cabackroads--Riverside Municipal RV Park and Campground, Smitters, British Columbia.

cabackroads--Riverside Municipal RV Park and Campground, Smitters, British Columbia.

dates of stay: July 21-22th, 2016

All towns and cities were established to exploit the adjacent economic resources. Those towns and cities that focused ONLY on the economic resources in many, many cases became ghost towns. Those towns that focused on community and environment tend to stay around. The best case I have found is Wallace, Idaho. A town that was going to stick around no matter what the economic environment.

The towns that develop a "soul" tend to stick around. For some reason, after reading about a town you can easily spot those that are there for economic reasons and towns with a "soul".

Smitters struck me as a town with soul. It was the reason for spending a couple of nights at their local municipal campground.

The town has a great downtown made for walking and sitting. Don't miss it. A couple of bookstores, outdoor shops and even a sausage store!  Be sure to set aside a morning or afternoon for strolling through downtown Smitters.

The campground is set along the banks of the Bulkley River. It was running at flood stage while we were there and the deep water is right against the campground. Be careful with small children and dogs! The campground is pleasant with both pull-throughs, back-ins, and assorted tent sites.  There is a campground for small kids. We paid $32 for full hook-ups plus free wi-fi which though slow worked fine.

The only complaint was that the city furnishes free firewood to campers and EVERYBODY decided to have a wood fire the two nights spent there. The truck and Casita both reeked of wood smoke for days afterwords.

The city of Smitters has built a perimeter trail that heads around the town and leaves right from the campground. Here is additional information on the: Perimeter Trail, Smitters. The trail is perfect walk or bicycle ride into town. Highly recommended. The bicycle ride was just the perfect short ride to downtown. Be careful attention to the trail map. Signing does leave a bit to be desired, particularly for a trail in an urban area.

Smitters, BC.  We spend two days here. We would love to return. It is a special place with soul in northern British Columbia. A perfect stop prior to heading north on the Stewart-Cassier Highway.