We had planned on spending a few days in Tulameen last
summer but the forest fires were close so we decided we would wait for another
year. This year the plan was made and
anyone we spoke to about going had only good words to say about Tulameen. We were excited to meet up with our friends there and enjoy our
stay.
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| Tulameen River |
We passed through some very pretty scenery, still lots of
green in the surrounding hills and no fires in the area. It had been many years since we had travelled
on this stretch of highway so all sights were new. We leave the main road at Princeton and head
up to Tulameen.
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| Tulameen Valley |
The drive to Tulameen was pretty, at least from a passengers
viewpoint. We were making our way on
some narrow roads high above the Tulameen River but with not a lot of traffic
and paved all the way, an easy drive, as long as the driver keeps his eyes on
the road! lol
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| Coalmont Welcome Signs |
Coalmont was the first sign of a settlement and whoever
paints their signs has a good sense of humor.
There were a few of them that caught my eye.
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| Downtown Coalmont |
I am not sure what this small group is about but the Post
Office, moved here from another sight, no longer has the ‘Post’ but is an
office.
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| Historic Coalmont Hotel |
The old Coalmont Hotel would have some very interesting
stories to tell if she could talk.
Coalmont was established in 1911 at the end of the Granite Creek gold
rush and with the mountain of coal bringing many. The population in Canada at that time was 7
million and 103 of them lived here.
There were still 100 residents in 2011 for their Centennial year when
there were now 34 million in Canada. The
little town of Coalmont just wouldn’t die.
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| The Last Resort |
There is a provincial park at Tulameen, very well used but
we chose the Last Resort RV Park. It is
small but a nice spot not far from the Otter Lake, basically in the town area
and with very hospitable hosts. We had
some chilly windy hours but most of our stay was warm and we had a great time.
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| Otter Lake |
Otter Lake is quite a good size about 6 km long and is lined
with many holiday cabins as well as permanent large homes. The weekend was very busy with power boats
and seadoos but for our walk along the shores, it was a calm quiet lake. The fishing is also good but one must bring
their own boats, we found no rentals there.
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| The Great Trail on the KVR passes by Otter Lake |
The old railway bridge at the end of the lake is part of the
old Kettle Valley Railway and the Trans Canada Trail used as a bike trail for the
adventurous. The 18 km of the Trans
Canada Trail from Princeton to Coalmont is considered by some to be the most
spectacular portion of the whole KVR bed, running through the Tulameen River
Valley and open year round.
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| Tulameen Museum |
The little school, built about 1920 was moved to this
location and restored in 2000. It is the
museum and full of antiques, which we viewed through the dusty windows. The museum was not open and showed no signs
it would be.
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| Downtown Tulameen |
Tulameen, known as Otter Flats during the early days has an
interesting history. The first European
to cross the Cascade Mountains was a Hudson’s Bay employee looking for a route
to take the horses over so furs could be moved from Fort Kamloops to the
coast. Thanks to the native guides who
showed the way, he was able to do that.
Once he got to Otter Lake from Fort Hope, Similkimeen Chief Blackeye told
him the easiest way over the mountains and the ‘Blackeye Trail’ became known as
the ‘Brigade Trail’ from 1849-1860. This
allowed the fur trading to survive in BC.
