The Lillooet Museum, housed in a former church on Main Street, covers both the St'át'imc Indigenous history of the Fraser and Seton river valleys and the Cariboo Gold Rush period that briefly made Lillooet one of the largest cities in western North America. The St'át'imc collection includes traditional tools, baskets, and cultural objects from a people who have lived in this canyon country for thousands of years. The Gold Rush displays cover the extraordinary influx of miners in the early 1860s and the infrastructure that grew up to supply them.
The museum also serves as the town's visitor information centre, with helpful staff who can point you toward local jade hunting spots, hiking trails, and the backcountry access points in the surrounding area. It's a good first stop before exploring the region.