Hell's Gate Airtram, Boston Bar BC

A short distance south of Boston Bar is one of the most spectacular sights in British Columbia: Hell's Gate, a narrowing of the Fraser River where the water churns through in a tremendous maelstrom. It's an awesome sight to behold, and certainly a "hellish" experience for the more than 2 million spawning Salmon who must pass through this part of the Fraser River every year. The Hell's Gate aerial ferry was installed in 1946, prior to which one could only cross the Fraser River by boat.

Population: 5

Location: Boston Bar is located on the Trans-Canada Highway 1, on the east bank of the Fraser River, midway between Hope and Lytton. To the south of Boston Bar are the communities of Spuzzum and Yale.

• For a closer look at the fury of Hell's Gate ride the Hell's Gate Airtram across to the other side of the river. Restaurants, gift shops and an interpretive centre await those daring enough to make the trip.

• Across the river, at the community of North Bend, visitors will discover a historic First Nations cemetery dating back to the Village of Koiaum, the original settlement in this area.

• Even tough old prospectors have a sensitive side, it seems; just north of Boston Bar is Jackass Mountain a treacherous part of the Gold Rush trail named in commemoration of the many hapless pack animals who toiled up this precipitous grade.

• Activities in the area are plentiful - fishing, boating, hiking, camping, kayaking, canoeing and whitewater rafting. The varied terrain of the Vancouver, Coast and Mountains region of BC accommodates every outdoor recreation known to man.

• Historic Emory Creek Provincial Park has a small campground situated at the former townsite of Emory City, which was a tiny but bustling trading settlement in the mid-1800s. When the Canadian Pacific Railway decided that nearby Yale would be its major centre, Emory was left to 'sigh and die.' Conveniently located beside Hwy 1 and the Fraser River, south of Boston Bar, this park fills up quickly in summer.

• Hiking in Stein Valley Provincial Park

  Allow a week or more to cover the entire length of the extended 40-mile (60-km) hiking route that transects Stein Valley Nlaka'pamux Heritage Park immediately west of Lytton. This hike is suitable only for very fit, experienced hikers who are prepared to be totally self-sufficient. It's important for hikers to remember that once you've reached Stein Lake, the halfway point, you are at least two days away from any assistance.

  Extensive damage was done to parts of the Stein's landscape by a forest fire in 1996, making some hiking routes difficult to distinguish, particularly west of Scudamore Creek to the midpoint in the upper canyon.

• See the best of the area on a driving Circle Tour. Head north out of Vancouver for a scenic tour of the Sunshine Coast and Vancouver Island, or stay on the intensely scenic Sea to Sky Highway, passing through the magical winter resort town of Whistler and looping through the Coast Mountains. To explore the rural farmlands and forests of the fertile Fraser Valley, travel outbound on the scenic route north of the historic Fraser River, returning westwards along the Trans Canada Highway 1 to Vancouver. Circle Tours in BC.