Northern British Columbia 2008 Travel Guide

North East Prince George BRITISH COLUMBIA lumber, Prince George’s forest industry took root. By 1981, it was the second largest city in B.C. Despite changes wrought by forest industry consolidation, globalization and B.C.’s mountain pine beetle epidemic, wood remains the city’s primary economic driver. Lumber and pulp mills here are among the world’s most innovative. Meanwhile, manufacturing and services, such as call centers, have also grown in importance, as have mining exploration and development. Many believe Prince George’s future is tied to untapped oil reserves in the Nechako Basin. Prince George continues to flower in other respects. Its active, sport-loving citizens are enthusiastic supporters of Western Hockey League Prince George Cougars and the BCHL Prince George Spruce Kings. The city regularly hosts high-profile athletic events, such as the 2005 Canadian Cross-Country Ski Championships and the 2007 Royal Bank Cup National Junior A Hockey Championships. Ethnic restaurants, specialty stores, and diverse cultural activities cater to increasingly cosmopolitan tastes of Prince Georgians. Convenient air links and the recent shooting of three feature films has made Prince George increasingly attractive to film production crews. And the city has been revitalized by the 1994 opening of the University of Northern B.C. Its satellite campuses and outreach efforts are jumpstarting academic achievement throughout northern B.C., and this academic newcomer has already been recognized as one of Canada’s top-ranked small universities. As the geographic heart of B.C., Prince George has a solid claim to the title of B.C.’s northern capital. Located at the convergence of Highways 97 and 16, north/south- and east/west-bound railways, and the Nechako and Fraser Rivers, it is a major hub of transport, commerce, services and culture. The region was first inhabited by the Lheidli T’enneh, a Carrierspeaking First Nation. Their first recorded contact with European colonizers may have been 1793, when Scottish explorer Alexander Mackenzie canoed past Prince George. But it was fur trader Simon Fraser, in 1807, who built a fur trading outpost on the group’s traditional territory and named it Fort George, in honour of King George III. The post remained comparatively isolated until 1903, when plans for a link to the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway (later CN Rail) began to fuel land speculation and agricultural settlement. In 1915, the city of Prince George was incorporated, and is thought to be named after the fourth son of King George V. Prince George struggled over the difficult years of the Great War, a Spanish Flu epidemic in 1918, and the Great Depression. But its economy sprang to life in World War II, when a new army camp of 6,000 soldiers bolstered demand for services. As post-war reconstruction efforts fuelled a growing international demand for 10 North East British Columbia www.Norther nBCtourism.com http://www.sandmanhotels.com http://www.sandmanhotels.com http://www.northernbctourism.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Northern British Columbia 2008 Travel Guide

Northern British Columbia 2008 Travel Guide Contents Northern BC Introduction North East - British Columbia North West - British Columbia Northern BC Map - Regional Area Northern BC Golf - Special Feature Haida Gwaii / Queen Charlotte Islands - British Columbia Outdoor Adventure Guide Travel Information - Things You Should Know Advertiser Directory

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