Tumbler Ridge, B.C.

The Town of Tumbler Ridge is located in the north east corner of British Columbia, on the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains, 100 km south of Chetwynd B.C. on Highway #29 or 97 km south of Dawson Creek. The town is located at the intersection of Highway 29 and 52 creating a loop that joins Chetwynd and Dawson Creek. Tumbler Ridge has a population of approximately 3,300 people.

(Town Hall, established 1981, located at Founders Street and Main Street.)

One of the first explorers to the area was Prescott Fay who explored the area north of Jasper in 1912 and discovered the many features of the area. Another explorer Prentiss Gray arrived in 1927. Alex Monkman discovered a pass through the Rocky Mountains in the late 1930's. In the mid 30's a trail was blazed through the mountains known as the Monkman Pass, the lowest pass through the Rocky Mountains. In the late 1970's many coal deposits were discovered.

In the spring of 1981, a survey stake was the only indication to where Tumbler Ridge would be and shortly after that construction began. The community was built to service 2 coal mines that would provide coal to Japan.

In 1983, the Bullmoose mine, located 30 km west of town, employed as many as 300 people. The Quintette mine located 20km south of town, at the peak had as many as 1200 employees. Tumbler Ridges population increased to close to 5000 people. When the world coal markets fell in the late 1990's, the Quintette mine closed in August 2000, causing many people to lose their jobs. This resulted in many businesses closing and the housing prices to fall. Bullmoose Mine also closed in April of 2003 after mining out the last of its coal seams. The Wolverine Deposit is to be mined by Western Canadian Coal scheduled to open in the fall of 2004 employing 250 people. Main Industries of Tumbler Ridge is Oil and Gas, and Tourism.

Located 9 km north of Tumbler Ridge on Highway 52 is Quality Falls. It is a good 20 minute hike one way. The Quintette Mine site located south of Tumber Ridge was the largest open-pit coal mine in Canada. 51km past the Quintette Mine is the site of the world's greatest waterfalls, Kinuseo Falls.
MORE PHOTOS: Click on the mini-pictures above to enlarge photo.

There are 23 developed scenic hiking trails in the area that lead to waterfalls, caves, alpine vistas, lakes and interesting geological formations.

Babcock Falls: Located 35km south of Tumbler Ridge, off Highway 52. Features a waterfall, meadows. 2.5 km return.
Quintette Mountain: Not far from Babcock Falls. Features an Alpine summit. 2.5km return.
Flatbed Pools: 1km southeast of town. Features 3 pools on flatbed Creek. 5km return.
The Stone Corral: Located not far from Kinuseo Falls. Features many fossils, 2 small caves. 4.5 km return.
Murray Canyon Overlook: 30 km north of Tumbler Ridge along Highway 52. Features a spectacular view of the river canyon. 6km return.
Tepee Falls: Located 35km north of Tumbler Ridge along Highway 52. Features a waterfall and canyon. 6 km return.
Tumbler Point: Features trail near Tumbler Ridge Point Bird Sanctuary west end of Tumbler Ridge. 212 species have been recorded. 4km return.
Dinosaur Trackway: 1km southeast of Tumbler Ridge. Features Ankylosaur Trackway. 4km return.
Bergeron Falls is the highest waterfall in Northern British Columbia at 100 meters. It is the closest falls to Tumbler Ridge at 16km northwest of town. One can get to this area along a 10 km trail.
Wolverine Nordic and Mountain Society

The site of the biggest find of dinosaur bones in British Columbia, located near Tumbler Ridge in the area surrounding Flatbed Creek and Canyon.

Tumbler Ridge has a number of residential areas, each with a view of the mountains. Tumbler Ridge Community Centre located at 340 Front is one of the main areas downtown. The centre is an arena with seating for 700, used for recreational, old-timer and minor hockey figure skating, annual trade shows and other major community events. Located in the Centre is Sheila's Restaurant and Sports Bar also the Curling Rink and Lounge, home of the Tumbler Ridge Curling Club. The Centre also has a weight room, banquet and meeting rooms. The Aquatic Centre, has four competitive lanes, tots pool and lagoon, sauna, steamroom and whirlpool. Includes racquetball court, squash courts, and hockey concession. The Tumbler Ridge Children's Centre Society is situated in the lower part of the Community Centre which offers preschool services for children. Also part of this centre is the Tumbler Ridge Library.