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Northern Exposure Scenic Drive
This scenic drive explores the communities, history and geography surrounding the city of Prince George. Stop at historic sites to hear the stories of the early settlers who broke the land. As you drive, however, you will discover that the land tells a tale of its own. Signs from the last ice age show how the great glaciers were the first to slowly and patiently carve out the northern wilderness. From Prince George, travel the Hart Hwy # 97 approximately 40 km (25 miles) north to the Eskers Provincial Park sign. Turn west off Hwy # 97 north onto Chief Lake Road. Continue west for 27 km (at km 12 Chief Lake Road turns into Ness Lake Road). At the west end of Ness Lake turn north onto Ness Lake Road North. Follow this road for 1 km to the Eskers Provincial Park entrance. Here, visitors can explore 1,600 hectares of gently rolling terrain dotted with many lakes, and can witness a near freeze-frame of how the landscape was shaped under sheets of glacial ice. Named after the geological landforms, an esker is a long, sinuous gravel ridge, deposited by the meltwater channels of ancient glaciers. The area offers excellent hiking trails and wildlife viewing opportunities. Retrace your trail back to Hwy # 97. Continue north to Mitchell Road, then east to the Giscome Portage Trail, a designated Heritage Trail. The Giscome Portage is a route approximately 8 km in length, crossing the Continental Divide, which separates the Pacific and Arctic watersheds. At this point, rivers to the north flow into the Arctic Ocean, and those to the south flow down into the Pacific. Historically, the route was used by the natives of the area, and was investigated by the North West Company during the fur trade era. It came into prominence as a transport route when gold was discovered in the Omineca and Peace River areas in the 1860s. The gold rush created a demand for quick and efficient access to the goldfields. It remained as the main northern access route until 1920 when it became obsolete with the construction of a road from Prince George to Summit Lake. Visitors delight in exploring the Huble Homestead, an early 1900s historic site and trading post. The living history site recreates a bustling community consisting of a farm, a trading post, a guide and freight operation as well as a stop for the riverboats. The Giscome Portage Regional Park is open to the public year round. There are special events nearly every weekend during the season.
These events offer a wide variety of activities such as wagon rides, ice cream making, dog obedience demonstrations, scarecrow making, cowboy skills demonstrations, black powder shooting, traditional games, candle making, sheep shearing, May pole dancing, soap making, butter churning, art viewing, demonstrations and workshops, pumpkin carving and special seniors’ activities. Visitor services include costumed interpreters leading guided tours of the site that includes the homestead area, the Huble house, three barns, general store, warehouse, post office and many smaller buildings. There are blacksmithing demonstrations every weekend at the Blacksmith Shop. The site is friendly for the whole family. As you retrace your route back and continue north up Hwy # 97, watch for Teapot Mountain on the left. Once a massive lava flow, this volcanic plug is all that remains after being ground away by the glacial ice. Just south of the community of Bear Lake, turn left onto the Davie Bear Forest Service Road. For the next 130 km (78 miles) you will be driving on well-groomed gravel. Watch the landscape change into a region of lakes carved by the retreating glaciers. Great Beaver Lake is the largest body of water along this route. Popular for fishing and swimming, the southeast shore provides a beautiful view of Murray Ridge to the north. Continue to Fort St. James, a community originally founded in 1806 for the North West Company by the early explorer Simon Fraser. The original fort, designated a National Historic Site, has been restored and repopulated with period actors who re-enact life in a Hudson’s Bay trading post. This site displays the largest group of original wooden buildings representing the fur trade in Canada, and the close ties between the fur traders and Aboriginals of the region. Travel south to Hwy # 27 and rejoin the Yellowhead Highway Corridor # 16. Nearby is Vanderhoof, a farming community that celebrates its heritage past. The Village Museum offers a dozen 1920s buildings restored to their original glory, and the trails through the bird sanctuary provide birdwatching opportunities, including sightings of the endangered trumpeter swan.
Prince George Fort St. James Vanderhoof
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Points of Interest