Prince George is the largest city in northern British Columbia, sitting at the confluence of the Fraser and Nechako Rivers roughly in the geographic centre of the province. With a population of about 75,000, it is the service hub for a vast region of forests, mountains, and lakes, and an important stop on any drive through the BC interior.
The city is a forestry town at heart, and the air sometimes carries the scent of the pulp mills, but Prince George has worked hard to develop its cultural side. The Two Rivers Gallery downtown has a strong collection of contemporary Canadian art. Exploration Place, a science and history museum in Lheidli T'enneh Memorial Park on the Fraser River, covers the region's natural history and the cultures of the Lheidli T'enneh people who have lived at this confluence for thousands of years. The Central BC Railway and Forestry Museum is one of the most complete collections of historic rolling stock in the province.
Prince George is a practical overnight stop on the long drives between Kamloops and Prince Rupert or the Alaska Highway. The Yellowhead Highway heads west through the Lakes District toward the coast, while Highway 97 continues north to Dawson Creek and the start of the Alaska Highway. Forests for the World provides a network of trails through managed boreal forest right on the city's edge. At the highway junction you'll find Mr. PG, the 26-foot logger mascot who has greeted arrivals since 1960.