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Jerry W. Bird Air Highways logo

Merritt, BC's Country Music Capital.


The Merritt Mountain Music Festival has paid off year after year with a string of successful venues, and putting the town on the map. Surrounding Merritt are endless grasslands that have made the town a prime ranching centre. Located in the Nicola Valley, Merritt's trading area embraces Quilchena, Douglas Lake, Aspen Grove, Lower and Upper Nicola Lakes, Monck and Kentucky-Alleyne Provincial Parks. The Nicola Valley Pro Rodeo and Fall Fair is held every September on Labour Day weekend. Sports and outdoor enthusiasts will enjoy fishing, hiking, cross-country skiing, baseball, hockey, and horseback riding and cycling. Merritt is home of the University College of the Cariboo's Nicola Valley Institute of Technology. We will add much more including a full description of the Music Festival, plus a story on the Coquihalla Highway connection and how it brought some major changes to ther transportation scene in Interior British Columbia. South of Merritt, the next major stop is Hope.

Hope

Remember the rugged countryside where Rambo (Sylvester Stallone) led the law on a merry chase up and down the mountain slopes, between crevices and intimidating rock faces. That action movie was filmed in Hope and vicinity. What an ideal setting - the snowcapped Cascade Mountains, the mighty Fraser River flowing by, still bursting with energy from its trip through Fraser Canyon. Close to Hope, are the five Othello or Quintette Tunnels. Now a popular historic site, the railway tunnels were designed to bypass the Coquihalla Canyon. The trestles have been converted to walkways in what is now a provincial park. Hope was once a hub of the Kettle Valley Railroad &endash; whose route has become a favourite trip for hikers and railroad buffs. From Hope, you can visit Bridal Veil Falls - in the other direction is Hell's Gate with its popular Sky Tram.

Speaking of action, one can fish, hike, rent a mountain bike or skis, try their luck at panning gold, enjoy rock climbing, hang gliding, golfing, and white-water rafting. Hope has many attractions including chain-saw wood sculptures, an historic railway station, arts gallery and museum. Except at peak tourism season, there's an abundance of reasonably priced hotels, and motels for an overnight stay or a longer vacation.

From Hope, it's a pleasant drive through the Fraser Valley to Vancouver, Canada's third largest city, and an hour north of the United States border. For those going on to the USA, the border crossing at Sumas, Washington is about 3 hours drive from Seattle.

 

Profile to come