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The North Thompson and Robson Valley region is two valleys at the northern end of the Thompson-Okanagan region of British Columbia. Its most prominent features are two provincial parks — Mount Robson Provincial Park with the highest peak in the Canadian Rockies and Wells Gray Provincial Park with lakes and waterfalls.

North Thompson River near Vavenby. a town east of Clearwater

Cities

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Map
Map of North Thompson and Robson Valley

North Thompson

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Dutch Lake in Clearwater
  • 1 Barriere Barriere, British Columbia on Wikipedia — a largely forestry industry town with several lake resorts nearby, and many recreational opportunities
  • 2 Blue River Blue River, British Columbia on Wikipedia — world-famous heli-skiing
  • 3 Clearwater — the main gateway to Wells Gray Provincial Park and some white water rafting companies; it has the largest range of accommodation options if you want to stay in the Wells Gray area but don't want to camp in the park

Robson Valley

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  • 4 McBride — a farming community with excellent trails for cross-country skiing, snowmobiling and hiking, and lots of opportunities for ice fishing, camping, fishing and bird watching
  • 5 Tete Jaune Cache — a small community with a couple of provincial parks close by and a good spot to see salmon spawning in August
  • 6 Valemount — a world-class snowmobiling destination

Other destinations

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  • 1 Mount Robson Provincial Park — Over 100 km of hiking trails and crowned by Mount Robson, the highest point in the Canadian Rockies. There are both drive-in and backcountry campsites but no lodges.
  • 2 Wells Gray Provincial Park — 540,000 hectares of outdoor splendor. Contains five large lakes, waterfalls higher than Niagara, and several glaciers.

Understand

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Get in

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Mount Robson from the highway in Mount Robson Provincial Park

By car

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By bus

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By train

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See also: Rail travel in Canada

By plane

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The nearest airports with scheduled flights are in Kamloops (YKA IATA) and Prince George (YXS IATA).

Get around

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By public transit

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  • Operates a bus route two days per week between Kamloops and Clearwater.

By boat

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  • Inland Ferries. Operated under contract for British Columbia's Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure, inland ferries are vehicle ferries that connect roads across rivers and lakes. Routes operate throughout the year, but some river ferries may not operate during parts of the Spring due to river conditions. Free. Ferries in region:
    • 2 Little Fort Reaction Ferry. Daily 7AM-noon, 1-6:20PM. Crosses the North Thompson River, about 90 km north of Kamloops. The ferry is just east of Highway 5. 5 minutes crossing. Operates on demand. Little Fort Ferry (Q6650081) on Wikidata Little Fort Ferry on Wikipedia
    • 3 McLure Reaction Ferry. Daily. Crosses the North Thompson River, about 40 km north of Kamloops. The ferry is just west of Highway 5. 5 minutes crossing. Operates on demand. McLure Ferry (Q6802267) on Wikidata McLure Ferry on Wikipedia

See

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Helmcken Falls in Wells Gray Provincial Park
  • Take in the view of Mount Robson in Mount Robson Provincial Park. Its distinctive peak can be seen from the highway or you can do a hike to get a closer look. It is rare to see this mountain completely cloud-free, but if you do see it on one of those rare bluebird days you will instantly know you are seeing something special.
  • Helmcken Falls in Wells Gray Provincial Park is the fourth-highest waterfall in Canada and viewable from the main access road into the park. There are other remarkable waterfalls in Wells Gray Provincial Park.
  • Little Hells Gate is a narrows on the North Thompson River. It may not be as impressive as its namesake in the Fraser Canyon, but is still a pleasant spot to have a picnic and snap some shots. Along the way between Clearwater and Valemount, though somewhat closer to Clearwater.
  • Visit a local history museum in McBride and Valemount.
  • Watch salmon swim upstream to spawn in August/September in Tete Jaune Cache or Valemount.

Do

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Stay safe

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Be aware of wildlife, avalanche hazards, and adverse driving conditions.

Go next

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  • Jasper National Park — Eastward on the Yellowhead Highway is the largest of Canada's Rocky Mountain Parks with stunning mountains, glaciers, alpine meadows and wild rivers. Check out the town of Jasper or explore the beauty of the park through its hiking trails, spectacular mountain drives and sights like the Columbia Icefield and Maligne Lake.
This region travel guide to North Thompson and Robson Valley is a usable article. It gives a good overview of the region, its sights, and how to get in, as well as links to the main destinations, whose articles are similarly well developed. An adventurous person could use this article, but please feel free to improve it by editing the page.