Staff Pick

Road Trip Cariboo Gold Rush – Quesnel, Barkerville

Quesnel Barkerville
90
km
1h18
drive
Summer
season

The Itinerary

In 1862, the Cariboo gold discovery triggered a historic rush: 100,000 prospectors flowed up the west coast, and Barkerville briefly became the largest town west of Chicago and north of San Francisco. The Wagon Road — built by pick and shovel through Fraser canyons — is today partly part of Highway 26 between Quesnel and Barkerville.

Barkerville Historic Town & Park, the largest living museum west of Canada, preserves 125 period buildings with year-round reenactments (costumed actors, theatre, stagecoaches, gold panning for kids). It's the signature attraction of BC's interior north.

Wells, 8 km away, is a hippie-artist mini-town with its Sunset Theatre. Cottonwood House Historic Site (1864), the only standing gold rush roadhouse, is on the way. Bowron Lake and the famous Bowron Lakes Canoe Circuit (116 km loop in 7-10 days) drop canoe-camping fans into wilderness east. Also worth: Hixon River and its amateur gold-panning sites.

Points of Interest

  • ✦
    Barkerville Historic Town
    125 period buildings, costumed reenactments.
  • ✦
    Cottonwood House
    1864, last standing Gold Rush roadhouse.
  • ✦
    Bowron Lakes Canoe Circuit
    116 km canoe-camping loop, 7-10 days.
  • ✦
    Wells
    Small hippie-artist town, Sunset Theatre.
Practical info
  • Departure Quesnel
  • Destination Barkerville
  • Distance 90 km
  • Duration 1h18
  • Category Short (< 100 km)
  • Best season Summer
Themes
history gold rush living-museum cariboo canoe Family interior-bc

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