British Columbia Travel Guide
The unofficial BC Travel & Tourism Guide
Visitors traveling scenic Howe Sound and the Sea-to-Sky Highway 99 from Vancouver to Whistler will not want to miss the small seaside community of Britannia Beach, an old mining town that has in recent years received millions of dollars of special funding. The town sits at the base of the Britannia Range of mountains to the north and has spectacular views and sunsets across the waters of Howe Sound.

Highlights:
Britannia Beach is the site of the fascinating BC Mining Museum, designated a British Columbia Historic Landmark, and former location for several episodes of the famous TV Series, The X Files.
A 5 million upgrade to the museum exterior has been completed. The massive interior of the museum, built into the rock wall and historic extractor building, includes multimedia sound and light shows and an underground train ride.

History:
Britannia Beach has a checkered past, marked by huge successes – the site produced over 1.4 billion pounds of copper– and misfortunes - as the site of an avalanche in 1915, a flood in 1921, and significant environmental problems. However there are huge changes in place as the Britannia Project is underway. Federally funded and aimed for completion by the 2010 Winter Olympics, the project will transform the old mine site into a thriving village.

The plans include a revitalized waterfront including marina, a main street with shopping, art galleries and studios, a revitalized train station, an Earth Garden, which showcases a transformation from mine site to parklands, hiking trails into the backcountry, and many single family homes.

www.britanniaproject.com

 

Britannia Beach Accommodations


Britannia Beach Things to Do

BRITANNIA MINE MUSEUM, Britannia Beach

BRITANNIA MINE MUSEUM, Britannia Beach

BRITANNIA MINE MUSEUM

Britannia Beach, V0N 1J0, PO Box 188
Ph. 1-800-896-4044 or 604-896-2233

(Galleries/ Exhibits/Shows | Museum)