Princeton, British Columbia

Today, agriculture, tourism and cattle ranching are mainstays of the local economy.

Population: 2,687

Location: Princeton is located at the junction of Highway 3 and Highway 5A, 83 miles (133 km) northeast of Hope and 70 miles (112 km) west of Penticton.

• Princeton is beautifully situated in the foothills of the Cascade Mountains

  The Princeton Museum has a number of fascinating artifacts, photographs, historical displays and one of the best collections of fossils in British Columbia. It includes the first fossilized evidence of a citrus fruit, the first apple, and the first salmon.

• Bring your rod to Princeton, as there are more than forty good trout fishing lakes in the area, as well as the Similkameen and Tulameen rivers.

• One of the legendary characters from Princeton's past was the greatly admired and respected Mr. George Edwards. Turns out Mr. Edwards robbed trains for a living, counting the Canadian Pacific Railway, Wells Fargo, and other American railways amongst his victims. The notorious Bill Miner was the first train and coach robber in North America before settling into his hideout in the hillside near Princeton Castle. Rumours have it that his unfound treasure still resides there!

• Historical sites in the area include 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, Blakeburn, the home of an underground coal mine in the early 1900s, Coalmont, named after the coal deposits mined after the gold at Granite City ran out, Tulameen, originally known as Otter Flats, and Hedley, site of famous Nickel Plate Mountain. You can also meander along the Historic Walk around downtown Princetown, a centre for mining in the old days, and discover a bit about the town's history and heritage, with a short story about each site.

• Manning Provincial Park, southwest of Princeton

  Keep the gold you find on three proven Placer claims on great Gold Panning Tours out of Princeton.

• Otter Lake Provincial Park is a local favourite for picnics, fishing, swimming, boating, and water skiing, and Allison Lake Provincial Park is great for picnics, fishing, boating and swimming.

• Hiking trails are the chief draw of the Manning Provincial Park, boasting more than 66,000 hectares of rugged wilderness in the heart of the Cascade Mountains. The park features tremendously diverse landscapes and plentiful flora and fauna, and is perhaps best known for its magnificent midsummer displays of subalpine flowers. Hikers challenge the Blackwell Peak and Three Brothers Mountain, one of Canada's finest areas of subalpine meadows accessible by vehicle. Manning contains sections of the National Trail, which enters the park from Cathedral Provincial Park, and is the start of the Pacific Crest Trail, which runs for 4,000 km all the way to Mexico. Wilderness camping is permitted in designated areas, and four campgrounds are available; Hampton, Mule Deer, Coldspring and Lightning Lake Campground, which is especially popular. Horseback riding has been traditional on the park's historic trails, and half a dozen mountain bike trails are open to mountain bikers. Lightning Lake offers good swimming, canoeing and fly fishing for rainbow trout. Manning Park straddles Highway 3 between Hope and Princeton.

• Another local attraction is Castle Park, which houses the ruins of the Portland Cement Plant, built between 1904 and 1908. The planned Great Cement City cost over a million dollars, claimed a number of lives, and took thousands of man-hours to construct. The colossal architectural achievement, now called Princeton Castle, was in operation for only nine short months before the dream fell into silence when the plant was closed down due to a shortage of coal and limestone.

• Manning Park Resort in the Cascade Mountains offers downhill skiing and snowboarding, and more than 100 km of ungroomed trails that accommodate all levels of cross-country skiers and snowshoers. Located between Hope and Princeton, Manning Park Resort is considered the premier cross-country and snowshoeing destination in southwestern British Columbia. The Gibson Pass Ski Area is located in Manning provincial Park. Skiing and Winter Recreation in the Thompson Okanagan.

• For a refreshing dip in the Similkameen River on a hot summer day, stop at Stemwinder Provincial Park, although only very good swimmers should brave the fast waters here. Watch out for poison ivy along the riverbank. Stemwinder is popular as a picnic spot for travellers along Highway 3 toward Hedley, offering vehicle/tent campsites.

• Twenty kilometres east of Hedley is Bromley Provincial Park , a popular swimming hole on the Similkameen River, with a large picnic/day-use area and vehicle/tent campsites in a pleasantly forested setting. Hiking in the area just outside the park affords good views of the Similkameen Valley. Canoeing is also popular here, providing a downstream route to Stemwinder Provincial Park.

• Golf: The Princeton Golf Club is a gorgeous 18-hole, par 72, public golf course located about three minutes east of Princeton. The course presents a challenge for almost every level of player, with intimidating Ponderosa Pines lining the long, rolling fairways. The beautiful scenery that surrounds the course only adds to the truly unique experience of playing the Princeton Golf Course. Facilities include a driving range, putting and chipping green, and RV hook-up service outside the club house for travelling guests. Golf Vacations in British Columbia.

• The Kettle Valley Rail bed and the secondary logging roads provide excellent mountain biking trails for cycling enthusiasts. For more recreation in the Thompson Okanagan.

• Rated beginner to expert, the Tulameen and Similkameen Rivers offer more than 75 km of excellent canoeing and kayaking on 2 to 6 hour runs. Or try tubing the rivers on a hot summer day, there's nothing like it!

• Cross-country skiers of all levels should head for China Ridge Trails, covering open forests and fields, broad ridges and logging roads on maintained and marked trails. The Princeton area also offers lots of rolling hills for tobogganing fun.

• Dogsledding and Skijoring are great activities for winter enthusiasts and dog lovers.