Craigellachie Historic Site

Nice place for a rest stop. Grassy areas to picnic and wander and the bathroom facilities are always clean.

Dropped by to take a break from driving and to get a new decal. The gift store wasn't open so I will stop by on my way back. New motorhome needs a new decal.

This remote but very historic site on the Trans-Canada Highway, at Craigellachie, lies midway between Sicamous and Revelstoke in the British Columbia Rocky Mountains. The railway line runs alongside and if you are lucky you may see a train go by. It is famous as the historic site where the ‘Last Spike’ of the Canadian Pacific Railway was driven in, in the year 1885. It signaled the completion of the CPR, Canada’s first transcontinental railroad, joining eastern and western Canada, thus uniting the two remote parts of the nation. There are many placards explaining the significance of the site. There is a nice little gift and souvenir shop, and a clean washroom, but there were no snacks or coffee shops, though there is a rest area besides the railway track. The senior staff are friendly and happy to meet the visitors. Not many tourists stop here, so it is a calm and scenic place to rest while driving along the highway.

I've driven by Craigellachie almost every summer for all my 23 years of my life, but we rarely stop there. There's not a lot to do besides look at the train tracks.

But.

On a recent road trip with my sister, we decided to stop by just for fun. There's a spot in front of the Gift Shop where you can pretend to nail in the last spike. The lady running the gift shop - unfortunately I did not get her name - came out and let us know that she has some costumes and things that we can borrow to make our pictures more authentic!! She helped us put on the coats - the one I wore belonged to her grandmother - as well as top hats and beards. She told us she made the beards herself out of old stuffed animals! Once we were all dressed up she took photos of us for us.

I just want to say that she was a very sweet, kind lady who really made our visit special. I cannot emphasize that enough. She turned a roadside stop into a really great experience for us, and she was just incredibly, genuinely nice. Thank you, kind lady!

Really great place to pull over and stretch your legs. Neat reading on a historical event as well.