Tulameen River Road to Granite City Ghost Town (British Columbia)

In 1885 Granite City briefly outranked Victoria in population as gold-crazed prospectors flooded the Tulameen River gravel bars. Today the town is a few depressions in the ground, a provincial heritage marker, and a damn good reason to drive the Tulameen River Road from the village of Tulameen westward through the rolling plateau. The road is a mix of maintained gravel and rougher unmaintained sections, following the river past Otter Lake Provincial Park before pushing into the logged-over highlands where the ghost town site sits in a meadow clearing. Side tracks branch to old mine adits and prospect pits — bring a topo and explore carefully.

This is a Moderate route — a capable stock 4WD will handle it in dry conditions, but some of the side tracks to mine sites require lockers and more ground clearance. Early May through October works, though spring runoff creates soft spots and some water bars become real obstacles. The town of Tulameen has no fuel; Princeton is your last reliable stop heading in from the east. The heritage site itself requires no permit, but stay on designated tracks — this is active agricultural and Crown land and locals notice when people don’t. Dispersed camping is available along the river corridor. Come for the gold rush history, stay for the brook trout fishing.