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Princeton (populaton 2,677) is a small town in a beautiful setting with a long and colourful heritage. Visitors are attracted to its natural sights, parks and wildlife. They come for hiking, mountain biking and cross-country skiing and are drawn to discover the town's rich historical and heritage sites.
Set at the forks of the Tulameen and Similkameen rivers, surrounded by dry grasslands and highland plateau country with the Cascade Mountains rising to the west, nature is such a close and constant presence that it's not uncommon to spot deer on residential streets.
Swimming, canoeing and kayaking, tubing and camping are all popular on waterways and in the region's six provincial parks. Trout wait to tease anglers in no fewer than 49 easily accessible fishing lakes. An 18-hole golf course is located minutes from downtown, while the Trans Canada Trail and a host of other trails appeal to hikers, mountain bikers and horseback riders.
In winter, the China Ridge Trails attract cross-country skiers and snowshoers, while Manning Park Resort in the Cascade Mountains 66.7km/41mi to the west is also a great venue for downhill skiers and snowboarders.
Drive into Princeton and immediately get the feeling of a western mining town with false-front buildings and covered sidewalks. A downtown walking tour that features heritage buildings and murals, wraps up at the excellent Princeton Museum. Beyond the town limits, visitors can discover the ghosts of once-booming mining towns and plunge into the cold, black tunnel of the Mascot Gold Mine.
A short distance from downtown, the brilliant red wall of Ochre Bluff rises above the Trans Canada Trail, testament to the ageless tradition of First Nations mining. Ochre was an important trade commodity and was used to paint pictographs on rock faces throughout the region. In nearby Hedley, the culture of the Similkameen people is further explored at the Snaza'ist Discovery Centre, base station for the Mascot Mine Tour.
Rock hounds find many interesting crystals and fossils in the Princeton area. For those who don't want to prospect in the field, the museum houses excellent exhibits of glow-in-the-dark crystals, lifelike fossils and the renowned Joe Pollard rock collection.
Source: Tourism British Columbia
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