Must-see B.C. places

Fascinating destinations that take visitors into B.C.’s past

Silvery totem poles peek through the mists of Haida Gwaii. An abandoned rail track meanders along a Kootenay mountain pass. In Gastown, the perfume of gin lingers in a former bootlegger’s haunt.

Traces of the past are all over British Columbia, if you know where to look. B.C.’s 91 National Historic Sites, 10 Provincial Historic Sites and three UNESCO World Heritage Sites make it easy to journey back through the 150 years of Canada’s history in its westernmost province.

In 1867, British Columbia was still largely the home of indigenous peoples who had lived here for more than 13,000 years, but that was changing fast. It had been less than a century since Spanish Captain José María Narváez and British Captain George Vancouver became the first Europeans to truly explore this coast and already it was clear that nothing would be the same again.

By the time B.C. joined Confederation on July 20, 1871, Simon Fraser had already charted much of what was then known as the Columbia District.

The Hudson’s Bay Company had built its Fort Langley fur-trading outpost. The young colony had survived the gold rushes of the 1850s and 1860s. And, on the shores of Burrard Inlet, a loquacious Yorkshireman named “Gassy” Jack Deighton had opened a saloon in a logging camp that would grow up to become the City of Vancouver.

In the 150 years since Canada was born, and long before that, the history of British Columbia has been one of epic adventure, a tale that is at times tragic, sometimes heroic and occasionally scandalous.

Celebrate Canada 150 by becoming part of the adventure at these 10 great historical destinations.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF DESTINATION BRITISH COLUMBIA Tumbler Ridge in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains offers a glimpse into B.C.’s prehistoric past, when dinosaurs roamed the earth.