The North Thompson and Robson Valley region is two valleys at the northern end of the Thompson-Okanagan region of British Columbia. Its most prominent features are two provincial parks — Mount Robson Provincial Park with the highest peak in the Canadian Rockies and Wells Gray Provincial Park with lakes and waterfalls.
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Cities
North Thompson
- 1 Barriere
— a largely forestry industry town with several lake resorts nearby, and many recreational opportunities - 2 Blue River — world-famous heli-skiing
- 3 Clearwater — the main gateway to Wells Gray Provincial Park and some white water rafting companies; it has the largest range of accommodation options if you want to stay in the Wells Gray area but don't want to camp in the park
Robson Valley
- 4 McBride — a farming community with excellent trails for cross-country skiing, snowmobiling and hiking, and lots of opportunities for ice fishing, camping, fishing and bird watching
- 5 Tete Jaune Cache — a small community with a couple of provincial parks close by and a good spot to see salmon spawning in August
- 6 Valemount — a world-class snowmobiling destination
Other destinations
- 1 Mount Robson Provincial Park — Over 100 km of hiking trails and crowned by Mount Robson, the highest point in the Canadian Rockies. There are both drive-in and backcountry campsites but no lodges.
- 2 Wells Gray Provincial Park — 540,000 hectares of outdoor splendor. Contains five large lakes, waterfalls higher than Niagara, and several glaciers.
Understand
Get in
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By car
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travels north from Kamloops through the North Thompson river valley and joins the Yellowhead Highway (BC Hwy 16) just north of Valemount. The Yellowhead Highway.svg/18px-BC-16_(TCH).svg.png){kind=small}
travels east-west from Prince George through the Robson Valley to Jasper and eventually Edmonton.
By train
Via Rail provides commercial rail travel from Edmonton and Vancouver with signal stops in Valemount and Clearwater.
By plane
The nearest airports with scheduled flights are in Kamloops (YKA IATA) and Prince George (YXS IATA).
Get around
See
- Take in the view of Mount Robson in Mount Robson Provincial Park. Its distinctive peak can be seen from the highway or you can do a hike to get a closer look. It is rare to see this mountain completely cloud-free, but if you do see it on one of those rare bluebird days you will instantly know you are seeing something special.
- Helmcken Falls in Wells Gray Provincial Park is the fourth-highest waterfall in Canada and viewable from the main access road into the park. There are other remarkable waterfalls in Wells Gray Provincial Park.
- Little Hells Gate is a narrows on the North Thompson River. It may not be as impressive as its namesake in the Fraser Canyon, but is still a pleasant spot to have a picnic and snap some shots.
- Visit a local history museum in McBride and Valemount.
- Watch salmon swim upstream to spawn in August/September in Tete Jaune Cache or Valemount.
Do
- Do a hike to see waterfalls, mountain lakes, alpine meadows and stunning scenery. Both Mount Robson Provincial Park and Wells Gray Provincial Park have everything from short day hikes to multi-day backcountry expeditions.
- Whitewater Rafting on the North Thompson River from Clearwater or the Fraser River from Tete Jaune Cache.
Stay safe
Be aware of wildlife, avalanche hazards, and adverse driving conditions.
Go next
- Jasper National Park — Eastward on the Yellowhead Highway is the largest of Canada's Rocky Mountain Parks with stunning mountains, glaciers, alpine meadows and wild rivers. Check out the town of Jasper or explore the beauty of the park through its hiking trails, spectacular mountain drives and sights like the Columbia Icefield and Maligne Lake.