Founded by Simon Fraser in 1806 on the shores of beautiful Stuart Lake, Fort St James is the gateway to a chain of rivers and lakes that traverse 400 kilometres of central British Columbia.
Fort St James is a stable community of 1,300 people that benefits from an established forest industry and a growing tourism industry.
Year round outdoor and indoor recreational opportunities include hiking and biking trails, ballparks, golf, fishing, hunting, water-skiing, canoeing, swimming, sailing and boating, alpine and nordic skiing, skating, hockey, curling, snowmobiling, dog sledding and camping.
Fort St. James is situated among stunning lakes and mountains on the south-eastern shore of Stuart Lake, at the head of the Stuart River. Part of the sub-boreal spruce zone, a sub-division of the hemiboreal climatic zone, the community sits at latitude 54º30' N and longitude is 124º10' W, with an elevation of 673 metres above sea level.
The weather is characterized by snowy winters (average January temperature is -12.5º C) and warm summers (average July temperature is 15.6º C). Annual precipitation is 47.4 cm. The region is rich in wildlife, one of the last great wilderness and resource industry frontiers in the world. This spectacular part of Canada is sparsely populated yet accessible; rural and wild, yet well serviced and close to big city amenities.
Together with Vanderhoof (60 km to the south) and Fraser Lake (another 60 km to the west of Vanderhoof) Fort St. James is part of what is known locally as the “tri-cities of the Stuart Nechako”. 160 km away, Prince George is the closest, largest city (pop. 75,150) with daily air connections to Calgary and Edmonton, Fort St. John, Kelowna, Smithers and Vancouver.