Princeton, B.C., …Small Town Beauty!

We arrived in Princeton on July 28. The drive here was incredibly beautiful but Barry really had to pay attention ! We spent about half of our drive either climbing up steep elevations or driving down from those elevations on the steep and twisty section of Highway 3 (Crowsnest Highway). Also, the heat of the day 37C added to the struggle for Bernie while climbing and descending. Thank goodness we have a TPMS (tire pressure monitoring system), which allows us to know tire temperatures and actually sounds an alarm if the temps of the tires exceed what the TPMS is set to and therefore hopefully avoiding a tire blowout. Barry is an incredible driver and knows our systems well. Thank God! Our temps got too high at one point and we were able to pull over to let the tires cool down. We were only about ½ hour from Princeton so we didn’t have far to go.

Princeton is a small town with a population of less than 3,000 located in the Similkameen region of southern B.C. where the Similkameen and the Tulameen Rivers converge. Princeton is not only recognized as the Bronze Statue Capital of Canada but Princeton and surrounding areas are also known for great outdoor recreation, which of course we love and took advantage of!

So interesting bit of history, Princeton used to be known as Vermillion Forks. Beginning in around 1846, fur traders, settlers and miners established trails connecting Vermillion Forks to the Pacific Coast of BC. In 1858 John Allison became the first permanent settler of European ancestry and he renamed the town Prince Town, which was later corrupted to Princeton to honour an 1860 visit to eastern Canada by King Edward VII.

We stayed at the Princeton Golf Resort, which was basically a gravel parking lot. RVs were close, and the first few days were very hot (mid to high 30s)!! What was nice was at the back of Bernie we were looking over the golf course. It was kind of cool to watch people out golfing and having way too much fun! Lots of wet towels and misters!!

Everywhere we have visited we find a beautiful area, path, road to take Merlot for his morning walk, sometimes twice. Need to hit 10,000 steps before noon in that heat! We were fortunate that there was a beautiful, very quiet road that ran parallel to the golf course for a while and then somewhat in the trees after that. Not much traffic, which was awesome.

A few days in, funny enough, Barry received a text from our friends we visited in Kamloops asking if we were staying at the Princeton Golf Resort. They were golfing at Princeton and saw Bernie (kayaks are a giveaway)! They were staying in Tulameen (approx. 45 min from Princeton), so we joined them one afternoon in Tulameen to hang out in Otter Lake. The drive to Tulameen is incredible, similar to the roads coming into Princeton, narrow and windy, but the views…so beautiful!! Such a fun afternoon!! There were all kinds of floaties around including a paddle board. Don’t tell Barry, but I think we may be getting a couple!!

Tulameen is such a cool area. It reminded me of Little House on the Prairie sort of, but instead of everyone coming out on Sunday all walking towards the church, in Tulameen, everyone is walking towards the lake. Blow-up floaties everywhere. It was hilarious!! Check out the pics. The blow-up swans could hold the whole town!!!

We also spent a lot of time walking around Princeton, which doesn’t take long, but there are cool walks along the river, under bridges and through the old railway tunnel! The railway tunnel is 1 km long and was my favourite walking day. On the way there we spotted a bald eagle tending to its nest just outside the tunnel. The trail used to also connect to a trestle bridge, but unfortunately the flood this past spring in B.C. totally wiped out the land over the river between the tunnel and the trestle bridge. We do hope Princeton repairs it! After our walk we stopped at the Brown Bridge Pub for a beer. What a cool vibe! (does saying “cool vibe” make me sound old?? Oh well.)

Fun Fact: Until 1961 Princeton was home to the Princeton Brewing Company. Until the 1940s, the brewery kept its beer cool in the Vermillion Cave! The cave was unfortunately demolished to make way for the Hope-Princeton Highway (part of the Crowsnest Highway). Progress is necessary; however, sometimes it’s sad that such cool and fun parts of history in small towns cannot be somehow preserved.

We also spent a morning mountain biking at China Ridge Trails while Merlot went for grooming. China Ridge is such a great area at end of a logging road geared toward all outdoor recreation. When you get to the top it opens up to a meadow where there’s a very cared for building (lodge or club house?) with maps showing all the trails. Biking and hiking in the warmer months and xc skiing and snowshoeing in the winter months (winter would be a lot of fun as well!), and horseback riding all year round. From the lodge you head to the trailhead area. Always gruelling riding up but always a party coming down!!! It’s only about 10 minutes from Princeton but feels like you’re in the middle of nowhere!

We never get bored of exploring beautiful lakes and Allison Lake was highly recommended. These small pristine BC lakes hidden in the mountains always take my breath away!!

Princeton is a very small, quaint, and very clean town. Oh, and they have an incredible little coffee shop called Thomasina’s! My coconut latte was incredible and they also have delicious freshly-baked treats. We highly recommend it!

Overall, we really enjoyed our week in Princeton, and would definitely consider going back for another visit! Remember, don't forget to check out the pics in the Albums tab!!

Off to Chilliwack we go!!!