Fort St. John, BC

Population: 18000

Highlights:
Summertime gives ample opportunity for everything from golf, at the exceptional 18-hole Lakepoint Club, to wilderness camping. Fishing and hunting, river rafting and kayaking, canoeing or rock-climbing, Fort St. John offers endless outdoor excitement. In the winter, enjoy snowmobiling on the Red Creek Trail on Charlie Lake, snowshoeing and cross-country ski at Beatton Provincial Park and the Fish Creek Community Forest, or downhill skiing at Powder King in the Pine Pass.

If you prefer to stay indoors, there is an excellent museum recalling the area’s fascinating native and pioneering past, and the North Peace Cultural Centre, with its art gallery, library, and 400 seat theatre for music, dance and special events. The city also has wonderful indoor recreation facilities including a wave pool, water slides and a hockey and curling rink.

History:
Settlement in the area extends back over 10,000 years, making it the oldest Native settlement in BC. Shortly after the arrival of Alexander McKenzie in 1793, the North West Company began fur trading and in 1861 gold was discovered. Fort St. John boomed after the wartime completion of the Alaska Highway in 1942. In recent times, the area’s vast oil and natural gas reserves, forest resources, and thriving agriculture, pump billions of dollars into the province’s economy each year. With an average age of only 29, Fort St. John is a thriving family oriented city, and is able to provide a high standard of living to its population of 18,000.