BRALORNE

Bralorne is located 125 km (78 miles) west of Lillooet on the Moha, Bridge River and Lillooet Pioneer Roads (Road 40) and 83 km (52 miles) north of Pemberton on the Hurley River Forest Service Road about 15 km (9 miles) south of Gold Bridge.

Bralorne is a small community that is almost deserted with only very few people living here. The community is a cast off from the hectic heydays of the gold mining era when the Bralorne-Pioneer Mine was the richest gold mine in Canada and the most productive in British Columbia.

Fun Activities and Events in Bralorne BC

There are so many fun year round activities in Bralorne BC. Whether you're single and love wilderness adventure and dare devil excitement or you're trying to find a great family get away, the historical gold mining town of Bralorne has more than one option for you to choose from in their scenic terrain. Most activities and events are held out doors so you'll want to prepare according to the season.

Some of the special yearly events held in Bralorne are the Easter Egg hunt and pancake breakfast in April perfect for family springtime fun. The long weekend in May marks the seasonal opening of the Bralorne Pioneer Museum. During the long weekend in July there's the Bralorne Invitational ball tournament and the Baseball tournament you just don't want to miss, you can camp around the baseball field itself and get hot dogs, beverages and burgers from the concession stands and listen to the local bands. In August you can visit the beautiful Bridge River Open 9 hole golf course for their tournament where you can either watch or participate with players as they tee off against each other. Then there's a fun Karaoke contest also held in August at the Gold Bridge Hotel with Rockin Rosie where they look for the next Bridge River Idol or you can enjoy the annual Gun Lake Family Picnic at the Gun Lake Resort.

Some of the many winter events you won't want to miss are the Halloween Party at the Mineshaft pub, the Snowmobiler's Association meeting in November, and the Turkey Bingo, Christmas Crafts fair and Christmas concert (held at the school) in December). Last but not least of the yearly events is the New Years Celebration at the Mineshaft Pub where wall to wall people will be rockin and rollin in the New Year.

and in the mountains you can look out for bighorn sheep, cougars and mountain goats. There's great fishing in the many sparkling clear water lakes and streams in Bridge River Valley with rainbow and eastern brook trout, kokanee, dolly varden and whitefish to catch.

In the wintertime you'll discover that Bralorne BC is a snow lovers paradise with it's awesome ski trails, snow mobiling and sledding, and ice caves. Some of the best sledding trails accessible from Bralorne are the Noel Valley trail, the Lone Goat Trail, the Hurley Pass, Kingdom Lake road, McGillvery Pass and the Spruce Lake trail. At the friendly Mineshaft pub again you'll be able to warm up with their hearty traditional pub fare and hear all kinds of skidoo stories. You can also get a membership with the Bridge River Valley Snowmobiler's Association that maintains the up keep of the local trails.

Great Fishing and Water Fun in Bralorne BC

Fishing in Bralorne BC is particularly good as it's network of beautiful clear water lakes and streams are part of the Inter Lakes District. Well stocked with fish as a kind of fishing "highway" visitors keep coming back for more. With the endless number of fishing sites, local fishing guides can offer you opportunities to visit an exciting new fishing destination everyday of your stay in Bralorne. For it's stunning scenery and excellent fishing, Bralorne is a sportsman's playground. There's fishing, fly fishing, heli-fishing and ice fishing to choose from. The abundance of fish species include

- brook trout
- Bull trout
- chinook salmon
- chum salmon
- coho salmon
- cuttroat trout
- dolly warden
- kokanee
- mountain whitefish
- pink salmon
- rainbow trout
- sockeye salmon
- steelhead trout

The trout, dolly warden and kokanee range from half to three pounds in size, however the big Rainbow trout and Dolly wardens have come to 10 and even 18 pounds in size making for good trophy fishing. There are plenty of locations in the area where you can get the necessary gear, motor boat rentals, hand tied flies, licenses and tackle for your convenience as well.

You can also enjoy other exciting outdoor water sports such as kayaking, canoeing, swimming and boating and inner tubing. There are many lodging options to choose from as well, with the the beautiful resorts in the area, beach side cabins and camping grounds. You'll want to plan your trip in advance if you're bringing family along, ask the local resorts if they supply rental equipment for the various water sports, such as canoe rentals, life jackets, paddles, kayaks, helmets and such. If you are inexperienced you can also inquire about tour guides and water sport instructors so you can get the most out of your adventure safely and easily.

With all kinds of fishing and water sport recreational facilities covering Bralorne, it's easy to combine more than one activity into your family holiday or personal vacation any time of year. You can set up fishing days and combine them with photography breaks and the next day spend some quiet time on the beach and do a little inner tubing and have a lakeside picnic with the morning's catch of fish for lunch.

Take the family up in the mountains to see if you can catch site of the local wildlife and get a few great shots in to take home and then return back to the lakes for another day on the water for more fishing and maybe even a boat race.

You can take a buddy along and plan a little competitive fishing, see who can make the biggest catch or who can get the most fish. Or keep it spontaneous and hike your way from one lake resort and canoe your way to the next, packing along all the necessary equipment you may need. Try out the food in the lake side resort restaurants and take the time to enjoy the pristine scenery of Bralorn BC.

Endless Outdoor Activities and Excitement in Bralorne BC

From the skiing excitement and chiseled beauty of powder covered West Coast winter mountains and the summertime rocks and velvet forests teaming with BC wildlife to the crystal clear waters, perfect for a dip in the summer sun, Bralorne BC has got great fun for everyone. Few places in the Canada are as untouched and beautiful as Bralorne BC and it's terrain is perfect for every kind of outdoor activity you can imagine from hiking, mountain biking, mountain climbing, kayaking, canoeing, heli-fishing, heli-skiing, snowmobiling, skiddooing, sledding, camping, horseback riding, and gold panning.

In the Winter time you can can go ice fishing as well as go for a snowmobiling adventure and visit the many ice caves or go snowboarding, snow shoeing, skiing, skidooing, sledding. Some of the resorts in the area rent out the equipment you'll need for your trips and you can hook up with licensed, experienced tour guides that can show you around to the best spots and help you stay safe on your adventure. When you go on these trips however, you'll have to come prepared with the necessary supplies and food you'll be eating while you're out.

For the rest of the tourist season you've got great fishing opportunities as Bralorne's water system is part of the Inter Lakes District and has an abundance in a number of fish species. You can go fishing, heli-fishing, fly fishing and rent yourself a motor boat and catch your dinner out on the water. There's also kayaking and canoeing to enjoy and again you can rent your craft from one of the many resorts along the Bralorne shorelines.

Anybody that would rather enjoy their visit by staying on land can choose from the awesome beach side camp grounds or forest camps, biking, hiking and horse back riding through the meadows and hills or go mountain biking or climbing in search of the local wildlife you can find in Bralorne such as

- mountain goats
- cougars
- bears
- big horn sheep
- mule deer
- moose

Some of the best advice you can use before going on any of these trips is to invest in a digital camera and lots of memory cards and batteries for them. You'll want to take pictures of everything you lay your eyes on from sun up to sun down. Also don't forget about the gold panning you can do or the mine shafts and ghost towns you can explore. Bralorne has a rich history thanks to it's old goldmines that were founded back in 1896, however because of the fall in gold prices back in 1971 the mines were forced to shut down leaving behind several ghost towns that are now a special treat for any visitor.

Gold Panning and Museum Attractions in Bralorne BC

If you love history and are intrigued by the pioneering gold rush days, Bralorne BC is the place for you. If you crave the eerie excitement of exploring spooky caves and tunnels Bralorne's old abandoned gold mines are a must see, but beware, these old mine attractions aren't for the faint of heart!

There's a rich history waiting to be discovered by you in this historical gem. The Bralorne Gold mines were once Canada's biggest supplier of gold in the Canadian Cordillera. You can make a day enjoying the Bralorne mine museum society's fascinating 4 hour truck tours and learn all about the ghost towns and mines in the area. You can see the old mining equipment like the arrastras (Mexican rock mills), abandoned pioneer buildings such as the Pioneer Mine, Bralorne Hospital, Boultbe Memorial Church, the old Catholic Church, Bralorne Community Church that's been recently restored, the Model Bakery, Bralorne-Pioneer Office Building (now a beautiful motel) and the Bralorne Community Hall.

Other interesting sites you can visit are the graveyard in Gold Bridge, Standard Cabin, Green Mountain Lookout Cabin and the Will Haylmore Property.

The museum it self which is usually open during summer months on long weekends (starting from May's long weekend and ending after October's long weekend) is located in the Industrial Education Shop of the Old Bralorne High School. Their collections cover the history of Bralorne's Mining industry, Pioneer life in Bralorne, Sports and pictures from the schools past activities. With over 10 000 objects in their collection they include;

- decorative arts with hand made jewelry, period costumes (7 uniforms), ceramics, porcelain and pottery, furniture and furnishings, glass and musical instruments

- fine arts consisting of Historical Canadian Photography

- human history regarding mining life, chemistry and communications devices, forestry, imaging (photographs, maps, charts, plans and blueprints), medals, medical history and technology, memorabilia, military history and technology, musical instruments and local history

- sports equipment relating to hockey, bowling, baseball, weightlifting, skiing, and rifle shooting

Going down the Lillooet Pioneer road you be able to catch site of the old abandoned mine shacks, houses and deserted company buildings of the Bralorne-Pioneer Mine.

Although the gold rush is long gone you can still spend your day gold panning in the great outdoors and potentially walk away with a profit.

In the event that you choose to do your exploring of Bralorne on foot, hiking through the many scenic valleys and mountains, it may also be a good idea to hire a certified guide to come with you as you'll need to watch out for the numerous hidden air shafts and other mine openings that can be quite dangerous so you'll want to exercise a little caution on your gold country expedition.

You can also attend the famous Bridge Valley Reunion from June 27th to June 29th that celebrates and marks the 50+ year reunion of gold miners and old timers from all over the region.