Cache Creek, British Columbia, Canada
Hat creek Ranch
Through the desert Today our drive went through some really dry landscape towards Cache Creek… a lot of sand, desert shrubs, and also a lot of areas where you saw the burned black leftovers of the trees from fires from the past
Marble Canyon PPSo this is a nice campground at a lake, and they say the mountains are special: I guess it would be nice if the sun would be out… but since we love the sun we continue our journey on after a short stop and checking out a lake in the rain.
Camping on a Ranch with the horsesWe were the only camping here and we had a super cool camping spot… like a stall right near he horses and nice views on the area and the ranch… so after setting up we went to learn and explore the ranch:
What's to know about the Hat creek Ranch?- The dirt roads are the same the wagon trains went on during the gold rush: the Cariboo Wagon Road, with the historic road house built in 1860 and in use until 1960
- It was originally established by the Hudson Bay Company Trader in 1861
- The Roadhouse was catering the travelers on route
- The Barnyard’s Express Stage Company operated fright and passengers on the Cariboo Road from 1863 - 1913
- Then it became a cattle ranch until 1977
- It’s 14 km south from Cache Creek
- Driving along the Road you can’t miss the signs: Cariboo Gold Rush
- Thousands of miners came here from the US in search of Gold and seeking their fortune
- The first gold discovery was made in 1859, with several more in other locations
- Several towns grew up, the most famous Bakersfield
- The Cariboo Gold Rush was the most important one in BC: they sometimes say it was the beginning of the Colony of British Columbia
- The population in the Cariboo Gold rush was largely British and Canadian (as where the Fraser Gold Rush was largely American)
- At that Time the Colony was often referred to as the Gold Colony
- The Boom of the Cariboo Gold fields was the impetus for building the Cariboo Wagon Road, starting in Yale going through Lillooet, 70 Mile house, 100 Mile house, 150 Mile house & Williams Lake and ending in Barkersville
Exploring the Hat Creek Ranch- The 3 Bay Barn: here we found the horses and you feel like you are on a ranch – that’s when we got the idea of becoming real cowboys
- The road house: inside here you can feel the old history starting out when we visited the bar
- We walked through the old farmhouse and along the hallways with the tapestry wall covering and saw how they lived in the past
- We saw some old farm equipment and enjoyed the view on the surrounding area
- Saw some old log houses – some of them you can’t even see where the grass of the mountain ends and it grows in the roof
The Stage Coach Ride Ok so we did had to check out how comfortable that ride really was…
A Native Indian VillageFrom the Shuswap, where we not only saw how they prepared and dried the hides, but also the different kind of tepees: the ones to move around for summer and hunting – as well as the more permanent ones built underground, which are quite big.
Sunset and sunshine on the Ranch 
We saw a wonderful red sky sunset and woke up in the morning to more sunshine… so we had breakfast with the horses
Going on a horse rideYou can’t be on a ranch and not become a Cowboy… and so we went for a horse ride through the area…. It was a very nice way to go up on the hills and view down on the valley… image the good old times. But the biggest joke was our "Cowboy" was a German tourist working during his summer vacation here….
2025-05-22