Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
8am-5:30pm daily mid-May-Aug., 10am-4:30pm Mon.-Fri. Sept.-mid-May), in the railway
station at NAR Park.
Getting There
Reaching Dawson Creek by road is easy—it just takes a long time. To get there from Van-
couver, head up Highway 1 and then Highway 97, allowing at least two days to complete
the 1,200-kilometer (746-mile) run. The only major city en route is Prince George, which is
400 kilometers (250 miles) southwest of Dawson Creek.
FORT ST. JOHN
As the second-largest community along the Alaska Highway (only Whitehorse, Yukon, is
larger), Fort St. John (pop. 17,500), 72 kilometers (45 miles) northwest of Dawson Creek,
is an important service center for local industries, including oil, gas, and coal extraction;
forestry; and agriculture. It's one of the province's oldest European settlements—the Beaver
and Sekani tribes both occupied the area when European traders arrived in the 1790s—and
served as a fur-trading post until 1823. But it wasn't until construction of the Alaska High-
way began that Fort St. John really boomed.
Sights
Fort St. John-North Peace Museum (9323 100th St., 250/787-0430, 8am-8pm daily in
summer, 9am-5pm Mon.-Sat. the rest of the year, adult $5, senior $4, student $3) is difficult
to miss as you drive through town—look for the outside exhibits, including a 40-meter-high
(130-foot-high) oil derrick. In the museum, local history springs to life with reconstructed
historical interiors. A trapper's cabin recalls the original Rocky Mountain fort and fur-trad-
ing days, while the pioneer days are commemorated in fully furnished rooms, including
a kitchen, bedroom, schoolroom, dentist's office, post office, outpost hospital, and black-
smith's shop. Don't miss the fur press, the birch-bark canoe, and the grizzly bear with claws
big enough to send shivers up your spine.
Peace River Canyon Lookout provides splendid panoramic views taking in the wide,
deep-green Peace River, its rocky canyon walls, and the lush fields along the canyon rim.
From the museum, head south along 100th Street, crossing the Alaska Highway and con-
tinuing along the gravel road, which ends at the edge of the canyon.
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