Quesnel Visitors Guide

is a precious, special community, and any local Caribooster could tell you why…

This is a place of gnarly old lumberjacks and laser-guided sawmills; 10,000 year old native cultures visited by tourists with digital cameras; mysterious backwoods curio shops and oh! so much more. We are a city of bridges, flowers and logging trucks.

A place where a snowmobile ride, a boat trip and a round of golf can easily fit into a spring day. We are home to one of Canada’s largest volunteer fire departments. We are a community with a spirit of giving. And caring. We are home to some pretty good events like our summertime Billy Barker Days Festival, an excellent vintage car show, and the Quesnel Fall Fair that is second to none. Our Farmers’ Market has been voted “one of the best in Canada.” Winter goes to the dogs with our Gold Rush Trail Sled Dog Mail Run—unique to all the world.

1870s political analysts believed that Quesnel would inevitably become the capital of BC because Victoria was too far from Barkerville to be of consequence. We’re home to families who have been here since the fur trade. Even so, we are warm and hospitable to the folks who arrived just last week searching for a sane lifestyle in a crazy world. We welcome you too.

Quesnel once spurned the wonderful riverscapes at her doorstep. Then we turned ‘round to face our rivers, with development of our River Front Trail system which is used every day of the year—rain, snow or shine … even at forty below.

Our main industrial area, Two Mile Flat, is the most concentrated wood products manufacturing area in all of North America. Gold Rush era Barkerville, a force for Canadian confederation, is a faithfully restored marvel, just 86 km to the east. Thousands of visitors arrive from all over the world to paddle the globally glorified Bowron Lakes or to hike the Nuxalk Carrier Grease Trail, made famous by Alexander Mackenzie in 1793. Many more arrive aboard the Rocky Mountaineer, “the most spectacular train trip in the world!” Most come to simply get away from the madding crowd and enjoy the casual, friendly pace of the North Cariboo. Enjoy our very special place, and please come back again … soon.