Areas & Attractions
The Valemount and Area Recreation Development Association (VARDA) is a non-profit association consisting of a range of local businesses and backcountry users.
Their purpose is to support the development of year-round recreational activities.
Year-Round Recreation Opportunities
Quietly nestled in the Robson Valley, the charming Village of Valemount is surrounded by the Rocky Mountains to the northeast, the Monashee range to the south, and the Cariboo range to the west.
Valemount provides easy access to both Mount Robson and Jackman Flats Provincial Parks as well as being able to view the Chinook Salmon spawning from town! The Valley offers a host of year round activities for everyone from the casual sightseer to the adventure bound traveler.
Valemount Events
From mud racing, to music festivals and craft fairs, there are events for the whole family in Valemount - the heart of the Robson Valley.
Valemount Area & Attractions
Some of these activities include:
In addition you will find:
A Brief History of Valemount
It has been recorded as early as the 1700's the Valemount area was seasonally visited by the Shuswap Indian Nation. Trappers started arriving in the beginning of the 1800's by foot, horseback and boat to trade fur with the Nomadic band.
The call of the Cariboo Gold Rush in 1862 brought adventurers from as far away as England through the Robson Valley in hopes of finding an easier route to the gold fields.
In the early 1900's, settlers took up homesteads and the area became known as Cranberry. 1909 through 1914 brought migrant workers from Edmonton to help build the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway which continued to Prince Rupert and the Northern Pacific Railway which went South to Kamloops. The community of Swift Creek formed from this small beginning.
The community grew as the railway made the area more accessible to trappers, homesteaders, and entrepreneurs. Eventually the logging industry became the mainstay for the people and in 1928 Swift Creek was officially renamed Valemount - valley in the mountains, later incorporated as the Village of Valemount in 1962.
Today, Valemount's 1300 residents share their mountain home of rugged beauty and natural resources with travelers and adventurers from around the world.
- Ellen Duncan - Valemount Resident