CENTRAL BRITISH COLUMBIA - British Columbia: Including the Alaska Highway - page 544

Western (1950 Hwy. 5 S.) and follow the marked trail 500 meters (0.3 mile) to a bird tower
for the best viewing opportunities.
Accommodations
M Mica Mountain Lodge (15658 Old Tete Jaune Rd., 250/566-9816 or 888/440-6422,
www.micamountainlodge.bc.ca , $155-165 s or d) is in a wilderness setting on the northwest
side of town. During summer, guests ride horses, canoe, fish, and mountain bike. Come
winter, it's cross-country skiing, dog sledding, and snowmobiling that are the major draws.
The cabins are charming and practical, with full kitchens, three-piece en suite bathrooms,
decks, TVs, and pine log beds. Irvin's Park and Campground (one kilometer/0.6 mile
north of town, 250/566-4781, www.irvinsrvpark.com , $25-36) has a few tent sites along
one side, but it's best suited for RVs and trailers.
Food
Cariboo Grill (1002 5th Ave., 250/566-8244, 4:30pm-10pm daily Dec.-mid-Oct., $15-34)
is in an oversized log building beyond the downtown core along 5th Avenue. It's a good
place for enjoying simple, hearty food, such as pastas, prime rib, steak, seafood, and a few
Canadian specialties, such as salmon baked in a creamy tarragon sauce and elk grilled with
sundried cranberries.
Information
Valemount Visitor Centre (785 Cranberry Lake Rd., 250/566-9893,
www.visitvalemount.ca , 10am-5pm daily May-Sept., extended to 9am-9pm July-Aug.) is
along Highway 5, across from the turnoff to downtown.
Valemount to Mount Robson
From the Yellowhead Highway junction 20 kilometers (12 miles) north of Valemount,
Prince George is 270 kilometers (168 miles) to the west, and the BC-Alberta border is
76 kilometers (47 miles) east. Although most of the distance to the border is through
Mount Robson Provincial Park, two worthwhile stops lie between the highway junction
and the park. The first of these is Rearguard Falls, a one-kilometer (0.6-mile) hike (20
minutes each way) from the highway. Eight kilometers (five miles) downstream from the
falls—some 1,200 kilometers (745 miles) up the Fraser River from the Pacific Ocean—is a
spawning ground for Pacific salmon; many of the hardy fish make it all the way to the falls.
Farther east along the highway is a viewpoint for Mount Terry Fox.