Nestled in beautiful Similkameen Valley in the west Okanagan, Otter Lake and the surrounding area is rich in history with many things to see. The Otter Lake Cabins are a short 5 minute walk into Tulameen. There, you can visit the general store or tour the local museum. If you are looking for more adventure, there also are many things to see within a half hour drive of Otter Lake Cabins.
OTTER LAKE
Pristine Otter Lake is approximately 4-1/2 km long and fed by fresh mountain runoff and natural spring water. Located on the east end of the lake is Otter Lake Provincial Park surrounded by the Cascade Mountain Range. Large numbers of otter, beaver and red squirrel inhabit the area, as well as, mountain goats, cougars and grizzly bears. This very popular lake covers about 290 hectares (716 acres) at an elevation of 823 m (2700 ft.) It is a great recreational lake for swimming, water-skiing and fishing for laketrout, rainbow, brook trout and kokanee. The town of Tulameen is located at the west end of the lake. A scenic 2 hour bike ride will take you around the lake, along the Trans Canada Trail, and stopping for ice-cream in Tulameen.
COALMONT
Named after the coal deposits mined after the gold at Granite City ran out. Coalmont is a small town with heritage buildings such as the Coalmont Hotel.
GRANITE CITY (once BC’s third largest city):
Historical sites in the area include remains of gold-rush-era houses and Granite Creek founded by Johnny Chance when he stopped here for a drink of water and discovered gold nuggets lying at the bottom of the creek. |
|
PRINCETON
Has a population of approximately 2,800 in the town and about 5,000 in the area. The town has 17 restaurants, six gas stations, a supermarket, several convenience stores, pharmacy, museum, library, hospital and medical clinic. The town boasts an 18-hole golf course, a world-class fossil collection and panning rights to portions of the Similkameen and Tulameen Rivers. It’s handy to four provincial parks, two ghost towns and the Mascot Gold Mine. There are many recreational services such as a nine-hole golf course, horse race track, rodeo grounds, swimming pool, bowling alley, curling rink and arena, the Snowpatch Ski Resort, China Ridge Cross Country Ski Trails and excellent camping facilities. Families can enjoy an afternoon of tubing on the Similkameen River and both the Similkameen and Tulameen Rivers are suitable for kayaking, canoeing and whitewater rafting. Many local lakes offer good fishing (guided excursions are available) but water skiing is best done at Otter Lake, Allison Lake or Missezula Lake.
www.townofprinceton.com
|
TULAMEEN
The community of Tulameen in the Okanagan is located on Otter Lake in the Tulameen Valley, northeast of Vancouver. The historic gold, platinum, and coal mining town has long been one of British Columbia's popular recreational areas, offering hiking, fishing, canoeing, tubing, swimming, water-skiing, cross-country skiing, gold panning, and many other activities. The community of Tulameen and the Tulameen River derive their name from a Thompson Indian word meaning red earth. A steep bank of the Tulameen River four miles north of Princeton was the source of the much-prized red ochre for which the Indians travelled from afar. The settlement of Tulameen was earlier known as Campement des Femmes, or Otter Flat. Sits between the eastern bank of the Tulameen River and the Southern end of Otter Lake. There are about 250 residents here but this number grows in the summer months. The Tulameen General Store has gas pumps and food. There is also a restaurant, post office, liquor store, video rentals, bike rentals (Crossroads Bike Rentals), community centre, outdoor skating rink, library, volunteer fire department, and skidoo dealer & repair centre. www.tulameenbc.com |
|
|
