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Atlin, BC
View of town from the ship
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Atlin, BC
Arts Festival bench
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Atlin, BC
Atlin Mountain rock glacier
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Atlin, BC
Atlin sunset with seaplane
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Atlin, BC
Funky house in Atlin
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Atlin, BC
Globe Theatre
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Atlin, BC
MV Tarahne
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Atlin, BC
Warm Bay camping
Story & photos By Barb Rees
“Atlin is the most beautiful place on earth; in any season, in any weather.” Their motto is “Beyond Comparison. Beyond belief, but not beyond your reach.” It may seem out of our reach as British Columbia’s (BC) most northwesterly town so why would you make a 100 km detour?
Because of its location it is more of a Yukon town than a BC town. The only road in is from Highway 1, which we followed west from Watson Lake, YK. It’s 100 km from Jake’s Corner on #7 South. Snafu Lake Territorial Campground and Tarfu Lake Campground in the Yukon each offers ten dry-camping sites suitable for smaller rigs, and ten tenting sites. Atlin Provincial Park has seven campgrounds on the shores of Atlin Lake.
Atlin Lake begins north of the BC border, at 6.5 wide by 137 km long with mountains towering over it. Atlin comes from the Tlingit word “Aa Thlein” meaning Big Lake. A sign welcomes us to Taku Tlingit territory and totem poles greet us at the Atlin entrance.
Atlin is unincorporated, which for them means there isn’t a local government, mayor or council. It doesn’t fit into the boxes and they like it that way. As Sue says, “It just is!” I admire a little town run by volunteers whose motive is to make their community a better place and keep it going.
During the 1898 Klondike Gold Rush it was a bustling town of 10,000 compared to today’s population of about 400-500. It still attracts gold seekers. The population is a melting pot of miners, hunters, guides, artists, authors, pilots and those who love life far from the city.
The town swells to 2,500 during the Atlin Arts and Music Festival held for three days the second weekend in July. Art benches are painted each year. It’s best to make camping reservations well ahead if you are coming that week.
We head out to Warm Bay Recreation Site, 24 km down the gravel Surprise Lake Road. There are five sites, which in the summer are full most of the time. With our 24 ft rig snuggled in among lush forest alongside Atlin Lake, we raise a toast to being here. By 9:30 pm (mid-August) the last of the evening light over the mountains paints a swath of gold across the water.
Birch Mountain on Teresa Island is 2,059 m (6,775 ft) tall, the highest point of land on a fresh water island in the world. A little farther down the road is Grotto Recreation Site with three campsites by the road. Grotto Creek pours out of a grotto in the side of the hill. Beyond this point the road isn’t maintained. On the way into town we pass Pink Creek Campground with sites at $10.
Magnificent Llewellyn Glacier drapes the tops of the mountains. Maybe a glacier tour by floatplane is in order. Directly across from Atlin on Atlin Mt. is a ‘rock glacier’ (not an ice glacier). In March, snowmobilers enter the Atlin Mountain Hill Climb Challenge for 1,340 m of vertical climbing. Yikes!
Norseman RV Park & Marina is the only serviced campground in the area but has no sani-dump. A lakeshore site with a million dollar view cost a mere $20 with 30-amp power and $5 for internet. Call Norm for reservations: 250-651-7533.
A guided walking tour with Patricia gives us more insight into the town. The town’s historical buildings are a story unto themselves, like the pyramid shaped building constructed by a holistic doctor. Patricia takes us on board the MV Tarahne, a 25-metre ship built in 1917. After it was retired it sat unused until 1985 when volunteers started the restoration.
The old jail built in 1902 is the oldest single cell jail in Canada. We pass Kershaw’s Hardware (1916), Garrett Store (1917), Globe Theatre (1916) with a button-tufted ceiling, and the Old Courthouse, which is now an art gallery. In the early morning light a couple go for a chilly dip, and a floatplane loads up. I stand in the rain in my housecoat taking pictures of it as it leaves. We’ll be back in 2017. Atlin is so worth the detour.
Barb Rees is a speaker, customer service trainer, and author of five RV Canada books from the working holidays her and husband Dave have made from coast to coast to coast of Canada. She presents at the RV Lifestyle Seminars in Kelowna annually. Her books can be found at: www.write2dream.com