Sicamous

Sicamous is a town of 2,400 people (2011) in Shuswap region of British Columbia. It is at the eastern end of Shuswap Lake and is known as the Houseboat Capital of Canada.

Understand

"Sicamous" is an adaptation of a Shuswap language word meaning "river circling mountains".

History

In the 1800s, Sicamous and area was inhabited by a semi-nomadic Indigenous nation called the Secwepemc or Shuswap. They crossed the Rocky Mountains to hunt buffalo on the plains. In this area they were called the "Schickamoos".

In 1864, gold was discovered on the Columbia. Seymour Arm became a supply centre in the Big Bend Gold Rush. In 1885, permanent settlers arrived after the driving of the Last Spike at Craigellachie, which linked Canada sea to sea. Among the first settlers in Sicamous were the families from Finland. Old Town, or Eagle Pass Landing as it now known, became an almost instant town in 1871. It was the central supply centre for railway construction. Today it is used primarily for recreational purposes such as sledding, houseboating, hiking, swimming, and biking.

Later, in the early 1900s, CPR hill became a residential development. Finlayson's store and a jail were built in 1892, adding a post office in 1904. The first school opened around 1908.

Get in

The town is at the junction of the Trans-Canada Highway 1 and BC Highway 97A. Driving from Vancouver, it is a little past the half-way point to Calgary.

Get around

Sicamous is directly around the Trans-Canada Highway, and so travelling by car is the best way to get anywhere. If you want to see the lake, the best way is by boat. It is an excellent idea to hire a houseboat and travel around the lake, or if you are short on time, hiring a speedboat is always a fun and quick way to admire the scenery of the hills and lake. There are even 2 stores in the middle of the lake in the summer for supplies.

See

• There are many beaches around the lake that should be visited.
• Sicamous Creek
• If you are brave enough, there are several logging tracks that the locals use to get their firewood for the winter. The views from these points in the mountains are spectacular, and if you're lucky you might spot some wildlife - from chipmunks to deers to grizzly and black bears.

Do

• Rent a canoe, boat or houseboat and tour Shuswap Lake - companies include Waterways houseboats, Twin anchors Houseboats and Three Buoys.
• Hyde Mountain golf course on Mara
• Go-karting
• Mini-golf
• In summer visit the beaches on the Shuswap lake - Mara, Sicamous, 2 Mile Beach
• Go for a walk around Sicamous Creek or one of the national parks

Buy

Shops include Askew's (a general grocery store), Beach Chic (a clothing store), BC Liquor Store, Brothers liquor store, Moose Mulligans liquor store, IDA pharmacy, and a furnishings and souvenir shop.

Eat

• Moose Mulligans, 1122 Riverside Ave., Sicamous - Good bar and restaurant, and not too expensive. Moose Mulligan's serves a variety of sandwiches, fish and chips, seafood, mexican cuisine and more. The restaurant is child-friendly, offering a kids menu. Of course, as in the rest of British Columbia, under 19's cannot go to the bar or the liquor store (of the same name) which is attached to the restaurant. The restaurant has indoor and outdoor seating, a car park and space to moor boats as it overlooks the river.
• Licks and Splits, Main Street - excellent, reasonably priced, soft-cream ice cream. Open in the summer. The store offers 30-50 flavours of ice cream and also sells slushies, ice cream cakes and drinks. There are picnic seats outside.
• D Dutchman Dairy - ice cream and dairy store. The ice cream is all freshly made on site from the farm's cows. Many changing flavours in several sizes (from "kids" to "mammoth").

Drink

• Moose Mulligan's Pub and Restaurant
• Brothers Neighbourhood Pub - Another bar attached to a liquor store and situated on main street. As with the other places in the town, the pub has a small, community feeling, but is still a good night out.

Sleep

• Best Western Sicamous Inn, 806 Trans Canada Highway E, ☎ [phone], toll-free: [phone], e-mail: [e-mail]. Check-in: 3PM, check-out: noon. Standard room with two queen beds starts at $145 in the summer and $100 in the off season. 
• Paradise Motel, 517 Main Street, ☎ [phone], e-mail: [e-mail]. Large family suites with kitchenettes, outdoor heated pool, picnic shelter, high speed internet, dog friendly (additional charge). (updated May 2018)
• The Cedars Paradise Motel, 1210 Paradise Ave, ☎ [phone], e-mail: [e-mail]. 7-unique log constructed accommodation units with rich log interiors, nestled in amongst cedar trees, downtown lakeside location. From $95. (updated May 2018)

Connect

Go next

• Kelowna and the Okanagan, with its skifields, beaches and wineries, is an 1-2 hour drive south of town on Highway 97A.
• The Last Spike, Trans-Canada Highway, Craigellachie (located on Highway 1, 25 km east of Sicamous). Gift shop and info center open May-Oct. A plaque and display commemorate the site where the last spike in the Canadian Trans-Continental railway was hammered in. 

Routes through Sicamous

Kamloops ← Salmon Arm ←	W  E	→ Revelstoke → Banff
END ←	N  S	→ Enderby → Vernon / Kelowna via