Reviews of Barkerville Historic Town & Park (Mall)

Emerald Shih

Great place to visit, rich with history. Don’t miss the tours, especially the Victorian Town Tour. The tour guides and actors are superb. So much to see, if you can budget a whole day there. Or more. The admission ticket is good for two days.

David Monteith

Great experience really found the outfits of the staff and the acting to be very good. However I came very unprepared for the school in the Chinese neighborhood, and the lady in the school had to remind me to be polite, my apologies as you were very right, a question should start with "please", I looked incredibly foolish belting out "tell me about the school" sorry. That being said I couldn't think of what to ask earlier today. Now I would love to know more about the history and the local Chinese dialects that might have been spoken, was the Chinese community mainly from the south? Etc.. just some curiosity as when I was in a museum in Southern China I found information pertaining to barkerville and that actually inspired me to visit barkerville in the first place. Really did enjoy the trip, next time I will remember to write down my questions.

Kun Z

It’s a very special place. It’s very interesting to walk around in the town and see a lot of historical things. I had a great experience at this place several years ago. I always want to go back again with kids. They will love gold panning and the shows as I did. ????

Kaelen Cohen

Great visit!! If you truly want the full Barkerville experience you must stay overnight at one of the accomodations. We stayed at the Kelly House and there's something truly special about the town before and after the gates close to the public. Can't wait until the next time!

Michelle Mccready

Take a step back in time when you walk through this town. Days of old are alive and dynamic in this working piece of history that draws you into the stories of the people that called Barkerville their home. This isn't just a collection of old building brought to the site as a tourist trap. Rather, this place is the archive of an actual town, mining camp, and community that thrived in this valley. The "town folk" that now walk the streets and run the businesses here are a part of the narrative of this town and will share the tales of the people who made this place their home while facing adversity with courage and ingenuity. Please note: Barkerville is not dog friendly and your furry friend will have to wait outside the gates in one of the kennels. Service animals are allowed.

Wallace Koopmans

No other place like it. Every British Columbian should visit as well as any visitors to the area.

Ashley Taylor

Always love barkerville! I could walk through a million times! The bakery is definitely must! And I also grab my favorite candies from the general store!

Jo key

Great place to see, but a lot was closed and no shows due to covid, so never got to experience the whole vibe of the place, which was disappointing.

Foto Gini

This place is pure magic! We are going there at least one time every year and always find things we haven't seen before. You can meet great people there, artists with body and soul impersonating the characters they are playing very well. …

Edward - MamaYeh RV Park

A great winter retreat at Barkerville Historic Town before Christmas in 2018! This was our first time in winter to stay at cottage in Barkerville. The atmosphere in winter there was completely different from visiting in Summer! We stayed …

Alie Desrosiers

Just went there today, it was amazing and I have some tips and advise. The drive up is beautiful, just take the corners slow as they can be misjudged as how sharp they are. Plan to be there from 10am until atleast 4pm or later, it is needed. Take the 10am tour as it should not be missed. The actor who talks and walks you through the European part is amazing. She keeps you engaged with her knowledge, delivery and humor. After the tour go back and visit the buildings that interest you, grab a cup of coffee. I recommend paying the $7 for the souvenir mug as you then get unlimited coffee. Look in the shops and do not miss the bakery, it is everything and more. I then recommend you walk through Chinatown on your own first. The tour for that starts at 2:30pm so you have time. It is given by an Archeologist. However the lack of 5 stars is due to this tour. Within the first five minutes of her presentation, she makes fun of the guide of the Eruopean tour which was totally uncalled for and I found rude. Though she is very knowledgeable, her delivery was very dry and I found myself loose focus. Was a few kids who also felt this and became board, while a few adults also left the tour within the first 20 or 30 minutes. The information was super interesting and I loved hearing about it, but the presentation wasn't the best. Especially since the first tour was sooo very engaging. This is why I recommend you read up first before doing the tour, that way if you want you can just skip ahead. The guide also wore her mask the whole time while outside, which made it even harder for myself and I'm sure others to hear and understand her. Barkerville as a whole was amazing, I highly recommend everyone go as there is soo much to learn, see and explore.

Jennifer MacLachlan

Great interactive museum town. Fantastic way to learn about history. A must do for kids for sure... It will give them a leg up on social studies curriculum. It's so much more interesting to learn about the past from actors portraying people than from reading the information in a book!

Chase M

Don't miss out on seeing Northern BC historic culture. Such an amazing town

Nilesh Patel

Still worth a visit! Got the candy and the characters but with covid no shows. Great history lesson for this Era of BC...some crazy donuts too now!

Wayne Macdougall

Finally made it there. Quiet because of covid. Perfect.

Dean Lythgoe

Was nice to visit and see the history of the mining days in Canada (BC). Had a nice time exploring the town and seeing what goods the shops have to offer. You have to wear masks inside buildings but outside is fine to take them off, social distancing was easy enough to follow as it wasn't too busy while I was there. One family or a certain number of people is sign posted before you enter buildings with hand sanitizer provided outside. Be sure to check out Jack of clubs lake on your way out if you need to cool off in the spring/summer, the water is nice and cool to dip your feet into! Only reason I didn't give 5 stars was because their was quite a few stores that were closed, but I know thats because of the impact covid has had on this place.

Brenda McDonald

A great little town full of information on the history of gold mining/panning, little shops, historic buildings and people in character-dressed in period specific attire. It was really neat and we learnt a lot about that Era.

Lisa Janzen

Wish the photography was open!

Dani

Barkerville This was our first visit to Barkerville. We thoroughly enjoyed interacting with the local folks who were in character for the late 1800’s. We arrived at 9:00 am …

John “Jay” McGowan

Many of the exhibits closed at the moment and limited live entertainment. This does not detract from the authentic feel of strolling through a frontier village. Period costume actors are available in the stores and strolling through the venue. They bring the period to life with stories and facts. Well worth a visit though make reservations as there is limited admittance.

Noah

Very interesting historic town, reasonably priced, they did replace all acts with actors due to covid but most gave super interesting facts about life in the 1800s especially the lady in the church. We did the gold panning at the general store instructor was a bit rude to the woman in our group but put our gold in a little vile and sent it home with us. We then ended off our day at the cemetery just up the hill and visited billy barkers grave. I would say Barkerville is definitely worth your while.

Amanda W

Very cool place! My favourite part was the people re-enacting various tasks. If you had the pleasure of having a quick chat with any of these actors you’d find they’re a wealth of knowledge and have a great sense of humour. Unfortunately my husband couldn’t come with me as we didn’t want to put our pup in the doggy prisons out front. It’s a shame we couldn’t bring her in with us as she’s a lot more behaved then the kid I saw throwing rocks in there today. Someone should open a doggy daycare next door, they’d make a killing! Tip: bring a wide lens camera to get great pictures of the rooms!

rose o'neill

Beautiful place. Wonderful people. Amazing area. So much to see and do.

Alan Forseth

So happy to have been able to visit Barkerville once again. Great job with your COVID proticals

Dana Storm

Took a road trip up to Barkerville, took the back way from Likely definitely took longer than expected but worth it. Also Barkerville was amazing with so much to see! Sadly got there after hours but was still able to look around. Will go again!

Jellybean AutoCrafters

We had 15 vehicles participate in our 2020 Fall Colours Specialty Car Tour, so when we stopped in for a tour at Barkerville, we were very pleased with the service and the town itself. …

Erik de Groot

Awesome. Beautiful buildings great skits and GOLD! GOLD! Really has been fantastically restored and contains so much history about the gold rush in the Cariboo region. A must visit if in the area. Note admission is for 2 days and it is easy to spend 1.5 days there.

Ms-S Van

What an awesome place! Lots of things closed due to COVID, BUT.. it was hard enough seeing everything in only 3 hours anyways! Actors are awesome and so informative, check-in staff were absolutely wonderful. We went during a power outage and they helped give us credit card slips to be able to buy some gifts from the merchants. This was a highlight of our whole trip and I highly highly recommend the visit!! An absolute must-see!!!

David Williams

Treasured historical site which is a must see. Unfortunately current conditions limited some activities and overall experience. Haven't been to the townsite for 25 years but feel much more could have been achieved towards making Barkerville a world class destination as well as the graveyard is poorly maintained should also be preserved.

Dan Hadash

What a great place! Everyone working there us awesome and really wants you to have the best experience possible. Go if you haven't been.

Tim Nguyen

Much too far to be worthwhile. I've been to Burnaby Village and Fort Langley, and this is not much different. Larger but essentially the same. If it was closer to home or other attractions it might be worthwhile. 10 hours there, 4 hours stay then 10 hours back.

Trish Brooks

The town itself is AMAZING... historically you step back in time and it is an experience you won't forget. The cottages are amazing if you are looking for accommodations. 3 bed 1-1/2 bath with a full kitchen and laundry. Very clean and …

Kelly Frankson

Still has the same charm it did when I was a kid! Mining for gold is a must and horse wagon ride was well worth the extra cost. Chinese restaurant has plenty of charm and highly recommend getting a steel mug and free coffee refills from the general store!

Bill Reid

Thought this was great!!! It was good going from building to building looking at the exhibits and learning about our province's history in this region during the gold rush!! We are lucky to have historical places like this to go to. We also got to see some bears and a moose in their natural environment... The campsite was also very good (Lowhee). We had electrical hookup. More full (water/electrical) hookup sites would be great. There is a river across the road from the campsite. It was nice to go there to cool off after a day of exploring at Barkerville.

Lisa McDougall

Love it will be back for a 3rd time this year , so lucky to have this little gem so close .

Daniel Appleby

Very neat to see such a historic place in its original condition including the "residents" of the town in full character. Definitely worth visiting as a BC resident!

Ulina R

Pretty neat place to visit but the cost if you want to have the “full experience” is just plain unreasonable. Seeing this historical place in person was really quite something though and the little hike to the view points was great. The views on the way there were breathtaking as well.

Taylor LaMarre

One of my favorite places to take my kids. Very happy this year they had the gold panning open to the public. The staff and the entertainers that work there are always super friendly. I was lucky enough to snag a custom made fire poker from the black smith.

Julie Lier

It is always so amazing to visit this unique historic site

Wendy Shaw

Finally got to see this historic town, although still under some covid regulations. Some services/restaurants have a wait list... 1st come... so sign in! Wheelchair ♿ and ramps, with the offer of scooter should walking back be too much. …