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Fort
St. John
The
City of Fort St. John is located 75 km (47 miles) north of Dawson
Creek and 382 km (239 miles) south of Fort
Nelson on the Alaska Highway, Hwy 97.
Fur
Trading Post
Fort St. John was originally established in 1794 as a fur trading
post for the Northwest Company called Rocky Mountain House, making
it the oldest established European community in B.C.
Hudson's
Bay Company
In time the trading post changed numerous locations, names and,
eventually, ownership to the Hudson's Bay Company who decided on
the name Fort St. John in 1821.
'Energetic
City'
Fort St, John is sometimes referred to as the 'Energetic City.'
The reason for all of this optimism is that Fort St. John has traditionally
relied on the oil and natural gas industries since 1951 and lately
business has been booming. Jobs are plentiful, the population young,
good real estate sales and the energy of the people does not seem
to slow down.
Shopping
Centres
Fort St. John, besides having high employment, has a downtown that
is starting to show signs of prosperity with ongoing building projects
and improvements noted everywhere. You can find new restaurants,
shopping centres and coffee shops in redeveloped parts of the city.
If you're looking for a Starbucks
coffee, try visiting the Safeway where there is an outlet.
North
Peace Museum
One thing you'll want to do in Fort St. John is to visit the North
Peace Museum. The Museum is located just off the Alaska Highway
on 100th Street going north. Look for the large oil derrick and
parking lot towards the right.
Heritage
Kiosk Walking Tour
For other local heritage sights, Fort St. John has set up in the
streets a kiosk walking tour that takes you around to the various
points of history and interest. As you walk the tour the kiosks
have old photographs depicting past events and happenings regarding
Fort St. John, especially with the building and construction of
the Alaska Highway.
Fort
St. John AirShow
One event you'll want to attend is the Fort St. John AirShow. Usually
a participant at the air show is the air show team called the Canadian
Snowbirds, a world-class show and a number of individual performances.
Other things planned for the Fort St. John AirShow include a number
of specialty acts including the AV8FX Team.
Outdoor
Recreation
The outdoor recreational opportunities around Fort St. John are
endless. From playing golf, hiking, mountain biking, fishing and
hunting in the summer and fall to unbelievable snowmobiling, snow-shoeing
and cross-country skiing in the winter.
Fish
Creek Community Forest
To get out for walks and explore nature all you have to do is visit
the Fish Creek Community Forest where you'll find lots of woodland
trails available. The entrance to the park is found off East Bypass
Road. To get here travel 2 km (1.2 miles) from Fort St. John on
100th Street to get to East Bypass Road.
Charlie
Lake
Another great recreational area found close by is at Charlie Lake,
situated just north of Fort St. John by 10 km (6 miles). Here you
can find wildlife viewing, hiking, boat launching, swimming, canoeing,
kayaking and fishing.
Charlie
Lake Provincial Park
Charlie Lake also features Charlie Lake Provincial Park which has
a few trails and some large private campsites if would like to explore
and stay the night.
North
Peace Leisure Pool
Situated in Centennial Park next to the North Peace Museum, the
North Peace Leisure Pool is an indoor recreational facility that
contains some of the best water facilities in the Peace Region.
Complete with hot tub, competition pool and therapeutic pools, it
is just one of the facilities found at Centennial Park.
Centennial
Park
Other recreational facilities at Centennial Park include: the North
Peace Arena home to the Fort St. John Huskies a Junior B team in
the Northwest Junior Hockey League (heard live on Moose FM); the
Fort St. John Curling Club which has an eight-sheet curling rink;
and, for kids, the Fort St. John Skateboard Park.
High
on Ice Winter Carnival
This annual event in January has both professional and amateur ice
carving competitions taking place as the main attraction. The High
on Ice Winter Carnival also features curling bonspiels, an ice fishing
derby, sleigh rides, snow golf, toboggan races, and many more winter
events that you and your kids will enjoy.
Peace
River
For people who love jet-boating, there are some excellent opportunities
found on the Peace River just south of here at Taylor.
Once at Taylor cross over the Peace River on the Taylor Bridge to
find a boat launch at Taylor Landing Provincial Park. From here
the jet-boating is great, especially down to Peace River Corridor
Park and Kiskatinaw River.
BC
Hydro
If you happen to be travelling to Fort St. John, try to include
visiting and viewing the power installations of BC Hydro at Hudson's
Hope. You have to travel north through Charlie Lake then turn
on Hwy 29 up the Peace River to Hudson's Hope and then travel 22
km (13 miles) to W.A.C. Bennett Dam to view one of the world's largest
earthen dams.
Site
C - Power Project
While travelling the Peace River Valley on Hwy 29 from Charlie Lake
turnoff to Hudson's Hope, you can view the planned reservoir for
an on-again/off-again project called Site C. Site C is still in
the planning stage and waiting government approval.
New
Dam 6 km (4 miles) from Fort St. John
The controversial plans are to build a new dam about 6 km (4 miles)
south-east of Fort St. John on the Peace River. The new dam would
be just upstream from the mouth of the Moberly River and flooding
the Peace River Valley up to just downstream from Hudson's Hope.
Information
on Fort St. John
RV
Campgrounds
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