1. Fort Rodd Hill National Historic Site
(Victoria) At this west coast artillery fortress that was on active duty from 1895 to 1956, you can tour through bunkers, military command posts and original 19th-century buildings while listening to the personal stories of soldiers and their families.
2. Gitwangak Battle Hill National Historic Site (Kitwanga)
Climb the grassy knoll and survey the site where the Gitwangak people defended their land from the mid-1700s to the 1800s. At a nearby village, you’ll see the province’s oldest collection of totem poles retained in their original context.
3. Fort St. James National Historic Site
(Fort Saint James) You can tour Canada’s largest collection of wooden buildings restored to the 1890s, when wealth was measured in fur pelts and salmon. Visitors also can spend the night in the country’s only bed and breakfast at a national historic site.
For information on these and the 200-plus other sites maintained by Parks Canada, contact Jennifer Burnell or go to parkscanada.gc.ca.
Top photo: Fort St. James
Photo by CC Flickr/Iain Cameron: bit.ly/2RCcLo9
