Hiking Mt. Hope

The first day I was in Hope I hiked up to the mountain's lookout point. It was a pretty difficult hike for my first time and on my first day of arrival when I hadn't gotten used to the mountain air yet, but totally worth it! The view was great and there was a little old box with a guestbook inside. I signed my name and took a short break and then hiked back down.

Hope Memorial Park

Hope Clock

Fraser River

From the lookout

At the top of the lookout

Canada Day Celebrations

This year my roommate Jessica and I celebrated Canada Day (July 1st) by representing Hell's Gate at the Hope Canada Day Celebrations. Over the previous two months we had crafted bracelets to sell for charity to support the Fraser Canyon Hospice Society, Hell's Gate Airtram's charity of choice.
We had a table set up to display and sell all of our products. 100% of the money received went to the Hospice Society.

 After frying in the July sun all day, we took a trip down to the creek for a refreshing swim.

A perfect way to end a hot day in the sun.

And after that, we went to Harrison Hot Springs to enjoy the fireworks.

The hot springs themselves.

Beautiful Harrison Lake

The Canada Day fireworks.

Haunts West & Robert C. Belyk

Robert Belyk is a local BC author who specializes in ghosts, haunting and horror stories. I've had the honor of meeting with him multiple times this year when he was visiting Hell's Gate to take some personal accounts of supernatural encounters at our establishment. I've given him a couple of testimonies myself and am thrilled to have been a part of his work.
You should read his books, they've got lots of interesting stories!

This is my personal testimony.

Hope, British Columbia

Hope: a beautiful little town of about 6,000, known for the abundance of flowers, trees, and mountains... and of course, Rambo. Yes, Rambo: First Blood was filmed here, and there are a ton of Rambo-affiliated things to see in the area. Just check out the visitor's information center.

Rambo cutouts at the visitor's center.

I fell in love with Hope as soon as I stepped off the Greyhound. Clean, friendly, small, surrounded by mountains, populated more so by trees than people, and a surprisingly large amount of places to shop, eat and be entertained. There is always something fun and exciting to see or do here, and it is very community-based, meaning that the people work together to keep the town going  strong. 

A general map of Hope

Where it is in comparison to Vancouver

Where it is in comparison to our house

There are many beautiful places to go around Hope and lots of neat things to see. The Hope Memorial Park is a gorgeous town park with many large trees, grassy fields, and a playground. There are always people there enjoying the sunshine and the beautiful weather, with their families, friends and pets.

Hope is also very well-known for being the chainsaw carving capital of the world. They boast incredible wooden figures and statues all produced by chainsaw artists. They are usually in the form of any number of wild animals, but can also be seen depicted as any number of things. 

The Othello Tunnels, also known as the Coquihalla (Ko-ki-hall-ah) Canyon Provincial Park, are perhaps my favorite Hope site; they mark the site of the Rambo film, the Kettle Valley Railway line, and some amazing scenery. This is one place I wish I got to visit more often, but be warned -- the tunnels may or may not be shut down due to maintenance.

The tunnels used to be used for the Kettle Valley railway, but they've since taken out the railways and made it accessible for people to walk through. They seem to shut down regularly due to recurring issues with the bridges leading through the tunnels, so make sure to check ahead before being disappointed. 

The Hope town center's chainsaw carving

The Japanese garden next to Hope Memorial Park

Hope Memorial Park

The town center's clock

On the banks of the Fraser River in Hope

Hell's Gate's own bear chainsaw carving

The Othello Tunnels

The Othello Tunnels

Hope is at the heart of the Fraser Canyon

So if you are a fan of nature, hiking, Rambo, or anything at all, you will love to visit Hope. And with only a 30 minute drive to Chilliwack with all major stores, how could you resist living here?