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Aerial View of Prince Rupert

Prince Rupert is a small port city on the northwest coast of British Columbia, Canada. The population of 13,000 people is about half First Nations (native Canadian) people. The Tsimshian Nation is the indigenous First Nations in the Prince Rupert area. Prince Rupert holds the title of rainiest city in Canada, with about 2500 mm of precipitation annually. That's more than double the notoriously rainy Vancouver. Bring good rain gear.

Get in

By plane

Digby Island Ferry

– WMO: 71022), Digby Island (board shuttle at Highlander Plaza Hotel (815 - 1st Avenue West) and take bus and ferry), +1 250 624-6274, . 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.

By car

View on Highway 16 on the way to Prince Rupert

By vehicle take Highway 16 west from Prince George. The drive takes roughly eight hours. It is not advisable to drive this road in winter months unless you are familiar with treacherous winter highway conditions.

By boat

Vehicle ferries connect to various destinations:

  • BC Ferries to Skidegate in the Haida Gwaii. Single sailings 4-6 days/week in summer; fewer in other seasons. Voyage takes 7-9 hours. Departure times differ; some voyages are overnight. $35/adult, $125/vehicle.
  • BC Ferries to Port Hardy (on Vancouver Island). Sailings arrive every other day, and depart the following day, during the summer. Fewer sailings in other seasons. Journey takes 15 hours: day cruise of 07:30AM - 10:30h PM during spring and summer, overnight other times. Some sailings stop in Bella Bella. $150/adult, $350/vehicle.
  • Alaska Marine Highway System to Ketchikan, Wrangell, Petersburg, Juneau, all in Alaska. Sailings roughly every other day. About 5 hours to Ketchikan. US $54/adult, US $61/vehicle.
Cruise ship at the old Atlin Terminal

With the opening of the Northland Cruise Terminal in 2004, Prince Rupert is a port of call for cruise ships plying the inland passage, serving over 50,000 visitors each season. The Northland Terminal is in Cow Bay, close (up a short hill) to the downtown core. Many shore excursions can be accessed at the Atlin terminal (just east of Northland), ranging from bus, boat and seaplane sight seeing tours to saltwater fishing, kayaking and native cultural experiences.

By bus

  • 1 Greyhound Bus Depot, 815 - 1st Avenue West, +1 250 624-5090. Ticket Counter Hours M-F 8AM-12PM, 4PM-9PM, Sa-Su 9AM-10:45AM, 7PM-9PM, Holidays 7PM-9PM. There is Greyhound bus service westbound towards Prince George, with morning and evening service. Morning service arrives at 9AM and leaves at 10:15AM on Tu-Sa, while evening service arrives at 8:10PM and leaves at 9PM on Th-Tu.

By train

  • 2 VIA Rail, Prince Rupert Station, 2000 Park Ave, toll-free: +1-888-842-7245. Ticket Counter MThSa 5:30PM - 9:15PM, WFSu 6:30AM-10:15AM. VIA Rail Canada offers a route from Jasper to Prince Rupert,[1] with an overnight layover in Prince George. Departures are WFSu 8AM, and arrivals MThSa 8:25PM.

Get 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.

Prince Rupert has seven bus routes [2] serving all sections of the city. A taxi ride anywhere in town will be no more than ten dollars.

See

Totem pole in front of the First Nations Carving Shed
One of the totem poles and view from Totem Park
  • First Nations Carving Shed (1-800-667-1994), located just a block from the Museum of Northern British Columbia, features artists and carvers of the region, creating everything from sculpture and totems to jewelry, working with silver, copper, cedarwood and gold.
  • Kwinitsa Station Railway Museum, on the west side of the waterfront, 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.
  • Pacific Mariners Memorial Park, between the foot of McBride St and the Northland Terminal. Note the 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.
  • 1 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, . Jun-Aug: M-Sa 9AM-8PM, Su 9AM-5PM; Sep-May M-Sa 9AM-5PM. The museum tells the story of the 10,000 year old history of the Haida, Tsimishian, Tlingit, and Nisga. It also operates the Carving Shed and the Kwinitsa Station. Adult $5, Students $2, Children 5-11 $1, Children under 5 Free, Family Rate $10.
  • 2 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, . May, Jun & Sep Tu-Su 9:30AM-5PM, Jul & Aug 9:30AM-5PM 7 days/week. 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, Children 5-18 $6, Children under 5 Free, Family (2 adults + children) $25, Tour Groups $10.
  • 3 Totem Park (Summit Avenue, on the ocean side of the loop just past the main Hospital entrance). Home to many of Prince Rupert's totem poles. Free.

Do

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

  • Early Dawn Fishing Charters, +1 250 261-2688. Early Dawn Salmon Fishing Charters offers fishing charters in the exceptionally rich fishing waters off of Prince Rupert.

Buy

  • Cow Bay Gift Gallery, 24 Cow Bay Rd, +1 250 627-1808. Options here are a little pricier, but has authentic Native art and some really beautiful items.
  • 1 Homework, 145 Cow Bay Rd, +1 250 624-3663, fax: +1 250 624-3553, . M-Sa 10AM-6PM, Su 11AM-5PM. Eclectic and interesting selection.

Eat

  • Cow Bay Cafe, 205 Cow Bay Rd, +1 250 627-1212, . One of the most popular places to eat in town. It is a small place right on the water. The service is average.
  • Herby's Family Restaurant, 679 - 2nd Avenue West, +1 250 624-3965. Excellent and inexpensive Vietnamese food in an informal atmosphere.
  • Opa Sushi, 34 Cow Bay Rd, +1 250 627-4560. M-F 11:30AM-2PM & 5PM-9PM, Sa 12PM-3PM & 5PM-9PM, Su 1PM-8PM. Not bad sushi.
  • 1 Pho '88 (Phở '88), 427 - 3rd Avenue West, +1 250 624-2888. M-Sa 10AM-9PM Su 11AM-8PM. Newer Vietnamese restaurant, featuring pho, but having a good variety of Vietnamese and Canadian-Asian cuisine. $10-$25.

Drink

  • Breaker's Pub, 117 George Hill Way (in Cow Bay), +1 250 624-5990, fax: +1 250 624-2688, . Decent enough place, slow meal service.
  • Charley's Lounge, 222 - 1st Ave West (in the Crest Hotel), +1 250 624-6771, fax: +1 250 627-7666. M-Th 11:30AM-12AM, F-Sa 11:30AM-1AM, Su 12PM-11PM. $3.25-7.75 draft, specialty bottled beer available, $6.95 martinis, ($6-$9 per glass wines available).
  • 1 Cowpuccino's Coffee House, 25 Cow Bay Rd, +1 250 627-1395.
  • 2 javadotcup, 516 - 3rd Avenue West, +1 250 622-2822, . M-F 7:30AM-6PM, Sa 9AM-6PM, Su & Holidays Closed. Great little coffee shop and internet cafe. Beautiful building inside and out. Homemade desserts!

Sleep

Connect

  • Prince Rupert Public Library, 101 - 6th Avenue West, +1 250 627-1345, fax: +1 250 627-7851, . M 1PM-5PM, Tu-Th 10AM-9PM, F 10AM-5PM, Sa-Su 1PM-5PM (closed Sundays in the summer). The library has eight computers for public use, no membership needed and free wireless. Careful after school; they get quite busy right after the bell. $1 for each ½ hour after the first, subject to availability.
  • Safeway/Starbucks, 200 - 2nd Avenue West, +1 250 624-2412. 7AM-10PM. There is a small seating area inside and out where you can sit on the wireless. Free.

Go next

Visit the Haida Gwaii for a unique wilderness adventure you will never forget.

Routes through Prince Rupert
END  W  E  TerraceJasper
MassetSkidegate Template:Lfarrow (ferry)  W  E  TerracePrince George


This city travel guide to Prince Rupert is a usable article. It has information on how to get there and on restaurants and hotels. An adventurous person could use this article, but please feel free to improve it by editing the page.