Prince Rupert

Prince Rupert, often referred to as just Rupert, is a small port city on the North Coast of British Columbia, Canada.

Understand

The population of about 14,000 people (2020) is about half First Nations (Indigenous) people. The Tsimshian Nation is the First Nation in the Prince Rupert area; archeological excavations show they have been there for at least 5,000 years.

History

Prince Rupert was named for Prince Rupert of the Rhine, the first Governor of the Hudson's Bay Company. Prior to the opening of the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway (GTP), which developed a terminus at Prince Rupert, the business centre on the North Coast was Port Essington on the Skeena River. After the founding of Prince Rupert at the western terminus of the GTP, Port Essington was bypassed by many businesses and declined to being a fishing community.

Charles Melville Hays, president of the Grand Trunk Railway, had many grand ideas for Prince Rupert, including berthing facilities for large passenger ships and the development of a major tourism industry. These plans fell through when Hays died in the sinking of the RMS Titanic in April 1912. Mount Hays, the larger of two mountains on Kaien Island, is named in his honour, as is a local high school, Charles Hays Secondary School.

Local politicians used the promise of a highway connected to the mainland as an incentive, and the city grew over the next several decades. American troops completed the 100-mile (160-km) stretch of road between Prince Rupert and Terrace during World War II to facilitate the movement of thousands of Allied troops to the Aleutian Islands and the Pacific. Several forts were built to protect the city at Barrett Point and Fredrick Point.

Prince Rupert
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After World War II, the fishing industry, particularly for salmon and halibut, and forestry became the city's major industries.

In the 1990s, both the fishing and forestry industries suffered a significant downturn in economic activity. The forest industry declined when a softwood lumber dispute arose between Canada and the USA. After the pulp mill closed down, many people were unemployed, and much modern machinery was left unused. After reaching a peak of about 18,000 in the early 1990s, Prince Rupert's population began to decline, as people left in search of work.

1996 to 2004 was difficult for Prince Rupert, with closure of the pulp mill, the burning down of a fish plant and a significant population decline. 2005 was a critical turning point: the announcement of the construction of a container port in April 2005, combined with new ownership of the pulp mill, the opening in 2004 of a new cruise ship dock, the resurgence of coal and grain shipping, and the prospects of increased heavy industry and tourism may foretell a bright future for the area.

Weather

Prince Rupert holds the title of rainiest city in Canada, with about 2,500 mm (98 in) of precipitation annually. That's even more than the notoriously rainy Vancouver, so bring good rain gear!

Get in

By plane

Main airport
  • ๐ŸŒ Prince Rupert Airport (YPR  IATA โ€“ WMO: 71022), Digby Island (board shuttle at Highlander Plaza Hotel (815 - 1st Avenue West) and take bus and ferry), โ˜ +1 250-624-6274, . Su-F 8AM - 7:55PM, Sa 10:30AM - 3PM. Prince Rupert has domestic service by small turboprop airliner. Flights take two hours each way, but because of the additional time required to reach Digby Island (just west of Kaien Island and downtown Prince Rupert) by airport bus and ferry, it takes about four hours to travel between downtown Prince Rupert and Vancouver International Airport. 

Airlines to main airport

Seaplanes

By car

Highway 16 (Yellowhead Highway) travels west from Prince George. The drive takes roughly eight hours. Don't drive this road in winter months if you are not familiar with treacherous winter highway conditions.

Ferries
See also: Alaska Marine Highway

Cruise Ships

Prince Rupert is a port-of-call for cruise ships plying the inland passage, serving over 50,000 visitors each season. The Northland Terminal is in Cow Bay, close (up a short hill) to the downtown core. Many shore excursions can be accessed at the Atlin terminal (just east of Northland), ranging from bus, boat and seaplane sight seeing tours to saltwater fishing, kayaking and native cultural experiences.

By bus
  • BC Bus North, โ˜ +1-844-564-7494. Twice per week bus service between Prince George and Prince Rupert with stops in Vanderhoof, Fraser Lake, Burns Lake, Houston, Smithers, New Hazelton, Kitwanga, and Terrace, and Port Edward. Travel time to Prince Rupert from Prince George is 11.5 hours, from Smithers is 4.75 hours, from Terrace is 1.75 hours, and from Vanderhoof is 9.75 hours. Fare is $40 to $65, depending on distance. (updated Apr 2021)

By train
See also: Rail travel in Canada
  • ๐ŸŒ Prince Rupert station, 2000 Park Ave. (updated Oct 2023)
    • VIA Rail Canada, toll-free: +1-888-842-7245. Operates a route between Jasper and Prince Rupert with stops in McBride, Prince George, Vanderhoof, Burns Lake, Houston, Smithers, New Hazelton, Kitwanga, and Terrace. The train travels during the daytime, taking two days in each direction. There is an overnight stop in Prince George, where passengers will need to book sleeping accommodations. Travel time to Prince Rupert from Prince George is 12.5 hours, from Vanderhoof is 10.5 hours, from Burns Lake is 8.5 hours, from Smithers is 6.5 hours, and from Terrace is 2.25 hours. On days that trains service Prince Rupert, departures are at 8AM and arrivals 8:25PM. As of February 2018, the ticket counter is not staffed; buy your ticket aboard the train (credit card or cash only) or online. Jasper is also a stop for The Canadian, which travels between Vancouver and Toronto. (updated Apr 2022)

Get around

Most of downtown Prince Rupert is accessible on foot. A good place to get oriented is the Visitor Information Centre, located on the east end of the Atlin Terminal.

A taxi ride anywhere in town will be no more than $10.

By public transit
  • BC Transit (Prince Rupert Transit System), โ˜ +1-250-624-3343. Operates bus routes within Prince Rupert from Monday to Saturday, including to the ferry terminals and the train station. Also, operates a bus route between Prince Rupert and Port Edward from Monday to Saturday. Fare is $2 in town and $3 to Port Edward. (updated Jun 2023)

By taxi

See
  • ๐ŸŒ Kwinitsa Station Railway Museum (inside Rotary Waterfront Park), โ˜ +1 250-624-3207. Tells the story of early Prince Rupert and the role of the railway in its development. Built in 1911, Kwinitsa Station was one of 400 identical rail stations along the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway from Winnipeg to Prince Rupert. Today, it is one of only four surviving stations. (updated Mar 2023)
  • ๐ŸŒ Pacific Mariners Memorial Park (between the foot of McBride St and the Northland Terminal). There are two focal points of the park: one being the bronze Mariner's statue and Memorial Walls, the other the Shinto Shrine which was built for the "Kazu Maru", a Japanese fishing dingy that drifted across the Pacific Ocean from Prince Rupert's sister-city Owase in Japan. (updated Mar 2023)
  • ๐ŸŒ Museum of Northern British Columbia, 100 - 1st Avenue West (on the waterfront at the foot of McBride Avenue), โ˜ +1 250-624-3207, fax: +1 250 627-8009, . Jun-Aug: M-Sa 9AM-8PM, Su 9AM-5PM; Sep-May: M-Sa 9AM-5PM. The museum tells the 10,000-year-old history of the Haida, Tsimishian, Tlingit, and Nisga. It also operates the Carving Shed and the Kwinitsa Station. Adult $6, teens 13-19 $3, children 6-12 $2, children under 5 $1. (updated Mar 2023)
  • ๐ŸŒ North Pacific Cannery, 1889 Skeena Drive, Port Edward (from Prince Rupert, turn right after the bridge onto highway 599, which becomes Skeena Drive (about 20 km from downtown Prince Rupert total)), โ˜ +1 250-628-3538 (May-Sep), +1 250-628-3667 (Oct-Apr), fax: +1 250 628-3540, . May Jun & Sep: Tu-Su 9:30AM-5PM; Jul & Aug: daily 9:30AM-5PM. Open until 8PM when a cruise ship is visiting. A national historic site, it is the oldest, most completely preserved cannery remaining of two hundred-or-so that once dotted BC's Northwest Coast. BC Transit runs the number 60 bus in the summer to the cannery from the Visitor Information Centre in Atlin Terminal in Cow Bay, which takes about 40 minutes. Adult $12, child 5-18 $6, child under 5 free, family (2 adults + children) $25, tour groups $10. (updated Mar 2023)
  • ๐ŸŒ Totem Park (Summit Avenue, on the ocean side of the loop just past the main Hospital entrance). Home to many of Prince Rupert's totem poles. Free. 
  • ๐ŸŒ Sunken Gardens, Behind the Courthouse on McBride Ave. 24 hr. Heritage gardens with a spectacular display of colourful, lush flowers, shrubs and trees. The gardens were begun in a hole left behind when the city's courthouse was relocated in the 1920s. (updated Aug 2020)

Do

Prince Rupert is famous for its fishing expeditions. Mostly salmon and halibut, with potential catches over a hundred pounds.

Learn

Buy

Eat

Drink

Sleep

Connect
  • ๐ŸŒ Prince Rupert Public Library, 101 6th Ave West, โ˜ +1 250-627-1345, fax: +1 250 627-7851, . M 1-5PM, Tu-Th 10AM-9PM, F 10AM-5PM, Sa Su 1-5PM (closed Sundays in the summer). The library has eight computers for public use, no membership needed and free wireless. Careful after school; they get quite busy right after the bell. $1 for each ยฝ hour after the first, subject to availability. 
  • ๐ŸŒ Safeway/Starbucks, 200 2nd Ave West, โ˜ +1 250-624-2412. Daily 7AM-10PM. There is a small seating area inside and out where you can sit on the wireless. Free. 

Cope

Go next

Visit the Haida Gwaii for a unique wilderness adventure you will never forget.

Routes through Prince Rupert
END โ†  W  E  โ†’ Terrace โ†’ Jasper
Masset โ† Daajing Giids-Skidegate โ† โ†  W  E  โ†’ Terrace โ†’ Prince George


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