Grand Forks, British Columbia

An attractive Sunshine Valley town on the Crow's Nest Highway, Grand Forks is named for its location near the convergence of the Kettle and Granby Rivers. The town is overlooked by Observation Mountain to the north and the aptly named Rattlesnake Mountain to the east.

Kootenai Indians made their home in the Grand Forks Valley and Christina Lake area long before the settlement of European fur traders in 1865, as evidenced by pictographs and artifacts discovered.

The settlement was incorporated as the city of Grand Forks in 1897, during which era rapid growth was experienced when rich strikes of copper were discovered at Phoenix and Deadwood. The Granby Smelter, which opened in the year 1900, was the largest non-ferrous copper smelter in the British Empire. Grand Forks was born during an age of optimism, when all great things were considered possible!

Grand Forks was an important railway centre with 5 railways, including two continental lines. Discovery of gold and silver in the North Fork Valley contributed to the wealth of the area, and the Union Mine came into being. Mining prosperity reigned for twenty years, augmented by the developing agriculture and fruit-growing industry.

However, the decline of the copper market in 1919 forced the closure of the Phoenix Mines and the dismantling of the smelter, dealing a crippling below to the entire district. There was little growth in the area until new industries such as seed growing, logging and sawmill operations all combined to return prosperity to the community.

Grand Forks is the home of descendants of many of British Columbia's Doukhobors, a pacifist group of political refugee emigrants from Russia that imigrated to Canada in 1899 and settled in the Grand Forks Valley in 1909. The pride and rich culture of the Doukhobors is prevalent in the valley, and Russian is still taught in schools.

Today, Grand Forks is one of the fastest growing towns in the Kootenays.

Come explore the rich forests and rolling hills of Grand Forks, BC. Nature lovers revel in the hiking trails and fishing lakes and rivers in the area, while historians appreciate the museums and heritage centres reflecting the city's interesting past.

Learn more about the Doukhobor tradition that shapes Grand Forks' past as you visit the many reminders of their legacy. Forced to leave Southern Russia on religious grounds in the early 1900s, this group of pacifists began setting up communal farms in the Grand Forks area where they milled their own flour, built their own bricks, and grew all of their own vegetables to trade with local residents in a non-monetary bartering system. Although the Doukhobors eventually met with economic collapse and were forced to assimilate with the non-Doukhobor population, the Doukhobor Museum and the Boundary Museum both display exhibits honouring their lifestyle, while the hearty Russian cuisine remains the town specialty. No trip to Grand Forks is complete without a bowl of borscht and a thick slice of homemade bread!

Grand Forks is located on Highway 3, 203 km (127 mi.) southeast of Kelowna, and 522 km (327 mi.) east of Vancouver. While local charters and scheduled flights from Vancouver arrive regularly into the Grand Forks municipal airport, the nearest national airline services Penticton, 186 km (117 mi.) northwest of town. Commercial bus access is also available. Population: 7,958 Elevation: 516 m (1,692 ft.) Average July High: 28ºC (82ºF) Average January Temperature: -2ºC (29ºF) Annual Rainfall: 49 cm (19 in.) Annual Snowfall: 78 cm (30.7 in.)