About the area

The Village of Hazelton is about halfway between Prince Rupert and Prince George, in the Regional District of Kitimat-Stikine. It is 7 km north of Highway 16 on Highway 62.

Nine other communities are close by: New Hazelton and South Hazelton, the Gitxsan communities of Gitanmaax, Kispiox, Glen Vowell, Gitsegukla, Kitwanga and Gitanyow, and the Wet’suwet’en community of Hagwilget.

The land

The Rocher Déboulé Range rises above the Village to Stekyoden, which towers 2,076 metres (6,811 feet) above Hazelton. The rivers here are famous for salmon and steelhead, and the area has walking and hiking trails for every level.

Winters are cold but softened by Pacific air. The average January low is about minus 9°C, and the average July high is about 23°C. Average yearly precipitation is 614 mm.

Living here

Everyday services are right in the Village, with more in New Hazelton, Terrace and Smithers. There is a full service campground at Gitanmaax and more places to stay in New Hazelton. The Village has a range of homes and commercial properties, from heritage buildings downtown to newer buildings along Highway 62.

Nearby attractions

Coming from Highway 16, you cross the Hagwilget Canyon Bridge over the Bulkley River. The first bridge here was built by the Wet’suwet’en, and the second used leftover materials from the Collins Overland Telegraph. When the current bridge opened in 1931 it was the highest in Canada, 140 metres long and 80 metres above the river.

‘Ksan Historical Village at Gitanmaax, next to the Village, grew from a museum founded in Hazelton in 1959. It opened as a reconstructed Gitxsan village in 1970 and has totem poles and longhouses that share the living culture of the Gitxsan people.