prevent the spread of invasives

Arrive with clean gear

Before leaving, remove mud and seeds

Burn local firewood

Use local or weed-free hay

Stay on trails

Clean, Drain, Dry your boat

www.lriss.ca

www.siwmc.ca

www.lriss.ca

Report a Weed Report a Weed

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Fraser River Lions Trail

Parking: 50°40’54.53”N 121°55’49.37”W Park in Cayoosh Campground close to the Bridge of the 23 Camels. Distance: 2.4 km (1.5 miles). Time: 45 min. one-way. Difficulty: Easy to moderate. Built by the Lillooet Lions Club in the 1990s, the Lions Trail is a staple for local hikers, traversing the bank of the Fraser River through diverse habitat affording breathtaking views of the mighty river.

Bridges Walk

Lillooet Area -----------------------

Parking: N50° 41’ 43.4’’ W121° 56’ 19.9’’ Park in lot behind REC Centre (access behind Museum). Distance: 8.7km (5.4 mi). Time: 1-hour jog, 2-hour walk. Difficulty: Moderate. Popular route with local runners, walkers and cyclists, crosses the Bridge of 23 Camels and the Old Suspension Bridge, offering gorgeous views of town and the famous river with fabulous mountain backdrops.

Hangman’s Park Trail

Jade Walk

Parking: N50° 42’ 21.7’’ W121° 55’ 55.6’’ Park at Old Mill Plaza. Distance (Time): 2.4 km from mall to cemetery (30-45 minutes), 5.3 km for complete route (1 to 1.5 hours).

Difficulty: Easy to moderate. This trail commemorates Lillooet’s history as the site of the first jade mine in BC. Stroll down Lillooet’s Main Street and enjoy over 30 unique pieces of jade, some weighing many tons. Pick up a brochure at KC Health & Gifts.

Golden Mile of History

Parking: N50° 40’ 97.9’’ W121° 55’ 89.1’’ Park at Bridge of the 23 Camels. Distance: 4.5 km (2.8 miles). Time: 1 to 1.5 hours one-way. Difficulty: Easy to moderate walk.

This walk highlights the many sights the Lilllooet Historical Society recommends you enjoy in a town whose post-European contact history dates back to the Cariboo Gold Rush.

Pick up a “Golden Mile” brochure at the Lillooet Museum and Visitor Info Centre.

N

Red Rock Trail

Parking: N50° 41’ 52.9’’ W121° 56’ 65.9’’ Park in gravel cul-de-sac at west end of Victoria Street. Distance: 3.4 km (2 mi.) Time: 2 to 3-hour hike Difficulty: Moderate to difficult, 500 metres elevation gain. This popular route takes hikers to the famous Red Rock outcropping 500 metres above town, offering an astounding panorama of the Fraser River valley. Local flora and fauna abound. Take water with you.

e us o iH ak z a iy M et re St n ai M

Sát’atqwa7 - The River

Parking: N50° 40’ 51.2’’ W121° 55’ 49.7’’ Park in parking area just off Powerhouse Road. Distance: 190 m to 2 km Time: 30 min. to 1 hour. Difficulty: Easy (rocky shoreline). A chance to get up close to the mighty Fraser River. Enjoy a walk through an active ecological restoration site that showcases our beautiful grasslands and Black Cottonwood ecosystem at the confluence of the Seton and Fraser Rivers.

Parking: N50° 40’ 61.9’’ W121° 56’ 09.8’’ Park at Miyazaki House. Distance: 0.3 Miles Time: 1520 minutes. Difficulty: Easy to moderate loop walk. In the heart of Lillooet’s downtown, a brisk walk from the Miyazaki House to the scenic bench where, legend has it, frontier Judge Matthew Begbie hung murderers in the Gold Rush era.

Naxwit Park

Parking: N50° 40’ 25.1’’ W121° 58’ 11.9’’ Park in beautiful, paved wayside park.

Distance: 0.35 km (0.2 miles). Time: 10 minutes Difficulty: Easy. A short, easy walk along fast-moving Seton River offers the chance to see mountain goats on the cliffs above and other wildlife. Trails follow spawning channels full of salmon in season. Interpretive signage reveals local ecology and First Nations history.

Seton Spawning Channels

Parking: N50° 40’ 37.1’’ W121° 56’ 39.7’’ Parking lot is off gravel road that is immediately west of Lightfoot Gas. Distance: 1.4 km (0.9 mi.) Time: 20 min. Difficulty: Easy.

A pleasant loop around a man-made spawning stream complex built to assist the reproduction of the many species of salmon. When the salmon are running these streams harbour thousands of spawning fish. Now managed by the Sekw’el‘was First Nation.

Campground Trails

Parking: N50° 40’ 06.2’’ W121° 58’ 67.3’’ Park at BC Hydro Campground entrance.

Distance: 3.3 kms (2 mi.) Time: 60 minutes. Difficulty: Easy to moderate. Two pretty loop walks connected by a steep hill. The loops go through forest, along Cayoosh Creek and offer awesome mountain views. Across Highway 99 from the upper bench you can access the incredible Seton Lake lookout.

Canal Walk

Parking: N50° 40’ 14.1’’ W121° 58’ 40.6’’ Park on immediate south side of Canal Bridge on Highway 99. Distance: 3.2 kms (2 mi.) one-way Time: 40 minutes Difficulty: Easy. On this level roadway along the south side of the BC Hydro canal which connects Seton Lake with the powerhouse on the Fraser, you walk in the shadow of the majestic towering cliffs at the base Mt. Brew. Watch for waterfowl on the canal.

Thanks to Fort Berens Estate Winery, the District of Lillooet, the Lillooet Naturalist Society, the Lillooet Historical Society and Sekw’el’was First Nation for their help with this project. For more trails and information, pick up a copy of ‘Canyon to Alpine, the Lillooet Hiking Guide.’

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Seton Lake

a Trail Map - - - brought to you by

Fraser

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This map is provided as a guide only. The Chamber of Commerce does not take responsibility for the accuracy or safety of the trails included here.

MAP LEGEND Trail Heads Hospital Police Fire Department

Museum & Visitor Centre Campgrounds View Points 99 Provincial Highway 1 kilometre

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Lillooet is a birder’s heaven Lillooet Naturalist Society Different biogeoclimatic zones converge at Lillooet resulting is diverse habitats.

We have arid Ponderosa Pine grasslands, Cottonwood riparian and coastal Cedar and Interior Douglas Fir ecosystems.

The area offers an opportunity to see many interior and coastal birds.

Lillooet naturalists have confirmed over 250 species of birds including records for all fourteen owls of Western Canada.

Along Highway 99 towards Seton Lake you can find trails and visi-

Photo Credit: Ian Routley

Photo Credit: Ian Routley

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tor stops that are excellent birding areas. In the spring and summer these places often yield warblers and Western Tanagers.

Cayoosh Creek is a nesting area for the Harlequin Duck. Along the Fraser River, on both sides of the historic Old Bridge, the azurecoloured Lazuli Bunting and the striking orange and black Bullock’s Oriole can be found. Listen for the melodic sound of the Western Meadowlark calling from the fields and watch for Chukars as you head towards Pavilion.

A hike into the alpine tundra can afford a close look at White-tailed Ptarmigan and other grouse. This is also a good area to see Golden Eagles and other raptors soaring over mountain ridges, especially in late summer. Watch for Clark’s Nutcracker feeding on cones of the Whitebark Pine.

The Fountain Valley, about 20 kilometres east of Lillooet, is a migration stopover for many birds including several arctic-bound waterfowl and shorebirds. The valley is also a good place to see breeding waterbirds, especially Barrow’s Goldeneye, Common

Loon, Canada Goose, Mallard and Spotted Sandpiper.

Heading north on Highway 99, the fields past Xaxli’p (Fountain) are a good place to look for the Longbilled Curlew. Watch the fence posts for Mountain Bluebirds.

The sparsely treed slopes above the highway support Common Nighthawks and Common Poorwills in summer.

Lillooet also boasts fourteen of the seventeen bat species that occur in BC. This is one of the reasons we enjoy so few insects in the warm summer season.

During your stay, enjoy all that nature has to offer in Lillooet.

Photo Credit: Ken Wright

Photo Credit: Ian Routley

Take a Hike with Lillooet’s

Hiking Guide To enjoy the best of Lillooet’s spectacular scenery, flora and fauna, take a hike into the rugged mountains and meadows surrounding the town.

The Lillooet Naturalist Society’s “Canyon to Alpine: Lillooet Hiking Guide” describes thirty-two day hikes and contains information on trails and access, routes and topography. The guide stresses a gentle footprint and contains information about natural history.

Enjoy its spectacular colour photos as you plan your trek, from a leisurely stroll to a more challenging excursion.

Enjoy your hike, enjoy your stay, enjoy Lillooet!

Available for sale at various local retailers in Lillooet

“Know nature in the Lillooet area and keep it worth knowing”

Lillooet Naturalist Society

www.lillooetnaturalistsociety.org

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R E / M A X R E A L E S TAT E L I L L O O E T 909 Main St • Located on the corner of 9th Ave & Main Street

Committed. Experienced. Trusted.

250.256.7166 www.RemaxLillooet.com www.MarkRawson.com Each RE/MAX Office is Independently Owned and Operated

26

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Seton Lake Beach Area

Population : 2324 Elevation : 800ft above sea level Distances from Lillooet Lytton....................64km Vancouver............314km Gold Bridge...........110km Pemberton............100km Cache Creek.........90km Kamloops..............171km

4 Page Pull-Out Map 27 23

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The Best of

Lillooet

Photo Credit: Karime Jolly

What makes Lillooet Lillooet? Is it the spectacular mountain scenery with its call to adventure? The great climate (hot summers and mild winters)? The strong Aboriginal heritage that flourishes here? The spirit of the place? The diversity and independence of the people who call it home? It is all that and more. And now it is yours to explore.

Let’s begin with some of the best activities, attractions and amenities Lillooet offers.

AROUND TOWN Lillooet’s Farmers Market is open every Friday from early May to the Thanksgiving weekend in October.

Check out the local produce for sale, sample bannock (a traditional

Aboriginal fry bread) or fritters, buy jam or a home-baked pie for the road or the campsite. Browse through the crafts for sale, perhaps listen to an impromptu performance by local musicians, meet old friends and make new ones.

Dining options. Named one of the Top Five Places to Eat in the Seato-Sky Corridor, the Kitchen at Fort Berens Estate Winery opens May 19 and will remain open until later in the fall. Executive chef Dylan Foss blends fresh, local ingredients and classic old-world techniques. Enjoy the exquisite food and friendly, attentive service; savour an awardwinning wine; feel the summer breeze on the patio; and drink in the view over the lush green vineyard towards the Coast Mountains.

The kitchen’s open daily for lunch, and special tapas-style dinners or formal dinners will be served on select weekends during the season.

You must reserve for these special dinners.

Visitors can also enjoy outdoor dining on the patio at Dina’s Place Restaurant, which specializes in 31

Chinese food. Or ask a local and they will point you in whatever direction your taste buds crave.

The Jade Walk is a relaxing stroll through downtown Lillooet. Start at the Jadehenge at the Lillooet Museum and Visitor Centre and proceed along Main Street, paus-

Greek dishes such as souvlaki, spanakopita and moussaka as well as pastas.

Check out the homemade soups, sandwiches and treats at the Rugged Bean. Locals recommend the thin crust pizza at Deano’s Pizza.

Subway is a quick and convenient lunch option, and the DeOro Coffee Lounge is a comfortable place to relax over specialty organic coffees or enjoy a selection from the juice

bar. Adding to your options this year is the local, fresh “rustic” food being served at Abundance Artisan Bakery’s new Main Street location.

Other cafes serve sushi and

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32

ing to admire the 30 pieces of jade on display. These art pieces have been cut, polished and mounted to reveal each individual “face” of jade, whose colours, shapes and fractures all have different qualities. For good luck, Asian visitors rub the tall jade boulders at the Jadehenge.

The REC Centre is the heart of Lillooet. Paying the drop-in fee gives visitors access to the public swims in the indoor pool (it opened in April for the season); the weight room, squash court and the bouldering wall, where wannabe mountaineers can test their climbing skills; as well as public skating in the arena in the winter. The arena also hosts numerous league hockey games and tournaments during the colder months.

The REC Centre – the REC stands for Recreational, Educational and Cultural – is home to Radio Lillooet (CHLS-FM, 100.5 on your dial), and the popular Lillooet Library, which offers public computers, youth nights, movie nights and other activities.

Taste the difference.

The Lillooet area has been known for its agricultural produce since the 1920s when a box of Seton Portage apples was delivered to Buckingham Palace every year. Today while shopping in local stores, be sure to pick up organic greens from Green Dirt Farm, garlic from Ucwalmicw’s Community Garden, organic carrots grown at Fountainview Farms and Golden Cariboo Honey produced by local bees working for Cariboo Apiaries.

If you love fresh, healthy homegrown produce – and who doesn’t?

– be sure to visit Old Airport Gardens on Highway 12 in East Lillooet. Believe it when they say their tomatoes are the best in B.C., with that just-picked, fresh-fromthe-vine aroma of Lillooet’s sun and soil. It’s not unusual for folks from the Lower Mainland to make their annual trip here to take home a hundred kilos of tomatoes for canning, preserving and plain good eating.

The Abundance Artisan Bakery sells cookies, sourdough ryes, challah, a very popular flax bread,

Diesel Dyke Ventures Ltd. Bookkeeping & Income Tax Services

baguettes, cinnamon buns bursting with local fruits and berries, sausage rolls made with local beef and two kinds of croissants (the chocolate croissants are deliciously decadent.)

Fort Berens Estate Winery operates the first commercial vineyard in Lillooet. Named for the Hudson’s Bay Company Fort that began construction here in 1859 on what is now the winery site, Fort Berens wines have won acclaim nationally and internationally. Their 2012 Riesling received the 2014 Lieutenant Governor’s Award for Excellence in B.C. Wine and the 2013 Pinot Noir won Fort Berens its first-ever platinum medal.

Just up the road from Fort Berens on Highway 99 is JAR Enterprises – a new aquaponics business selling greens, herbs and fresh produce.

Ask to see their giant salad spinner!

And up the hill from JAR is the Bitterbine Hop Farm, home to Harvesters of Organic Hops (HOOH). Established in 2009, the

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33

local farm serves B.C.’s growing micro-brewing industry. In 2013, Old Jalopy Ale – the Canadian Brewing Awards Beer of the Year – was made with organic hops grown at Bitterbine. And Pemberton Distillery makes a Lillooet Apricot Liqueur from – you’ll never guess! – Lillooet apricots.

Photo Credit: Allan Ogilvie Photographics

A Little Night Music While you’re visiting, check out the ads in the Lillooet News, the new Lillooet and Area Calendar of Events (LACE) at http://lillooetcalendar.com/calendar/ and posters, websites and Facebook pages around town for the latest info on what’s happening on the entertainment scene.

The Miyazaki House will be offering a 2017 summer outdoor concert series on Wednesday evenings. BYOLC (Bring Your Own Lawn Chair) or stretch out on a blanket on the lawn and enjoy live music at the gazebo. Lillooet Music offers a winter/spring concert season ranging from square dancing and folk singers to Broadway pop and improv comedy. Fort Berens Estate Winery is another venue for live music.

St’at’imc communities and organizations host powwows and other gatherings. They’re an opportunity to see St’at’imc singers, drummers and dancers perform and learn more about Aboriginal tradition and culture. Visitors are welcome and are asked to respect the “No alcohol/no drugs” rules. A performance by dancer Laura Grizzlypaws in “Grizz,” her majestic grizzly bear regalia, will give you memories that last a lifetime. The T’it’q’et community is the home of Juno-award winning singer-songwriter-musician George Leach. Seeing him perform before a hometown audience is another special memory.

Grassroots Golf As it should be!

2 Can Play for the Price of 1

Purchase one round of golf and Receive one round of golf Free by showing this ad at the Clubhouse.

One redemption per person.

Valid until October 1, 2017

5000 Texas Creek Rd

250-256-0550

www.lillooetgolf.com 34

THE GREAT OUTDOORS Come Fly with Me. Is it time to get down on bended knee and pop the question? Do it in high style on a mountaintop with stunning vistas and popping champagne corks.

Blackcomb Helicopters offers heli fishing, alpine pic-

nics, sightseeing, hiking and flights to uniquely romantic locations for proposals and weddings. Local pilot Scott Taylor is a world traveler who joined an expedition to Antarctica last year.

With Gold Bridge as a base, take a flight-seeing tour for a once-in-a-lifetime flight to the Lillooet Ice Fields’ Bridge Glacier. Watch ice bergs calve into the glacier’s lake and take a walk to the toe of the two-kilometre

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Top quality produce, fresh bakery, deli & meats and award-winning service

Your Proud Community Supporter!

Old Mill Plaza 36

250-256-7922

Photo Credit: Steve Pietila

long mass of ice. British Columbia Magazine recently named the Bridge Glacier flight as one of B.C.’s Top 7 Tours.

Geocaching is an outdoor treasure hunt using GPS enabled devices. Participants navigate to a specific set of GPS coordinates and then try to find the geocache container hidden at that spot. There are 11 fun and fascinating geocaching locations in the Lillooet area. They are the Xwisten fishing rocks, the Old Bridge over the Fraser River, the Lower Seton Spawning Channels, the Kaoham Shuttle, Red Rock, the Burkholder Lake Trail, Camelsfoot Peak Trail, Horseshoe Bend Trail, Mission Ridge Trail, Pavilion Lake and the Seton Ridge Trail.

The Lillooet Geocache sites are part of Gold Country Geotourism Adventures, the largest geo-tour in all of Canada.

Go for the Gold Gold seekers came here in the 1860s seeking their fortunes in the sandbars and gravel bars of local rivers and creeks. Follow in their footsteps and try your luck gold panning. Cayoosh Creek Campground is a provincially-designated Recreational Gold Panning

Photo Credit: H. Meyer

Make Hotel DeOro your home during your visit to our area.

Located in the heart of historic downtown Lillooet, Hotel DeOro is one of the finest accommodations available.

• Free Wireless Internet • Full Bath

• Air Conditioned • 100% No Smoking • Please, No Pets

• Microwave • Fridge

Our on-site coffee lounge uses only 100% organic, fair trade coffee and espresso beans to ensure the purest of aromas. Drop by for great music, or snuggle up on one of our comfy couches.

639 Main St., Lillooet • Tel: 250-256-2355 www.hoteldeoro.com www.deorocoffeelounge.com Coffee Lounge: 250-256-2255

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Reserve. Easy access to the Fraser River’s back eddies can also be found at the BC Hydro Restoration Site, located off Powerhouse Road.

Gold seekers are welcome to use hand pans, hand shovels and metal detectors in their search for precious placer gold nuggets and “colour” that has washed free of the motherlode.

Gone fishin.’

Rainbow trout, lake trout, Dolly

Varden, steelhead and salmon abound in the rivers, lakes and creeks in and around town. Seton Lake offers good fishing for trout and Dolly Varden off the dock or by boat at the south end of the lake at Seton Portage/Shalalth. Fountain, Pavilion, Crown and Turquoise Lakes are all favourites for those using flies or conventional tackle, and there are great trout fishing lakes in the Bridge River Valley as well.

The Bridge and Fraser Rivers are both home to chinook, the largest salmon species. Sockeye salmon are found in the Bridge River in the fall, while steelhead are common in the winter. The salmon and steelhead fisheries are subject to local openings, so please check local regulations before wetting a line.

How about a hike?

The “bible” for hikers in this area is the Lillooet Naturalist Society’s “Canyon to Alpine Hiking Guide.”

It includes trail and access information on 32 hikes, dazzling colour photos by Ian Routley, route maps and topographical information.

Close-to-town hikes include the Bridges Walk (it’s a total distance of approximately 10 kilometres and includes the Old Bridge and the Bridge of the 23 Camels; (this is also the route of Lillooet’s annual Terry Fox run); the Lions Trail, the Powerhouse Restoration Site, the Seton Spawning Channels, the Canal Walk and the trail above Lillooet to Red Rock (becoming known among the hiking fraternity as the Lillooet Grind).

Tips for the trails less traveled: - travel in a group of at least three

Lillooet’s Heritage

Miyazaki House Built in the 1880’s for the Phair family, the Miyazaki House is the heart of Lillooet’s gold rush history. Purchased by Dr. Masajiro Miyazaki after WWII, it tells the fascinating story of his life in Lillooet and his many contributions to the community over four decades.

Open Seasonally Museum, local art, weekly music concerts and community events.

Available for private tours and event rentals.

250-256-6808

643 Russell Lane, Lillooet, BC (Behind the Post Office) Admission by Donation

Like us on

FB.com/TheMiyazakiHouse/

38

Dr. Miyazaki’s original office

people - carry enough water and food for your trip. Hiking in the mountains requires extra energy and Lillooet’s hot, dry climate can cause heat exhaustion - leave enough time to return in daylight - leave an outline of your intended hike, including your location and expected time of return, with someone who can report you missing in case of an emergency - please remember your wilderness ethics. Walk on established trails, bring along a small garbage bag so you can pack out your garbage and be respectful by staying back from nests, young animals, dens and feeding and rutting spots.

Photo Credit: Brad Naylor

Quiet, Comfortable & Clean in Downtown Lillooet 2 1/2 Stars on Canada’s Select Star Rating

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Lightfoot Gas

Full Service Gas Station & Convenience Store Open Daily from 7am - 11pm

250-256-0010

MOTEL

Toll-Free Reservations

1-800-753-2576

All aboard the Kaoham Shuttle! No less an authority than the BBC has called the Kaoham Shuttle “Canada’s Greatest Hidden Rail Trip.” Adventurers will discover that truth first-hand when they climb aboard the twocar, 30-passenger train on its trip from Lillooet to the remote lakeside communities of Seton Portage and Shalalth.

The shuttle provides great opportunities to see California Bighorn sheep, deer, bear, eagles and waterfowl. It makes unscheduled stops to allow passengers to capture those vivid wildlife images on their cameras and phones and the engineer provides fascinating commentary.

For train buffs, the shuttle winds along some of the sharpest curves on the entire CN Rail line and through CN’s third-longest tunnel in B.C. The trip takes one hour from Lillooet to Seton Portage, with options of riding from Lillooet to Seton and returning straight

‘Relive the 1860s Gold Rush and Native History!’

Located 80km east of Lillooet along scenic Hwy. #99

Ph: 250-256-4247 Fax: 250-256-4120

New Gift Shop opens May 1st

www.4pinesmotel.com 108 8th Ave. Lillooet, BC

Pizza available for pick up!

Fresh Made Daily: sandwiches, soup, pasta and more!

Kitchen Open 6 days a week 7am - 6pm Mon - Sat 7 am - 7 pm Fridays

Highway 99 South

Fun for the whole family with:

~ Guided Tours of 1860’s Roadhouse & Native Interpretation Site ~ Stagecoach ~ Restaurant & Gift Shop ~ Goldpanning, Archery & More ~ RV Sites, Camping, Cabins, & Public Shower House ~ Stay in a Covered Wagon

Open Daily May to October

Telephone. 250-457-9722 or Toll Free 1-800-782-0922 Email: contact@hatcreekranch.ca www.hatcreekranch.ca

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10th Annual

Apricot Tsaqwem Festival July 21-23/17 • • • • • • •

Farmers Market Quilt Show Family Activities Live Music REC Lawn Dance Great Food Tons of Fun!

Fun for the Whole Family!

Don’t Miss Lillooet’s Biggest Event of the Year!

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back (no time to stretch your legs) or staying overnight in Seton Portage before returning the next day. Reservations must be made for the shuttle. 1-250-259-8300. In the St’at’imc language, the word “Kaoham” means “to meet the train.”

Mountain Biking: The Thrill of it All. For years, local riders have explored and enjoyed numerous trails. Now, the rest of the mountain biking community is discovering our area. LORCA (Lillooet Off Road Cycling Association) says these are five of the best-known trails: - Seton Ridge, located about 17.5 km. from Lillooet off the Duffey Lake Road and then another six km. along the gravel Seton Ridge Road.

- Shulaps Traverse, located off Highway 40 and up the Yalakom Forest Service Road towards Lake La Mare.

- Burkholder Lake, off Highway 40 and up the Yalakom Road and then turn onto the Branch 1 forest road.

In Lillooet’s Guaranteed Rugged landscape, there’s an array of trails to explore whether you are a beginner, intermediate or advanced rider.

It’s your choice - go for the adrenaline rush or take it more slowly. A bonus: the area’s low elevation and dry climate make for a longer riding season.

Lillooet is a gateway to South Chilcotin Mountains Provincial Park, which attracts bikers from around the world. The park offers almost 300 km. of trails through broad valleys, alpine meadows and ridges, with an excellent variety of loop trips of varying difficulty and distance.

Many of the trails are multiuse trails and bikers are asked to respect trail etiquette by giving way to hikers and horses. Bikers are also asked to respect gates and road closures; respect St’at’imc values; stay on the trails; be aware of grizzly bears, especially in the Della Creek area; and Play, Clean, Go to prevent the spread of harmful invasive plant species. That means thoroughly washing off your bike prior to mov-

- Red Rock, above Lillooet and reached by an old road that switchbacks up the mountainside.

- Della Creek, halfway between Lytton and Lillooet on Texas Creek Road and accessed via a logging road. “This is the one that everybody who comes to Lillooet wants to ride,” says Kevin Aitken.

Photo Credit: Kevin Aitken

MOHA RV

& MOBILE HOME PARK

Full Service Year Round

250-256-3636

Small quiet RV Park All sites have lawns Daily, Weekly and Monthly rates

WWW.MOHARVPARK.COM 760 Moha Rd. Lillooet, BC John Watson

Fully Winterized Lots

41

ing from one trail to another, giving invasives the brush-off by cleaning your boots and gear and properly disposing of soil, seeds or plant parts from cleaning.

Rockhounders Paradise A rockhound has been defined as an amateur mineralogist, but

really it’s someone who enjoys collecting interesting rocks and minerals. For decades, the Lillooet area has been a popular destination for rockhounds. While Lillooet is most famous for its gold and jade, agates and jasper have been found on each side of the Bridge of the 23 Camels and the sandbars down-

Photo Credit: Kevin Aitken

stream.

The aptly named Yalakomite can be found at the Horseshoe Bend of the Bridge River on Highway 40. The Yalakom River Road area is significant for cinnabar, pyrite, gold and nephrite jade. The green gemstone can also be found off Highway 40 in the Marshall Creek area. The Bridge River Valley is also home to the oddly named thunder egg, a rock in the shape of a rough sphere that is formed within volcanic ash layers. Fossils 50 million years old are embedded in the rocks at Fossil Cliffs above Spruce Lake. Fossils can also be discovered near the foot of the limestone slides at Marble Canyon where they border Highway 99 at the west end of Pavilion Lake.

On a hot summer day, there’s nothing like a refreshing dip in the shiver-cold waters of Seton Lake, just five minutes from Lillooet. Pack a picnic lunch and relax on the tree-lined beach. Be sure to stay for the sunset as the sun dramatically disappears behind the jagged peaks surrounding the lake.

In the summer, the Bridge River Indian Band runs a free Community

• Free WiFi • 15 & 30 amp available w/ Power and Water • Sani-Dump/Hot Shower/Fire Wood/Pet Friendly • Shady Riverfront/Sandy Beach Tent Sites • Sturgeon Fishing from the Beach • Scenic walk or bike over “Historic Old Bridge” to Shopping Mall • 1.5 Km north of Award Winning Fort Berens Estate Winery

1234 Davis Road (Just off Hwy 99) 250-256-0142 Toll Free: 1-800-936-2040 pmortensen65@gmail.com www.frasercove.com 42

fairways – a herd of sheep who keep the course fertilized and nicely grazed and are a source of amusement for local and visiting golfers. The course is managed by the volunteers in the Lillooet Golf Club, has a pro shop with club and pull-cart rentals and offers snacks and beverage service. It’s eight kilometres from Lillooet on Texas Creek Road.

Photo Credit: Melissa Perez

Link bus that will pick you up at any number of locations around town, drop you off at the lake and bring you back into town. Seton Lake derives its unique green colour from the glacial water that’s piped into the lake from the BC Hydro penstocks carrying water from the Bridge River to the hydro-

electric power plant located at the far end of the lake.

The Sheep Pasture Golf Course.

The name says it all. This ninehole course promises a fun and challenging golfing experience for all levels of players. Just watch out for the mobile hazards on the

TAKE YOUR PICK! Old Airport Gardens Farm Market • B.C.’s Best Tomatoes • Fruits, Veggies, Herbs • U-Pick • We Pick

Bedding Plants.

Phone/Fax: 250-256-7051

Fresh Produce.

1/4 Mile South of Lillooet Turn-Off on Hwy 12

Aquaponic Demonstrations.

Winner’s Edge

• Fishing • Hunting • Camping • Clothing & Footwear • Bikes & Accessories

Book your Sturgeon Trips here!

Contact: Steve Alain Sturgeon Season runs July - October 31

15th AnnuAl y Sturgeon Derb

17 July 22nd, 20 OUR SPECIALTY IS SPORTS 644 Main St. 250-256-4848 winnersedge@shaw.ca

Open year round.

JA R 313 E. Lillooet Rd, Lillooet, BC

Follow us: JAR Enterprises

(250)-256-4050

jarfarm.ca 43

Split Rock Environmental is a Lillooet success story. It succeeds on so many levels – first, as an award-winning Aboriginal-owned business, owned by the St’at’imc community of Sekw’el’was. Remaining true to St’at’imc values, Split Rock specializes in ecological stewardship, environmental monitoring, native plant propagation and ethnobotany. It provides a variety of environmental services, carries out restoration work and operates a native plant nursery.

Split Rock also offers hands-on eco-cultural tours with knowledgeable Aboriginal guides. Learn about their land, culture and the local fish and wildlife as you stroll along the Seton River Spawning Channel. Tours are available June to October.

The mighty Fraser River Sturgeon.

In all the world of freshwater fishing, there’s nothing to match the sheer exhilaration of hooking a monstrous white sturgeon in the Fraser River and there’s no better place than Lillooet. Fraser River sturgeon grow to lengths

Providing Quality Guest Services since 1941

Where Old Fashioned Friendly Service meets . . . Comfortable, Modern Convenience • Classic Rooms • Restaurant • Pub • Cold Beer, Wine & Liquor Store Recently Renovated • Free Wireless Internet

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Reservations 1-877-655-5506 or 250-256-4202 1237 Main Street Lillooet, BC

of more than three metres and can top out at more than 600 kilos.

When hooked, they often raise their entire girth out of the water and perform an amazing tail walk, sometimes more than once. It’s a sight – and a fight – not to be missed.

These fish weren’t born last month, last year or even in the last 50 years. They have a long life span and many of the Fraser’s sturgeon are 100 to 150 years old. Lillooet’s Middle Fraser sturgeon population is designated as endangered, but is considered healthy enough to support a catch-and-release sports fishery.

If you want photographs of your catch, always leave large sturgeon in the water. Releasing them quickly is critical to their survival. Please obey the guidelines for handling the sturgeon and respect this living reminder of a prehistoric past.

on leashes are also welcome for a walk along the spawning channels at Splitrock Environmental or at the Restoration Site.

Please clean up after your pet and be aware that the latter two sites are fish and wildlife habitat areas.

Walking the Dog Whether you’re visiting overnight, enjoying a weekend jaunt or staying longer, your dog is on holiday, too.

Walk your four-legged pal on the Lions Trail along the Fraser River or the dock at Seton Lake (dogs aren’t permitted on the beach). Pooches

Photo Credit: Kevin Aitken

Lillooet Memorial Curling Club

• 4 Sheets of Jet Ice • Bar & Lounge • Lockers • Concession • Pro Shop

Season runs from October to the end of March, ending with our fun-filled April Fool’s Bonspiel!

Leagues • Ladies Please email for specific • Mens days and • Mixed times.

• Drop-In

LILLOOET AREA LIBRARIES

178 Mountainview Rd., LILLOOET 250-256-4370 www.lillooetcurling.ca lillooetmcc@gmail.com

Fountain Flat Trading Post & Gas Bar

• Local Native Crafts & Convenience Store The Scenery will take your breath away!

14411 Highway 99 North • Open Daily • 250-256-0411 www.fountainflattradingpost.com

• Free WiFi and Public Computers • Branches in Lillooet, Gold Bridge and Shalalth

More info at: www.lillooet.bc.libraries.coop 250-256-7944 Visitors Welcome!

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Photo Credit: Betty-Lou Cahoon

ng, birds of

Lil’tem’ Mountain Hotel

Shuttle Kaoham Take the ra fo t e o from Lillo time fe -li -a -in e onc rience train expe

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For reservations call 250-259-8052 Seton Portage, BC

Discover the pristine beauty and unspoiled wilderness of the Seton Portage area.

Visit Lil’tem Mountain Hotel to experience culture, nature and history intertwined.

Crane’s Landing RV Park

Winter Wonderland.

Churning waterfalls in summer give way to massive icicles in winter that are perfect for climbers brave enough to come and conquer them. The Lillooet region offers stunningly beautiful mixed vertical ice terrain. The Joffre Glacier Group, easily accessible off the Duffey Lake Road (Highway 99) south of Lillooet, is one of the more popular places for beginners and advanced climbers alike. Mount

Matier and Mount Joffre are highlights. Marble Canyon Provincial Park, located 35 kilometres northeast of Lillooet on Highway 99, is also easily accessible and features a labyrinth of canyons leading off the main canyon.

There’s more to our winter wonderland – powder skiing in the South Chilcotin Mountains, snowmobiling in the Bridge River Valley where the South Chilcotins meet the mighty glaciers of the Coast

Creative Haven

Featuring Work by “Local” •Artisans •Crafters •Producers

Art & Crafting Supplies Available

LILLOOET

creativehavenlillooet

creativehaven@shaw.ca

657 Main St.

250-256-2280

Mountains, snowshoeing and crosscountry skiing. Or how about a pickup game of good, old-fashioned pond hockey on Pavilion Lake?

Xwisten Experience Tours.

Join a walking tour along the Bridge River fishing grounds to learn about dip-netting salmon and the traditional wind-dried method of preserving the fish – a staple of the St’at’imc diet for millennia.

Hear songs and stories and see an archaeological site which contains more than 80 identified pit houses (s7istken) – the traditional winter homes of the St’at’imc. The Bridge River community has reconstructed a pit house and visitors can enter the s7istken to see what a winter home would have been like.

A team of archaeologists from the University of Montana has been working this site for more than a decade. Who knows what artefacts they’ll discover? The tour concludes with a salmon lunch that includes a traditional dessert of whipped soapberries (sxusum). Tours are available June to September.

Canada's Best Value Inn

Mile 0 Motel

Great Scenic View of the Fraser River

• 36 New Units – Air Cond – Cable TV • Free wireless Internet – Movie Channels • Honeymoon suite (Fireplace – Jacuzzi) • Family Suite w/Separate Room – Jet Tub • Banquet Hall – Guest Coin laundry ‘Your Home Away From Home’ P: 250-256-7511 • F: 250-256-4124 Located at 616 Main St. Toll Free: 1-888-766-4530 Downtown Lillooet, B.C. V0K 1V0 Email: info@mileomotel.com Website: www.mileomotel.com

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Faces of Lillooet Craig and Dana Sibley

No regrets. Craig and Dana Sibley left behind successful careers as an art gallery owner in Vancouver and as a health care administrator to move to Lillooet and open Abundance Artisan Bakery.

They both traveled here as children with their families. But then one weekend, decades later, friends gave them a road trip as an anniversary gift. The Sibleys headed north on Highway 99. Dana’s recollection is vivid: “We came down that final hill before town where you hit those dinosaur-like mountains. You’re moving gradually from one landscape to a new landscape. And then it just appears. I remember looking at Craig and he looked at me and we both kind of welled up. And then it hit me. It was so visceral. It was, ‘How did we miss this?’”

The bakery celebrated its first anniversary in March, has outgrown its first home and is moving along Main Street to larger premises which will offer an expanded bakery line and rustic cooking featuring locally grown vegetables and fruits and

Faces of Lillooet Patti LaPlaca

After 18 years in Lillooet, Patti LaPlaca jokes she’s still trying to decipher who’s related to who on the community family tree. There’s no time for that these days, with all her responsibilities as host at Cayoosh Creek Campground. To help out, her daughter Jillian (pictured with her mom) is also working there this season. For travelers arriving from 48

fresh produce.

They describe their first year in business as “amazing.” Dana says, “Our one-year anniversary was a real testament to how we were received. People were so generous. We met a lot of people and learned a lot about Lillooet. This is a very friendly community. We really appreciate how people look out for each other.”

Craig adds, “It’s got a great heart.

People have their values in the right place.” Dana continues, “I would

Vancouver, Lytton or Cache Creek, the campground is one of the first sights they see. This is LaPlaca’s fourth summer as host, and her clientele includes tourists (especially Europeans traveling in RVs), car clubs, motorcycle tours, hikers, construction workers and former residents visiting family or attending reunions.

“I figure last year, I spoke to 10,000 people,” says LaPlaca. “That’s people coming in asking questions, asking for visitor information, registering at

use another word for Lillooet, and that’s authentic. People are not afraid to say what they feel. The town is authentic. There’s not a lot of pretentiousness.” Craig continues the thought, “And we don’t want our bakery to be pretentious. The food is not about elitism at all. It’s about quality and being connected to a place. We call this the foodie frontier because there are a lot of people trying to live sustainably here. Not because it’s the trendy thing, it’s the way people live.” the campground, even some who are lost when they arrive at midnight. It’s incredible to meet so many people from so many places – Switzerland, Germany, Spain.”

When some tourists arrive here from Vancouver, their Lillooet stop is their first night in their rented motor home “and they can be confused - propane is usually an issue for them. A lot of them will say they’ve saved for 10 years to make this trip, so we want to help and make sure they have a good start to their holiday. It’s nice to make them feel welcome here.”

The campground offers a range of activities and services – “the best showers in B.C.” (according to customers) and gold panning on Cayoosh Creek. “They just can’t believe the scenery. And the people from Europe can’t believe there’s no one around.

They can walk for 10 minutes and not see anyone. That’s mind-boggling for them.”

Does she remember any particularly memorable guests? There was the time a pig stayed with his owners.

They walked him on a leash and he had his own pen when he wasn’t in the motor home. And a good visit was had by all.

Faces of Lillooet Bob Meredith

48 years ago, Bob Meredith loaded his ‘51 Chev with his fishing gear, tool box, stereo, skis, two pairs of jeans and his motorcycle and drove from Vancouver to Lillooet. His plan was to help his aunt for a couple of weeks at Cariboo Apiaries, the home of Golden Cariboo Honey.

Today, he’s 68 years old, has owned the business for decades and is looking forward in two years to his 50th anniversary as a beekeeper.

He once had 1,200 hives; now he’s down to 75. But that still represents thousands upon thousands of bees.

During the winter, there are about 20,000 bees in each hive. By summer, each hive holds 50,000 to 60,000 bees.

Meredith is proud of the alfalfa honey his bees produce. Because of the low moisture content in the local soil and Lillooet’s dry climate, the honey is thicker than other varieties.

It’s available at the Country Store, Lightfoot Gas, Old Airport Gardens, KC Health and Gifts and Fort Berens Estate Winery.

He adds that his customers are “incredibly loyal. Local people have

been very supportive and some regular customers will drive from Vancouver in the fall to stock up on pails of honey.” He also says, “Thanks to the bees, too!”

What does he love about Lillooet?

He leans forward as if he’s confiding a secret. Then he whispers “Peace and quiet.” Meredith adds, “I came here basically by mistake, but I’m addicted to the place and the weather. It’s been absolutely great, but when I get home at the end of the day, I’m tired.”

Faces of Lillooet

David and Michelle Harder

The personal touch is all-important for David and Michelle Harder, owners of the Reynolds Hotel since 1995. Some of their clientele are faithful customers who mail them postcards from home, return every year,

Being a beekeeper is tough, demanding outdoor work. And there are new challenges created by parasitic mites that make the bees more susceptible to disease. There are tunes when battling the mites and submitting lab samples can be a hit-andmiss proposition. That’s when he says he starts second-guessing himself and considering retirement. Then again, he learns “something every day. It’s still a learning experience after almost 50 years.”

request the same room and call the front-desk staff by name. “I think people appreciate when they come here that it’s not a big corporate operation,” explains Michelle.

“It’s family-run, there’s a personal connection and we give them little tips which they appreciate.”

David recalls the time he advised motorcyclists traveling through a paving zone on the Duffey Lake Road: “’When you get to the height by the lake, remember there isn’t a chunk of asphalt bigger than a manhole cover.’

When they got into town they said, ‘Holy crap, you weren’t kidding!’”

The Harders also give top marks to their staff: “If we didn’t have such good ambassadors, we wouldn’t be successful,” says Michelle. The Reynolds is a 10-room boutique hotel (every room is different). When they renovated, David says, “We knew we couldn’t make an older hotel look like a Holiday Inn.” Instead, they played up its unique local roots with a lobby featuring turn-of-the-lastcentury décor and a woodstove from Lillooet’s first adobe schoolhouse.

Their clientele includes tourists heading to Calgary or Vancouver, business travelers and overseas guests from the United Kingdom and Germany. “More of them are staying around longer to take in the wide in spaces. I suspect it’s the vastness of what we have here,” notes David. “And the wildlife – they want to see bears,” adds Michelle.

She enjoys living in Lillooet for “the slower pace. You can get anywhere in five minutes. There’s the scenery, of course, and the cost of living. And there’s the community itself. There are things that have happened in the community and people have really come together. In the city, I don’t think you would get that same level of support.”

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Faces of Lillooet Vivian Birch-Jones

Vivian Birch-Jones moved here in 1984 to work as a nurse in the hospital “just for the summer.” Like others who come here for a week or a season, she now calls Lillooet home.

One of the co-founders of the Lillooet Naturalist Society in 2002, today she is the organization’s energetic, dedicated longtime president. Although she’s quick to credit the contributions of other members, Birch-Jones has become the face and voice of the organization.

She’s taken the lead in numerous projects - partnering with the District of Lillooet and the Lions Club to build bat houses under the Old Bridge; publishing two editions of the Lillooet Hiking Guide; helping to compile the check list of the area’s 250 bird species; and “slogging” through grant applications to obtain funding to preserve and protect local wildlife habitat. She says her volunteer involvement with the Naturalists “keeps me busy and constructive.”

Birch-Jones also observes that the community has changed over the years. “I think over time people are recognizing that, for the long term, we can’t just rely on a single resource extraction industry. For example, tourism is something we can do in the long term. And I love the organic farming that’s happening here.”

She is proud of the evolution of the society - from a group of five people organizing a Christmas Bird Count to its role today as an umbrella organization that helped launch Split Rock Environmental, the Lillooet Regional Invasive Species Society, the Lillooet Agriculture and Food Society and LORCA (Lillooet Off-Road Cycling

Faces of Lillooet Chief Bill Machell

More than a decade ago, members of St’at’imic communities and neighbours from Lillooet joined forces to build a s7istken (underground pit house) at T’it’q’et. The project was under the leadership of Chief Bill Machell, 50

Association.)

Along the way, she has become an eloquent and passionate advocate for protecting the area’s bio-diversity.

She says, “I love the wilderness here. It’s a fabulous little town, with the most interesting people. We are close enough to so-called ‘civilization’ that if you need to go see a play or do something ‘city,’ it’s not that far, but we have this very peaceful place to come back to.” who served as T’it’q’et chief for 25 years. Chief Machell is proud of the project – as a re-creation of St’at’imc history and tradition, and as a symbol of co-operation and friendship. “It’s about caring and sharing,” he says.

While he is happy to volunteer to give free group tours of the lodgepole pine, fir and cedar s7istken (two weeks notice, please. Call him at 250-256-7814), he does not have the time to conduct individual tours.

For instance, before welcoming visitors he builds a fire and then has to wait six hours for the smoke to clear so that visitors are not rubbing their eyes throughout the tour.

S7istken (pronounced “ishkin”) were built to be used in the winter. The entire community would work to constuct the s7istken, first digging a shallow pit, then building a pyramid structure above it. The chimney hole was the entrance, with a ladder and a fire pit below. “I always ask myself ‘How did they do it without power tools back then?’” said Chief Machell.

His father-in-law and mother-in-law, Sam and Susan Mitchell, grew up early in the last century living in s7istken. “Sam was a great story-teller,” Chief Machell recalls, “He told me, ‘When we came out of there in the springtime, we were pretty ripe.’ There was no real bathing. He said it was tough gathering enough food for the winter. He explained that if there were a couple of good hunters, that’s what they did.

“If there were good gatherers, before the season ended that’s what they did. But it was really tough going – when you came out of there, you’d lost a few pounds.

And Susan Mitchell stated the same as Sam – that it was tough wintering in the s7istken.”

Brush up your St’at’imcets The ancestral language of the St’át’imc people is Lillooet (also known as St’at’imcets), a member of the Interior Salish group, which includes the languages of the neighbouring Secwepemc (Shuswap) and Nlaka’pamux (Thompson) peoples.

The Northern St’at’imc are comprised of the Xwísten (Bridge River), Sekw’el’wás (Cayoose Creek), T‘it’q’et (Lillooet), Xaxli’p (Fountain), Ts’kw’aylaxw (Pavilion) and Tsal’alh (Seton Lake) Bands.

The people of the six bands speak

the Upper dialect of the St’at’imc language.

There are certain sounds in St’at’imcets that cannot be replicated in the English language, so the following place names are as close as we can come for someone trying to pronounce St’at’imcets words for the first time.

Have a go!

Sekw’el’was - SHICK-wel-wash (the ‘wash” rhymes with dash). It means big rock broken in half or split rock.

St’at’imc – Stat-lee-m. This word came from an old location and refers to the 11 bands of the

St’at’imc Nation.

T’it’q’et - Tlee-it-cut. It means alkaline earth.

Tsal’alh - CHUH-lath. It means lake.

Ts’kw’aylaxw or Ts’ky’aylacw TS-KWHY-lux. It means frost on the ground.

Xaxli’p or Cacl’ep – HAA-clip. It means brow of the mountain.

Xwisten or Nxwisten – nHWAY-shtun. It literally means smiling place, but may derive from “Nxusesten” – place of foaming water And, referring to the neighbours: Nlaka’pamux – lng-khla-kap-muh.

Secwepemc – She-HUEP-muh or She-KWE-pem.

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Scenic Drives With four spectacular scenic drives reaching all corners of the Lillooet area, this is a circle-touring paradise.

Explore one scenic drive or use Lillooet as your base and explore all of them.

Coast Mountain Circle Tour

691 kilometres (429 miles) Three to seven days.

The round-trip loop from Lillooet to Vancouver provides some of the most beautiful vistas in southern British Columbia. Starting in Lillooet, this route follows the spectacular Duffey Lake Road (Highway 99), which winds through rugged wilderness, past snow-capped mountains and glacial lakes to Pemberton. It continues through the Coast Mountains and past the world-famous ski resort at Whistler on the newly upgraded Hwy. 99 to Squamish and the Pacific Ocean and then to Vancouver.

East of Vancouver, the trip north along the Trans-Canada Highway (Highway 1) provides a striking transformations in scenery as the metropolitan area gives way to the fertile agricultural heartland of B.C. the Fraser Valley.

Highway 1 follows the Fraser River and the old Cariboo Gold Rush Trail.

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With their pick-axes, gold pans and mules, prospectors in the 1850s and 1860s endured peril after peril to follow their dreams of gold to the Cariboo. Tunnels along the route are named for former Fraser River gold mining bars.

The region around Lytton and Lillooet offer another change of landscape. This semi-arid area receives less than 25 centimetres of rainfall annually and there’s a friendly rivalry between the two towns over which community can claim the title as Canada’s real hot spot.

Duffey Lake - Hurley River Road Circle Tour

Some seasonal roads (June to October), 281 km (174 miles): one day

The trip to Gold Bridge-Bralorne from Lillooet follows Highway 40, a mostly gravel road, along the steep canyon of the Bridge River.

Watch for wildlife and rocks. For a photo op, stop at the spectacular Horseshoe Bend, where the varied rocks and minerals in the hillside tell a fascinating geological story. The road hugs the shoreline of Carpenter Lake, formed by the construction of a hydroelectric dam on the Bridge River in 1948. Gold Bridge and Bralorne were home to the richest gold mine in Canada for 40 years, until the mine

closed in 1971.

The area is a hunting, fishing, snowmobiling and rockhounding paradise. The route continues over the Hurley Pass and down into the Pemberton Valley. The final leg of the journey returns to Lillooet via Highway 99 (Duffey Lake Road)

Fountain Valley

Year-round gravel road, 68 kilometres (42 miles) 2 ½ hours

Follow Highway 99 from Lillooet towards Cache Creek to start this tour.

Ten minutes out of Lillooet, to the left and across the Fraser River, are the Xwisten (Bridge River First Nation) fishing grounds. Local Aboriginal people fish for salmon here with dip nets, then cut the fish and hang it on racks to dry in the wind.

A right turn at the village at (Xaxli’p) Fountain Flats begins the ascent into Fountain Valley, with its beautiful mountain meadows and deciduous forests. Camping and picnicking spots are available at Fountain Lake. Another right turn onto Highway 12 affords a panoramic view of Fountainview Farms, B.C.’s largest grower of organic carrots. Not far north of the Fountain Valley Road intersection is the “Big Slide” ... so massive that the cost of widening the road through it is prohibitive. As a result, for a distance of 400 metres the road becomes one lane carved out of the cliff side. Imagine navigating this by wagon or mule!

Pavilion Mountain

245 kilometres (152 mile) one day

This Scenic Drive follows part of the original Cariboo Wagon Road/

Gold Rush Trail. Follow Highway 99 north from Lillooet to the aboriginal community of Ts’kw’axylaw (Pavilion).

Turn right and begin the climb to the plateau atop Pavilion Mountain (elevation 1520 metres).

The trip offers an exciting drive through the heart of the Diamond S Cattle Ranch, a producer of prime beef for more than a century that’s now raising organic beef. After descending from Pavilion Mountain, the route follows the shoreline of Kelly Lake. A picnic at inviting Downing Provincial Park allows time to enjoy the beauty of this tranquil valley. The road from Kelly Lake leads to Clinton, with its copper-colored mountains and many historic ranches.

On the return trip to Lillooet, drop in at historic Hat Creek Ranch, at the junction of Highways 97 and 99, for an old-fashioned western welcome.

Be sure to ask about the ghost lurking in the ranch house. Further along Highway 99, the unique limestone pillar of Chimney Rock can be seen to the right. Camping is available at Marble Canyon Provincial Park, and Pavilion and Crown Lakes are lovely places to swim or picnic.

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Things to Do Mark your calendar for these fun events: • Lillooet Farmers Market – opens Friday, May 5th • Federation of BC Naturalists AGM May 4 – 7 • Annual St’at’imc Gathering Xaxli’p May 9, 10 & 11 • Recycling Awareness Event – May 13 • Elks May Day Parade & Crowning of the May Queen – May 22 • Salmon in the Canyon – May 26 • National Aboriginal Day – June 21 • Canada Day in the Park – July 1 • Apricot Tsaqwem Festival – July 21 – 23 • Winners Edge Sturgeon Derby – July 22 • Route 99 Show N Shine/Drag Races July 29 & 30 • Lions Club Annual Fishing Derby August 13

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• Harvest Festival – September 9 • Halloween Fireworks and Haunted House Tour – October 31 • Lions Club Christmas Tree Light-up and Santa’s arrival – December 2 • Lillooet Naturalist Society Bird count – last week of December • Lions Club Annual Ice Fishing Derby – February 7 - depending on ice conditions • Bridge River Valley WinterFest – February BC Family Day weekend 2018 • Lillooet Memorial Curling Club April Fool’s Bonspiel, March 23, 24, 25, 2018

Cayoosh Creek Scenic campground on the shore of the Fraser River.

• RV sites (some pull-through) with 30 & 50 amp service.

• Non-serviced (tenting) sites.

• Sani-Dump service.

• Washroom facilities with hot showers, toilets and sinks.

• Each site has a picnic table and fire pit.

• Potable water sources are spread throughout the campground.

Phone: 250-256-7527 Toll Free: (877) 748-2628 Fax: 250-256-4037 Email: cayooshcreek@lillooetbc.ca

Geocaching in Lillooet Lillooet boasts many geocache sites to find that have breath taking views, cultural points of interest or historical significance. Come and seek the unique hidden treasures that are tucked away in the scenic District of Lillooet.

Fishing R ocks at X wisten Old Bridg e GC1TQF9 Lower Se ton GC1TTXQ Kaoham S Spawning Channe l GC1TT huttle RH Red Rock GC1VKHP Burkhold er Lake T GC1V1V4 rail Camelsfo ot Peak T GC3QN6R rail Horsesho e Bend Tra GC3QN8Q il Mission R idge Trail GC3QN7Z Pavilion L ake GC3QN60 Seton Rid ge Trail GC3P2XW GC3QN9X http://www.exploregoldcountry.com/things-to-do/geocaching/

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Photo: Squamish-Lillooet Regional District

LILLOOET LOVELILLOOET.COM While you explore our rugged landscape, discover our unique, local indie businesses!