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    Britannia Mine Museum

    4.3 (54 reviews)
    Closed 9:00 am - 5:30 pm

    Britannia Mine Museum Photos

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    Spencer, "edu-taining" his tour group
    Raya Z.

    Spencer was our guide, and he was fantastic. You can tell he loves this place and what he does. Both my elderly grandfather and my toddler son had a wonderful time. We upgraded to members and will be back in the summer!

    Mill No. 3

    We were here Friday Oct 17 with the 1 PM tour. Amelia, our tour guide is amazing! This experience makes you really feel. They know what they're doing. Needs at least an hour or so; and so worth it. The mine tour itself is close to an hour; with a four minute train ride through the tunnels; then a 30 min exhibition in the mine tunnels. It makes you feel. Followed by a multi sensory show inside the actual mill. That was amazing! The amount of history in this place. And there is still lots to explore outside of the mine tour. I especially liked trying to look for pyrite and precious stones in their gold panning area. Highly recommended! P.S. Also loved the mocha hazelnut latte at their cafe

    The views from the property

    This is one of the best tour experiences that I ever did, From the check in process to the entire experience, It was Amazing. If you ever wanna see or experience a copper mine and the processes even going under ground to see the old to new mining technology Britannia Mine museum is a must in Canada.

    Shamika M.

    This place came up when I googled activities for my mom, son and I when we traveled to Canada for the first time in October. This is such an amazing experience and with such history behind the why and what and how of its existence. To see the conditions mine workers worked in so many years ago and the health concerns from working down there for so many hours was mind blowing. Marshall was our guide who once worked in the mines until the 70s and his account of what it was like was amazing. Seeing how loud things were for 8hours a day while they worked, minimal light, and what they had to breathe and endure left me saying Wow over and over. This is a great experience to bring children and families with a breathtaking view.

    Panning for gold
    Ashley Z.

    This was one of the coolest stops on our vacation in Squamish. My husband, two kids, and I visited just yesterday and we can't stop talking about how amazing the tour was. We had an incredible guide, Spencer, who was charismatic and informative, and made the experience extraordinary. There were demonstrations in the mine that really made this tour special. The Boom Show at the end was such a cool wrap up of how this mine functioned during its working years. We even got to pan for some gold at the end, which occupied my kids (and husband) for 45 minutes. It was a great way to fill up a morning of visiting Squamish and I would HIGHLY recommend adding this to your itinerary.

    Denise W.

    My friend H and I came here on the family long weekend. Admission was half off ($18.50 per person). There was lots to see. We got to check out the Boom show and the mine tour (max 6 people at a time). Please note that reservation is required for this. The tour and show last about 1.5 hours. That was quite fun. We also did some gold panning at the end. I ended up getting quite a few cool stuff from the panning area. It was nice that they had warm water flowing in stead of cold water. The gift shop had some really cool stuff for sale. I picked up a geode from there. We also spoke to a few volunteers on site and one in particular actually worked at Britannia Mine when it was an active mine. Now, he only comes once in awhile to volunteer. People are so friendly working there. I highly recommend you coming to visit if you haven't been here before. (This is not my first time to Britannia Mine. I had a field trip here when I was in highschool. )

    Carolyn L.

    I finally found someone who was keen to visit the museum with me. Just a pity it was not when I had the entertainment coupon of 2 for 1 entry. Besides the regular increase in pricing (about $35 now), this place is actually enjoyable. We came during Covid-19 time. Social distancing and safety measures were in place. The underground train tour had limited capacity -- max 5 groups of 4 people for each tour. So make your reservation online to get your preferred time slot. Some high touch areas exhibits were closed which were understandable. But you could still pan for gold and other stones/crystals. I really enjoyed that and we probably spent about an hour just doing that. The underground train tour was not that cold when I was there. I wore a thin cardigan and brought a jacket which I didn't wear. Probably 15c? There were puddles inside the mine and water did drip from the walls. The hard hats were cleaned and sanitized after use, so no worries about cleanliness. The staff were wonderful in ensuring the safety protocols. The Boom! Show was unexpectedly entertaining. Social distancing and limited capacity was in place. The show reminded me of those in Disney or Universal Studios (less special effects). It was not just a video or something. Kudos to that. Apparently the place was renovated or updated last year or so. Probably explained why the exhibits seemed more current in the presentation. Definitely a place to visit for both locals and visitors.

    Dave O.

    The claims were staked here in 1898 - although the attraction was copper, a mountain of this magnitude contains many minerals and precious metals and the investors of this mining operation has taken every measure to ensure every mineral of value was exploited. Estimated Production numbers through 1969 Copper - 1,269,926,000 pounds Zinc - 250,000,000 pounds Silver - 5,000,000 ounces Gold - 450,000 ounces Pyrite - 700,000 tons Like most successful businesses the need to continuously evolve is critical to its success, this mining operation has been forced to change as the ores have been depleted. Today's operation would look completely foreign to the original proprietors who swung the first pick-axes here. Technology and opportunity have allowed most of the one hundred and forty miles of tunnels within this mountain to go dark and remains only as a ghostly reminder of how mining began. The new mother-lode is tourism and the mining of paper filled wallets is a much safer and environmentally friendly industry - at nearly thirty bucks a head for admission the laborious extracting and processing task has long been replaced and today the revenue is generated by filling the mine instead of emptying it. It is interesting but since I have no relatives that prospered or sacrificed their lives to make some wholly owned conglomerate wealthy I was yawning after a few minutes...

    cue Tim Allen, "Now that's a man's truck"
    Jen K.

    Every time I have one of those days in the office when I think things are tough and boo-hoo, poor me, I think back to our visit to the BC Museum of Mining. The tour through the mine reminded me that (a) there are way worse jobs in the world [1], and (b) at least my job won't literally kill me. When they demonstrated the evolution of different drills with names like the widow-maker, the only differentiation was this one will kill you quick (recoil) or slow (inhalation of toxic fumes). It isn't all doom and gloom and it was pretty interesting stuff. The mine was in operation from 1904 - 1974 churning out tons of copper ore. You can take an underground tour, complete with hard hats, of the mine and there is an area outside to pan for gold and specks of precious gems. Both were a huge hit with the kids. I was more awestruck by the mill with all the levels and almost vertical tracks to transport the ore (cue childhood nightmares of runaway trains). And there is a little bit of Hollywood magic here since the underground mine, mill and historic village have been used in over 50 movies and TV shows (Insomnia, MacGyver, Double Jeopardy, Scooby Doo Two, Smallville, The X Files, Dark Angel). They have autographed photos of the stars in the Chatterbox gift shop alongside minerals, rocks, fossils and jewelry for sale. The museum is located between Vancouver and Whistler on the Sea to Sky Highway, so it was a perfect spot to stop on our drive to Whistler. [1] The entry level job for every miner was to haul the portable crapper around the mine. That way they learned the tunnel system and met all of the miners.

    Front sign~
    Edward L.

    It's not everyday that one can visit a mining museum this close to a city, in this part of the world. Parking is available in a nice large lot in front. Admission is $21.50 for adults and $13.50 for kids. Not bad for 1-2 people, but if you have a large family, hopefully you have deep pockets. Good: Train ride - this covers only a small portion of what's actually there (there are actually 200+ km of tunnel), but you get an idea of the insanely dark and miserable conditions that the miners had to go through. Tool demo (during the train ride) - holy geez that wood drill is loud! How technology has advanced beyond that drill, and candlelight! Mill #3 (that huge building you see as you drive by) - no idea how they managed to build the entire structure in only 18 months. There is a ridiculous amount of engineering inside this building. There's also a reason they use this building for filming horror flicks - there are 500 ways to die in here without anybody noticing. Gold panning - most places charge extra, but it's free and unlimited here. And the best part? There is still gold left in the sand. Patience is your best friend. Bad: The initial part of the museum - film was meh, and the main exhibit was rather lacking. The mineral and gold displays were pretty neat though. Oh, and don't forget to hit the dynamite plunger near the entrance. Boom. This attraction is definitely checking out once. Put it on your bucket lists.

    The underground tour

    My family came here for Father's Day and we were blown away. I've driven by for so many years with growing interest, and the tour exceeded all expectations! Our tour guide, Jack, was energetic, engaging and made us laugh! The museum paints a detailed and interesting picture of life at the time when the mine was thriving. 10/10 would recommend - and the Boom! show is a MUST see!

    Mulder and Scully left an autographed picture at the Britannia Mine Museum after filming an episode from Season Two.
    Jeff G.

    I think I got my childhood dream of exploring a coal mine from several Nintendo/Sega video games that for some reason took place in mines (Sonic, Donkey Kong, Mario, etc.) That dream was fulfilled at the Britannia Mine Museum! Maybe we weren't racing down the tracks and dodging bats, but the whole experience was still pretty cool, and I'd say worth paying the $20+ fee at least once. They give you a fascinating history of mining -- one of those things most people wouldn't look up on their own but when you're in the depths of the mountain its suddenly fascinating. The old town surrounding mine has a ghosty feel to it... hard to believe a community once thrived at Britannia Beach. The old pictures are haunting. Some of the original buildings still stand and you can explore them and their exhibits at your leisure. Also, for any X-Files fans, they filmed a very important episode at this mine in Season Two. A great stop along your self-guided Vancouver X-Files tour. Not to mention the breathtaking drive on the way to mine. If you're looking for a good, relaxed and unique restaurant to check out when you're finished, go to Mountain Woman for their fish and chips or buffalo burgers. Just a short walk away from the museum, and a gorgeous view of Howe Sound.

    David M.

    One of the biggest highlights of our entire 21 day road trip from Los Angeles to Whistler and back! We had driven north to Whistler and missed this place entirely. Heading back to Vancouver we saw the ginormous dump truck and turned around. I wanted a picture next to it but it was at night. They have fencing and a moat around it so we did not even try. The next day we went back. It was cheap by Canadian standards, under $100 to get a family of 4 in. They have a neat museum with all sorts of displays telling the history about the mine. When it was our turn to go into the mine, we put on real hard hats and boarded real mine cars and rode into the mine. To my surprise, they actually had multiple demonstrations of mining equipment and it gave us an incredible feeling of what it was like to work in a mine. After leaving the mine, we went through the core sample room, which was impressive because of it's age. Then we went into the massive ore processing building that is over 7 stories high and built into the mountain. This was awesome. I especially liked the vertical railway built to go from the bottom of the building to the top. After this, the tour was over. We roamed the grounds and looked at more displays which were well done. There was a room that had lots of artifacts from the people that used to live at the mine. Finally, there was an area we could pan for gold which the kids loved. All in all a great time and my kids (8 and 10) loved it.

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    It was interesting to learn a bit of local history. Worth the stop. Best part was going inside the mine and also the show at the mill.

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    Wow experience for all ages, mine ride, mining demo, mill enactment. History and future.

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    Review Highlights - Britannia Mine Museum

    We were able to pan out small piece of copper, fools gold, as well as some semi precious gem stones.

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    Railway Museum of British Columbia

    Railway Museum of British Columbia

    3.7(16 reviews)
    12.1 km

    Polar Express - this was very very expensive for what it inevitably turned out to be. We paid…read morealmost $300 for 5 silver tickets, about the same as the Harry Potter experience! Now I don't know if it's very expensive to run the train back and forth along maybe a 1km span slowly for an hr or what. The kids got confused and I genuinely thought they'd forgotten someone and had to go back to the station until it continued past and went back and forth in an industrial area and past the same houses and condos numerous times. I really expected we'd go to another destination one way for 20-30 mins for a drop off somewhere magical and come back an hr or so later. Even if that wasn't the case, just go in one direction for 20 mins, then come back, make the trip worthwhile! The train itself is nice, interesting to see the Rocky mountaineer up close. Christmas decor was very minimal, a string of lights on each end and the pre packaged cookie came in the last 10 mins of the "journey". The cast of characters that came through was fun for the kids. No Santa on our train. And Christmas music made it festive. The museum that serves as the "North Pole" was decked out nicely for what it was and I appreciate the effort from what I can assume was mostly volunteer run and put together. It did remind me very much of what they would do at a place like the Roundhouse community center though... Had I known how it would be for the price we paid, I think we would have allocated that hefty sum to another set of activities around Vancouver. Even my 7 year old was saying 'look we're just back at the same station, we didn't go anywhere!'. I'm sure on a regular museum day it's a nice place. But seriously, for the amount of money we were charged, quite disappointed overall. Been there, done that. It was a decent experience for the children overall but there's so many other things that kind of $$ could be spent on. Know what you're buying and maybe you won't have the expectations we did.

    Came here pre-Covid days...since one of my friends loves trains and train museums. Did some…read moreresearch prior and thought this would be a cool place for the group to visit. It only took us about 45-60 minutes to go through the site...There are several trains that you can go inside and take a walk through. Nice education of trains back in the days... Well maintained Tip: For discounts, look for deals on Groupon or the like...we got a groupon that saved us $. Feel free to donate for the upkeep of the railway park when you are there.

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    Railway Museum of British Columbia
    Railway Museum of British Columbia
    Railway Museum of British Columbia

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    District of Squamish - Watching the Parade...

    District of Squamish

    4.5(2 reviews)
    9.0 km

    H and I spent 2 days here in Squamish. It is a really nice small town. It is an adventurous town…read morebut not a fancy town. We stayed in the Adventure Inn. We were walking distance to downtown. We ate at a few restaurants here and checked out the cafe shops. Parking is free in downtown. Most people just head straight to Whistler and never make a stop here during skiing season. This makes sense because Whistler is way bigger than Squamish and has a lot more to do. Unless you are into hiking and mountain climbing.

    Whoa what a day!!!…read more Started off with a wicked breakfast, then we hit the highway with plans to get to Whistler. I was unaware it was the Lamborghini Rally weekend for charity (somehow doesn't read quite right does it - charity & Lamborghinis!?!) - there was literally hundreds of them on the highway! I've never seen so many Lamborghini Diablos together at once! Wow! However, a really nasty crash on the Sea-to-Sky Highway shut it down around 1pm. At 3pm stuck behind miles of traffic, I made a U-turn on the highway (very dangerous manouver but had no choice) & ended up in Squamish! Turned out to be a blessing! Squamish is an amazing small town surrounded by gorgeous mountains! The main mountain that attracts serious climbers (depending on one's goal, can take 3-5 hours to climb) worldwide is - The Chief! I'm happy to report that I have successfully climbed - The Chief - over a dozen times ... in my dreams! I used to use Squamish as merely a stopover for gas or juice, on my way to Whistler & back. Well after this awestruck trip it's no longer just a pit stop! I'm going to have to return soon for a proper - whole day visit! I love it! Lots of restaurant options - like Saha (Lebanese & Moroccan) for a savoury bite - very tasty indeed or try a fantastic mushroom burger at Chef Big D's! That last recommendation comes courtesy of a close contact who drives up from Vancouver twice a year just to have this burger!!! The natural scenery up here is breathtaking & awesome to see! So much development going on as well with condos going up all over town. If you can - do make Squamish a stopover on your itinerary - you won't regret it!

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    District of Squamish - Sea-to-Sky Highway rest stop & lookout area.

    Sea-to-Sky Highway rest stop & lookout area.

    District of Squamish - The Taste of Saigon Café

    The Taste of Saigon Café

    District of Squamish - Squamish

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    Squamish

    Britannia Mine Museum - museums - Updated May 2026

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