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Historic Hat Creek
Ranch offers a rare opportunity to explore the original buildings of a
key location in the transportation history of the Cariboo. The site also
presents the story of early use of the Bonaparte Valley by people of the
Shuswap nation and their more recent contributions to the growth of the
ranching industry.
Here in the dry rainshadow
climate, east of the Coast Range mountains, a unique blend of cultures
has evolved in a landscape of sage, bunchgrass and Ponderosa pines. Come
and experience one of the most distinctive heritage sites in British Columbia!
Prominent among the
20 historic structures here is Hat Creek House, established in 1861 by
former Hudson's Bay Company trader Donald McLean. Originally a small log
building, it soon became popular as a stopping house offering good meals
for travellers and was enlarged over the years. In 1863 the building momentum
of the Cariboo Gold Rush brought the Royal Engineers and their Cariboo
Wagon Road right past the front door! McLean was ready to provide rooms,
food, whiskey, and stables to thousands of miners and settlers heading
north. Alas, while riding with a posse in 1864, he was shot and killed,
and a succession of other managers assumed operation of the ranch over
the following years.
Perhaps best known
among these, B.C. Express owner and legendary stage driver Steve Tingley
built the huge "BX" Barn and the three-bay Freight Horse Barn to assist
with stabling the mighty draft horses that were changed between freight
teams using the road. Until the automobile was introduced to the Cariboo
in 1916, stagecoaches and wagon trains continued to pass through the ranch
on the Cariboo Wagon Road.
We're located a one-hour
drive west of Kamloops. The ranch is at the junction of Highway 99 (from
Whistler) and Highway 97, the "Gold Rush Trail" route that leads north
from Cache Creek. This town is at the junction of the Trans-Canada Highway
and Hwy. 97, and Historic Hat Creek Ranch is only 11 km north of Cache
Creek. Our location makes it a very convenient stop when you're travelling
on any of these major highways!
OUR HOURS
You can stroll the ranch grounds year-round
Regular Visitor
Services
May 16th to October 1, 2000 - 10 am and 6 pm
mid-June to Labour Day - 9 am to 6 pm
Admission fees are in effect from mid-May to mid-October
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