Houston, Northern British Columbia

The fishing is par excellence in the extensive system of lakes and rivers that surround Houston, which can rightfully claim to be the Steelhead Capital of Canada.

Population: 3,200

Location: Houston is ideally located between Prince Rupert and Prince George on Highway 16, 192 miles (307 km) west of Prince George, 51 miles (82 km) west of Burns Lake, 40 miles (64 km) east of Smithers and 260 miles (416 km) east of Prince Rupert.

• Take the Houston/Granisle Circle Tour, which starts at Houston and follows Highway 16 west to Telkwa where you turn off the main highway onto the back roads to Granisle, on beautiful Babine Lake, before winding your way back to Houston. There are breathtaking views of the Telkwa Range, Tyhee Lake, and Hudson Bay Mountain, with many places to stop and take pictures. Travellers can go for a swim or relax at one of the beaches, picnic areas and rest areas, including one on the Bulkley River. Maps and directions of the circle tour are available from the Visitor Info Centre.

• Fish for salmon and steelhead on the world famous Morice and Bulkley Rivers. Local anglers are the best source of day-to-day information on where the fish are biting, and can usually be ambushed having coffee at the A & W Restaurant early in the morning. The Houston Info Centre produces a pamphlet outlining more than two dozen steelhead fishing spots in the area, including Morice Lake and Collins Lake. Fishing in British Columbia.

• If you think the rod is big…you should see the fish!

  The World's Largest Fly Rod was the brainchild of local resident and avid fly fisherman, Warner Jarvis, and was installed on May 5, 1990. The 60 foot long rod is constructed entirely of aluminium and is anodized bronze to simulate graphite. At 800 lbs, with a reel diameter of 36 inches, the rod was machined in six local machine shops, with material and labour contributed by 41 local companies. Fund-raising for the project involved selling shares of the rod, which conferred ownership of one centimetre of the rod to the shareholder. The $5 shares are still available at the Houston Visitor Info Centre, which displays the rod in Steelhead Park.

• Look for the new murals which adorn the walls of Houstons downtown core, depicting local outdoor recreation and the history of the area.

• Hike the wonderful trails around Houston, to the summit of China Nose Mountain, home to mountain goats, black bears, and bald eagles, or challenge the strenuous hike up Nadina Mountain, one of the many mountains surrounding Owens Lake.

• Golf: Houston offers the choice of two golf courses; Houston Golf Course and the public 9-hole Willow Grove Golf and Country Club, located 4 miles East of Houston. Golf Vacations in British Columbia.

• Test your rock climbing skills at Owen Hat.

• Winter recreational activities include cross-country skiing, snowmobiling and snowshoeing. The Morice Mountain Nordic Ski Club maintains 25 kilometres of cross-country trails in the winter, which double as hiking and nature walks in the summer. North of Houston in Smithers is the Hudson Bay Mountain Resort. Snowmobile beautiful areas in the Telkwa Mountain Range, Dungate Meadows, Tableland Mountain and the Rhine Ridge Sabola Mountain.

• Walking Trails around Houston include the trail to the Bulkley River/Buck Creek Junction through untouched woodlands, Alexandra Park's trail along buck Creek, the Old Pines Trail around Silverthorne Lake, and the trail that encircles the small man-made Irrigation Lake.

• See the best of Northern BC on one of the Circle Tours that capture the wonders of the north. The Circle Tour of Northern British Columbia incorporates the Alaska Highway through the Rocky Mountain foothills to Watson Lake in the Yukon, linking with the Stewart/Cassiar Highway and Yellowhead Highway 16 in the south. The Inside Passage Tour and The Native Heritage Tour follow the same route, from Port Hardy on Vancouver Island north by ferry to Prince Rupert. Catch another ferry to the Queen Charlotte Islands, or venture east on the Yellowhead Highway to Prince George, and south through the peaceful Cariboo to Vancouver along the historic Cariboo Wagon Road.