Prince Rupert

Understand

The population of about 14,000 people (2020) is about half First Nations (Indigenous) people. The Tsimshian Nation is the First Nation in the Prince Rupert area; archeological excavations show they have been there for at least 5,000 years.

History

Prince Rupert was named for Prince Rupert of the Rhine, the first Governor of the Hudson's Bay Company. Prior to the opening of the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway (GTP), which developed a terminus at Prince Rupert, the business centre on the North Coast was Port Essington on the Skeena River. After the founding of Prince Rupert at the western terminus of the GTP, Port Essington was bypassed by many businesses and declined to being a fishing community. Charles Melville Hays, president of the Grand Trunk Railway, had many grand ideas for Prince Rupert, including berthing facilities for large passenger ships and the development of a major tourism industry. These plans fell through when Hays died in the sinking of the RMS Titanic in April 1912. Mount Hays, the larger of two mountains on Kaien Island, is named in his honour, as is a local high school, Charles Hays Secondary School. Local politicians used the promise of a highway connected to the mainland as an incentive, and the city grew over the next several decades. American troops completed the 100-mile (160-km) stretch of road between Prince Rupert and Terrace during World War II to facilitate the movement of thousands of Allied troops to the Aleutian Islands and the Pacific. Several forts were built to protect the city at Barrett Point and Fredrick Point. After World War II, the fishing industry, particularly for salmon and halibut, and forestry became the city's major industries. In the 1990s, both the fishing and forestry industries suffered a significant downturn in economic activity. The forest industry declined when a softwood lumber dispute arose between Canada and the USA. After the pulp mill closed down, many people were unemployed, and much modern machinery was

Getting there

By plane

Main airport 1 Prince Rupert Airport (YPR IATA – WMO: 71022), Digby Island (board shuttle at Highlander Plaza Hotel (815 - 1st Avenue West) and take bus and ferry), ☏ +1 250-624-6274, [email protected]. Su-F 8AM - 7:55PM, Sa 10:30AM - 3PM. Prince Rupert has domestic service by small turboprop airliner. Flights take two hours each way, but because of the additional time required to reach Digby Island (just west of Kaien Island and downtown Prince Rupert) by airport bus and ferry, it takes about four hours to travel between downtown Prince Rupert and Vancouver International Airport.

Airlines to main airport Air Canada, ☏ +1-514-393-3333, toll-free: +1-888-247-2262. Canada's largest airline with hubs in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, and Montreal. It operates across Canada and services international destinations. (updated Apr 2022)

Seaplanes Seal Cove Water Airport (corner of 8th Avenue East and Seal Cove Road). Prince Rupert also has a small seaplane airport with a few local airlines. Ocean Pacific Air, ☏ +1-250-624-5879, toll-free: +1-844-228-9229, [email protected]. Operates charter seaplane flights between Prince Rupert and Haida Gwaii. Also offers tours. (updated Aug 2022)

By car

Highway 16 (Yellowhead Highway) travels west from Prince George. The drive takes roughly eight hours. Don't drive this road in winter months if you are not familiar with treacherous winter highway conditions.

By boat

Ferries BC Ferries, toll-free: +1-888-223-3779. Operates ferries connecting coastal communities. (updated Apr 2022) 2 Prince Rupert ferry terminal, 2000 Park Ave. (updated Oct 2023) Routes serving Prince Rupert: From Graham Island (Skidegate) ferry terminal in Haida Gwaii. Single sailings 4-6 days/week in summer; fewer in other seasons. Voyage takes 7 to 8 hours. Departure times differ; some crossings occur overnight. From Port Hardy (Bear Cove) ferry terminal (in North Vancouver Island) via Bella Bella (McLoughlin Bay) ferry terminal

Getting around

Most of downtown Prince Rupert is accessible on foot. A good place to get oriented is the Visitor Information Centre, located on the east end of the Atlin Terminal. A taxi ride anywhere in town will be no more than $10.

By public transit BC Transit (Prince Rupert Transit System), ☏ +1-250-624-3343. Operates bus routes within Prince Rupert from Monday to Saturday, including to the ferry terminals and the train station. Also, operates a bus route between Prince Rupert and Port Edward from Monday to Saturday. Fare is $2 in town and $3 to Port Edward. (updated Jun 2023)

By taxi Papa Mobile Taxi, ☏ +1 250-622-7272. (updated Jul 2022) Skeena Taxi, ☏ +1 250-624-2185. (updated Jul 2022)

See

1 Kwinitsa Station Railway Museum (inside Rotary Waterfront Park), ☏ +1 250-624-3207. Tells the story of early Prince Rupert and the role of the railway in its development. Built in 1911, Kwinitsa Station was one of 400 identical rail stations along the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway from Winnipeg to Prince Rupert. Today, it is one of only four surviving stations. (updated Mar 2023) 2 Pacific Mariners Memorial Park (between the foot of McBride St and the Northland Terminal). There are two focal points of the park: one being the bronze Mariner's statue and Memorial Walls, the other the Shinto Shrine which was built for the "Kazu Maru", a Japanese fishing dingy that drifted across the Pacific Ocean from Prince Rupert's sister-city Owase in Japan. (updated Mar 2023) 3 Museum of Northern British Columbia, 100 - 1st Avenue West (on the waterfront at the foot of McBride Avenue), ☏ +1 250-624-3207, fax: +1 250 627-8009, [email protected]. Jun-Aug: M-Sa 9AM-8PM, Su 9AM-5PM; Sep-May: M-Sa 9AM-5PM. The museum tells the 10,000-year-old history of the Haida, Tsimishian, Tlingit, and Nisga. It also operates the Carving Shed and the Kwinitsa Station. Adult $6, teens 13-19 $3, children 6-12 $2, children under 5 $1. (updated Mar 2023) 4 North Pacific Cannery, 1889 Skeena Drive, Port Edward (from Prince Rupert, turn right after the bridge onto highway 599, which becomes Skeena Drive (about 20 km from downtown Prince Rupert total)), ☏ +1 250-628-3538 (May-Sep), +1 250-628-3667 (Oct-Apr), fax: +1 250 628-3540, [email protected]. May Jun & Sep: Tu-Su 9:30AM-5PM; Jul & Aug: daily 9:30AM-5PM. Open until 8PM when a cruise ship is visiting. A national historic site, it is the oldest, most completely preserved cannery remaining of two hundred-or-so that once dotted BC's Northwest Coast. BC Transit runs the number 60 bus in the summer to the cannery from the Visitor Information Centre in Atlin Terminal in Cow Bay, which takes about 40 minutes. Adult $12, child 5-18 $6, child under 5 free, fam

Do

Prince Rupert is famous for its fishing expeditions. Mostly salmon and halibut, with potential catches over a hundred pounds.

1 Fishing Prince Rupert, 901 10th Ave East, ☏ +1 250-627-8443, [email protected]. Offers deep sea and freshwater fishing expeditions. (updated Mar 2023) 2 Kaiensports Fishin