Walking Tour

Downtown Scavenger Hunt

Riddles of Trail's Past

Decipher Trail's fascinating history in this interactive scavenger hunt experience. With six different puzzle types to solve that cover many aspects of Trail's story, you'll get to know this city in ways you never thought possible, and have a blast while doing it!
This scavenger hunt covers much of downtown Trail and should take around two hours.
When taking the hunt, always be aware of your surroundings and avoid trying to restage photos in the streets.

This project is a partnership with the City of Trail and the Trail Museum & Archives, part of the celebrations of Trail 125. We also thank the Columbia Basin Trust and Teck Trail Operations for their generous support.

. Trail's Police & Fire Departments

Trail Museum & Archives No. 1087

1929

This historic photograph was taken somewhere within the indicated area. Find the spot where the historic photographer was standing and use the in-app camera to recreate the photo as closely as you can.
The building has been heavily modified, but you can still find it.

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This photo of Trail's fire and police departments showing off their ladder trucks and police cars in front of the municipal building, which had just been built in 1928 and housed the fire and police departments, as well as the municipal government. The building was given a major facelift in 1961.

. A Premier Surveys the Damage

Trail Museum & Archives No. 12734

1969

Which premier is this?

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This image from 1969 shows two men inspecting flood damage after one of Trail's perennial flooding events. The man on the left was British Columbia's larger-than-life premier who left an indelible legacy across the province and in Trail itself. The Victoria Street Bridge in the background of this photo opened in October 1961, part of his government's massive infrastructure campaign that created the province we know today. He was the longest-serving premier in BC history, from 1952 to 1972, and was honoured by having the largest hydroelectric dam in the province named after him (It's on the Peace River in the province's northeast).

. The Bowery Bridge

Trail Museum & Archives No. 5335

1897

What was the name Bowery changed to? Today it is _______ Avenue.

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As you can see the view from this spot, looking down the street then called the Bowery, has changed dramatically since the 1897 photo. We can see that there was once a bridge over Trail Creek that connected the two sides of town that were growing up on either side of the creek.
The Bowery, along with Bay Avenue, were together the main business thoroughfares in early Trail, and many frontier-style businesses were built on stilts on either side of the bridge. This area was home to many of Trail’s Chinese residents, with rooming houses, laundries, and cafes.
In 1911, the creek was culverted and the gulley filled in with slag from the smelter. A range of new businesses sprang up on either side of the Bowery, until it had its name changed to what it is today.

. A King is Crowned

Trail Museum & Archives No. 5950

1937

Somewhere within the indicated area of the map, this historic photograph was taken. Figure out where the photo was taken and use the in-app camera to restage the photo as closely as you can to the original. The building is still standing!

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(((https://onthisspot.ca/app/trail/big/coronationbuildingo.jpg |https://onthisspot.ca/app/trail/big/coronationbuildingn.jpg )))
The building you're standing in front of is the former West Kootenay Power & Light Company headquarters, built in 1930. Thanks to their massive hydroelectric dams at Bonnington Falls, W.K.P. & L., supplied power to Trail and much of the West Kootenays since 1897. A subsidiary company of Cominco, which grew into the largest lead-zinc smelter in the world, W.K.P. & L. grew with it. The building went up just before the Great Depression hit, a confident statement from a company that considered itself a permanent fixture of the region. W.K.P & L. was eventually bought by Utilicorp, then Aquila, then finally FortisBC.

. Trail's Methodist Church

Trail Museum & Archives No. 12208

ca. 1898

Choose the photo showing Trail Methodist Church that was once taken from the spot you are standing on.

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The correct photo shows Trail's Methodist Church that once stood where the Barks & Recreation is today, on the corner of Pine and Farwell.
It was built in 1896 (the photo was likely taken shortly after) and was a modest wood-frame building with a square bell tower at the corner closest to the intersection. It was built in the Gothic Revival style, which took inspiration from Medieval European cathedrals. You can see this in the pointed arch windows and doorway, as well as the decorative trim at the top of the roofline and on the bell tower. Instead of great carved stone blocks like its European antecedents, on the Canadian frontier these effects were achieved with timber and clapboard.
Sitting at the bottom of the steep hills surrounding Trail, and facing out towards the mighty Columbia River, this simple, sturdy, and unpretentious church was a reflection of the Methodist faith of those who worshipped here.
Most striking is the attached square bell tower, open on all sides near the top so the bell's ring could carry across town, and capped with a small pyramid roof. Simple, sturdy, and unpretentious, the church sits comfortably against the forested mountains of the Columbia River valley

. The Company Store

Trail Museum & Archives No. 5233;Trail Museum & Archives No. 12119;Trail Museum & Archives No. 9619;Trail Museum & Archives No. 15468

1946

Choose the photo that shows the CM&S Company Store that was once photographed from the spot you are standing on.

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The Pharmasave across the street was once the location of Consolidated Melting & Smelting Company of Canada Ltd.’s (CM&S) company store. Built in 1917 and expanded in 1925, it became an important anchor of the community. LIke all big department stores, it needed a lot of space. The result was an imposing two-storey brick building that took up much of the block, with a relatively clean but sturdy facade.
It sold all the necessities like groceries, clothing, and household wares at relatively cheap prices. Though Trail Mercantile was just a couple blocks away, a company store was designed to ensure employees of operations in more remote areas had access to necessities. It also allowed employees to pay for items on credit from their upcoming pay cheques. It was a win-win, as profit cycled back into the company.
But, in 1951 the Hudson's Bay Company bought out the store as the town grew to over 12,000 people. Trail would welcome an Eaton’s two years later. The old Company Store was soon demolished, replaced by the clean brick facades and distinctive clock on the corner with the more toned down modernist style building you see today. In the 1980s, it became a Zellers, and then a video rental outlet, and finally, in 2012, Pharmasave.

. Trail's Evolving Cityscape

Trail Museum & Archives No. 4205; Trail Museum & Archives No. 2029; Trail Museum & Archives No. 3734; Trail Museum & Archives No. 12705;

1896-1950s

Arrange these four photographs from oldest to most recent.

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Trail is a very picturesque city, framed by mountains that provide scenic backdrops and excellent views down onto the city. When Trail's smelter was built in 1896, an intrepid photographer wasted no time hiking his bulky camera equipment up the mountain to take a photo of the growing new city. It's one of the photos below you see here.
When Trail was founded, the downtown was cut in half by Trail Creek, and a bridge on Bay Avenue was built across the creek to connect the two sides. It wasn't until 1911 that the creek was culverted and slag from the smelter was used to fill in the creek bed, which was quickly built upon with new businesses.
East Trail also became an important community in its own right, after a trussed bridge was built across the Columbia River in 1912. Today the bridge still stands, though it is now closed to the public. That bridge was the main route for people to get to East Trail and beyond until 1961, when the large highway bridge was built on Victoria Street, just beneath smelter hill. Affectionately known as the “New Bridge” for decades, the term is used less since the opening of the Columbia River Skywalk in December 2016.

. The Crown Point Through Time

Trail Museum & Archives No. 5233; Trail Museum & Archives No. 12119; Trail Museum & Archives No. 9619; Trail Museum & Archives No. 15468

1908-1997

Arrange these four photographs from oldest to most recent.

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These four photographs all show the Crown Point Hotel, one of Trail's most enduring landmarks. Built by Simon Petersen in 1895, as the smelter was being built, the Crown Point immediately became the social heart of the early town. Its dining room was reputedly the finest in Trail, and for decades it hosted grand balls, Dominion Day celebrations, and the comings and goings of miners, smelter workers, and visiting dignitaries.

. Trail's Roll of Honour

1914-1953

What was the last name of the soldier?

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We come to Trail's cenotaph, a monument to honour all those from Trail who gave their lives fighting for Canada in the world wars.
Walk around the cenotaph and take a moment to read the names: Trail paid a heavy toll.
One of the men who fell in the Second World War shared a last name with a wartime leader. His first name, Randolph, also happened to be the first name of that leader's father, as well as his only son, though there was no known relation between Trail's Randolph and his opposite namesakes.

. Flooding AR Experience

Aim the camera at the mural to activate the Augmented Reality experience. Once you've activated it press the speaker button to activate sound.

. City of Champions

The Smoke Eater player in the mural holds the Savage Cup in his right arm and the Allan Cup in his left. The Savage and Allan Cups were awarded to them for becoming champions of what?

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The City of Trail is known for fostering a tradition of success in the sport of hockey. Teams from Trail have excelled in the sport since the early 1900s and continue to do so. This tradition of excellence spans not only the famous senior hockey team, the Trail Smoke Eaters, but all levels of minor, junior, and intermediate hockey and administration of the sport locally and provincially.
This mural, on the wall of the Trail Memorial Centre, honours the significant contribution that teams, coaches, administration, and volunteers have made to the game of hockey in our community. We are proud of their accomplishments and appreciative of their dedication to the sport and the recognition they have brought to the City of Trail.
Read the placards at the bottom of the mural to learn more about Trail's triumphant hockey history.