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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
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