Tourism in the Thompson-Nicola Regional District

Beautiful British Columbia (website) consists of six unique and distinct tourism regions.

The Thompson-Nicola Regional District (TNRD) comprises three tourism regions:

The Thompson-Okanagan (website)
The Cariboo Chilcotin Coast (website),
The Vancouver, Coast & Mountains (website).

The wide array of tourism destinations within our region only amplifies the versatility of our area, and showcases our ability to cater to all who venture into our neck of the woods.

TNRD Tourism in the Thompson-Okanagan Region

The City of Merritt (website) in the southern part of the region and is the "Country Music Capital of Canada" comprising cowboy lifestyles, cowboy music and neighborly hospitality. Merritt is home to the annual Merritt Mountain Music Festival (website), and the annual Great Canadian Bike Rally (website). Merritt is also famous for its Country Music Walk of Stars (website) and is the home of Canada's Country Music Hall of Fame (website).

North via the Old Nicola Highway #5A, through the historic Quilchena (website) and the Historic Nicola townsite (website), are rolling grasslands and the Douglas Lake Ranch (website).

The City of Kamloops (website) is "Canada's Tournament Capital", and is the region's transportation and trading hub. Boasting an outdoor play land, Tourism Kamloops (website) lists numerous activities and attractions for adventure seekers as well as those that wish to relax and casually explore the city and its surroundings. Kamloops has numerous golf courses (more), outdoor activities, pristine beaches and state-of-the-art sports and recreational facilities - hence the Tournament Capital branding (more).

Sun Peaks Mountain Resort (website) is a 4-season resort located north of Kamloops via the Yellowhead Highway #5N. Sun Peaks Resort is world reknown for its fantastic skiing, snowboarding, snowmobiling, snowshoeing and cross-country skiing terrain which provides excellent mountain-biking and hiking opportunities in the summer. Sun Peaks Resort has a suberb golf course, and provides canoeing and horseback riding fun. Sun Peaks is one of the fastest growing resorts in British Columbia as it continually upgrades its services. Sun Peaks Resort draws vacationers from around the globe to its Tyrolean village of accommodations, shopping, dining, and nightlife.

A short drive further north is the District of Barriere (website), known as the Gateway to the North Thompson Valley (website). It is famous amongst horse back riding enthusiasts for its more than 200 kilometres of horse trails with recreational camping sites. Within the North Thompson Valley is a vast array of landscapes overlooking many lakes that are a fisherman's dream.

The adventurous District of Clearwater (website) is the gateway to the gorgeous Wells Gray Provincial Park (website). Wells Gray Park is home to white water rafting and kayaking, more than 35 waterfalls including the famous Helmcken Falls, pristine lakes such as the Clearwater Lake and Myrtle Lake, with camp sites, and top-notch hiking trails.

The northern-most part of the Thompson-Nicola region has the snow-capped mountains of the Monashee and Cariboo Mountain Range, which was featured in the Opening Ceremonies film for the Whistler & Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games. The community of Blue River (website) is considered the "Jewel of the Yellowhead".

The eastern-most part of the Thompson-Nicola Region is famous for its rich Gold Rush Era history, and is represented by Gold Country Tourism (website). Gold Country boasts a comprehensive Geo-caching Program and a comprehensive web site of attractions and activitives based in this area.

Look for historic communities starting north at 70 Mile House and the Village of Clinton (website). Travelling south there are the Villages of Cache Creek (website) and Ashcroft (website), and nearby attractions such as the Historic Hat Creek Ranch & Native Village (website), the Bonaparte Bend Winery (website), and the Nl'Akapxm Eagle Motorplex Racetrack (website).

The District of Logan Lake (website) is a winter recreational centre and hosts the annual Western Canada Cup Pond Hockey Tournament.. Logan Lake is also the location of Highland Valley Copper Mine which offers tours (more).

The Village of Chase (website) on the Little Shuswap Lake offers lakeside activities including the Cornstalk Festival (more), agritourism at Golden Ears Community Farm (more), a zipline for swinging fun thanks to Treetop Flyers Zipline at Chase Canyon (more) and exceptional golf by Little Shuswap Lake at the Sunshore Golf Course, or at Quaaout Lodge & Talking Rock Resort (website). Chase is also world reknown for the natural wonder of the Salmon Run on the Adams River by Rodrick Haig-Brown Provincial Park. (more).

TNRD Tourism in the Cariboo Chilcotin Coast Region

The vast landscape of the Cariboo Chilcotin Coast region is a "land without limits" and within the Thompson-Nicola Regional District's portion you'll discover 70 Mile House, the proud destination of the Cariboo Trails Combined Driving Event.

Further south is the small but robust Village of Clinton (website), another Cariboo Gold Rush community rich with the region's past. Clinton is considered "The Gateway to the Cariboo" and comprises numerous shops and second hand stores for antique and curios shopping. The Nearby there is the Big Bar Guest Ranch (website) for those who want to experience cowboy living first hand, and dust up on their horse riding and back country skills. For a more relaxing Cariboo experience there's the Echo Valley Ranch & Spa (website).

TNRD Tourism in Vancouver, Coast & Mountains Region

The Vancouver, Coast & Mountains region encompasses Metro Vancouver but reaches all the way north up the Fraser Canyon to the Thompson-Nicola Regional District's Village of Lytton (website) - located where the mighty Fraser River, and Thompson River, converge.

Lytton is known as the Rafting Capital of Canada, Canada's "Hot Spot" and is situated within a rugged, mountainous landscape. The area offers many water sports such as salmon fishing, kayaking and white water rafting along the white-capped rapids of the Thompson and Fraser Rivers (more).