Kitimat
Staff writer
If you've ever seen the show Northern Exposure, you're familiar with Cicely, Alaska; it's a pretty accurate representation of life in the North Country. So is Kitimat. And because of its remote location, it remains one of the last vestiges of old-country Canadian wilderness living.
Whether you're preference is to camp in a reasonably central location or to escape to the backwoods for seclusion and a back-to-nature experience, Kitimat and area offers plenty of both. In fact, the place is a paradox of sorts in that it offers pristine sandy beaches alongside rugged rocky coastline – a haven for wilderness photographers; the Geography of Kitimat is unusual because it's both an inland and a coastal town located at the tip of a deep Pacific Ocean inlet at the head of the Douglas Channel. This channel extends 140 km inland and slices right through the Coastal Mountain range.
Although it's located on B.Cs Northern Coast (accessed by road via Highway 37, south off Highway 16 near Terrace) the temperature and weather conditions do not seem to be a deterrent to the many fans of the place. During spring and summer months, the wilderness here is a virtual back-country rugged playground offering countless hiking excursions through forest and over terrain that is unparalleled. Beach combing, shell collecting, rock hounding, photography, hiking, world-class sport-fishing and seafood harvesting – there's enough to keep you busy for a lifetime.
Some highlights you'd be remiss not to check out:
- The Haisla Native village: canoes built by the Haisla are feats of engineering and perfectly suited to the ocean conditions here; totem poles record and preserve the history of this ancient place and of the indigenous people who've inhabited the land, streams and oceans here for more than 10,000 years; native carvings are the epitome of coastal first nations craftsmanship.
- Kitimat's 500-year-old Sitka spruce tree located in Radley Park, will blow you away with its sheer size and beauty. At more than 50 metres tall and over 11 metres in circumference, this particular tree was around when Columbus sailed and is the oldest Sitka spruce in BC.
- Eleven million juvenile salmon and steelhead are raised and released every year by the Kitimat River Fish Hatchery. Hatchery tours are available from May through to September.
- Wildlife include salmon, steelhead, migratory and over-wintering waterfowl, moose, grizzly and spirit bear (kermode) – extremely rare and not found anywhere else in the world, black bear, whale watching, eagles, seals, wolf, beaver and others.
- Annual Labour Day Fishing Derby.
- Some of the oldest stands of forest in the world, the area is host to the planet's largest intact coastal temperate rainforest. The Provincial Park here was erected to preserve and protect the breath-taking stand of 800-year-old trees.
- Hot Springs: Weewanie or Shearwater (Europa) Hot Springs.
- Excellent sport fishing, with more than 13 species of fish, including pacific salmon, chinook, blue-backs, steelhead, rainbow and others. The spring run of steelhead continues to mid-May, chinook salmon show up to the party late that same month and stick around to early July. Chum salmon arrive late in the month of July and into August; coho are around late August/early September. Check out the local tackle shops for tips, tricks and locations. Fish in the salt-chuck for snapper, cod and halibut
Important resources: Weather - Road conditions Dump stations