British Columbia is the most geographically diverse province in Canada — and it left behind some of the most extraordinary abandoned places on earth. A 1907 tuberculosis sanatorium campus with 20 buildings above Kamloops Lake. A remote asbestos mining company town in the northern wilderness. The floating McDonald's restaurant from Expo 86 still drifting in Burrard Inlet. Here are 5 of the best abandoned places in British Columbia, selected from our Abandoned Places Map Canada — 2,500+ GPS locations across Canada.
Why British Columbia Is One of the Best Provinces for Urban Exploration
BC's urbex landscape is shaped by the province's resource extraction history — copper and silver mines in the Coast Range, asbestos and gold mining in the northern interior, pulp and paper mills on every navigable river and salmon canneries on the Fraser and the coast. The temperate rainforest climate preserves abandoned structures in a distinctive state of green, mossy decay unique to the Pacific Northwest.
1. Tranquille Sanatorium – Kamloops, BC — 1907 Tuberculosis Hospital Campus, 20+ Buildings Above Kamloops Lake, BC's Most Famous Abandoned Place (Known Location)
Built in 1907 on the north shore of Kamloops Lake as a tuberculosis sanatorium, Tranquille grew into a complete self-sustaining campus — hospital buildings, staff residences, a working farm, an abattoir and a powerhouse serving TB patients in the BC interior. After the TB epidemic ended with antibiotics, the campus converted to a school for people with developmental disabilities before closing in 1983. Over 20 original buildings still stand on the Kamloops Lake shore in various states of spectacular decay, the Thompson River landscape visible behind the institutional architecture. BC's most famous abandoned place and one of the most documented urbex sites in Canada.
🔗 Learn more: Wikipedia – Tranquille Sanatorium
2. Cassiar Ghost Town – Northern BC — 1950s-1990s Asbestos Mining Company Town, 1,200 Residents, Demolished After Closure, Street Grid and Foundations Remain in the Wilderness (Known Location)
Cassiar in northern British Columbia was a complete company town built around the Cassiar asbestos mine — 1,200 residents in company housing, a school, a curling rink and all the infrastructure of a self-sustaining northern community. When the asbestos market collapsed and the mine closed in 1992, the town was demolished rather than abandoned; the street grid, building foundations and the mining infrastructure remain in the northern BC wilderness accessible via the Cassiar Highway. One of the most remote and most historically significant abandoned company town sites in BC — a place that existed for 40 years and was erased almost completely. Exact location available on our Abandoned Places Map Canada.
🔗 Also read: Top 5 Best Abandoned Places in Canada →
3. Abandoned BC Coast Range Copper Smelter Town – 1900s-1930s Company Town and Copper Smelting Complex, Original Industrial Buildings Still Standing on a Coastal Inlet (Exclusively on Our Map)
A 1900s-1930s copper smelting company town on a BC coastal inlet — the original smelter stack still standing above the shoreline, the company housing rows in various states of coastal rainforest reclamation and the industrial wharf infrastructure extending into the inlet. BC's coastal copper deposits were exploited through company towns accessible only by sea; when ore grades fell and smelting consolidated elsewhere, these coastal communities were simply abandoned with their industrial infrastructure in place. One of the most atmospherically extraordinary and most completely preserved abandoned industrial company towns in British Columbia. Exact location available on our Abandoned Places Map Canada.
4. Abandoned Kootenay Silver Mining Ghost Town – 1890s Boom Town, Original Hotel and Assay Office Still Standing in the Mountain Valley, West Kootenay (Exclusively on Our Map)
A West Kootenay silver mining ghost town from the 1890s boom era — the original hotel building with its false-front facade, the assay office and the mine headframe visible above the valley on the surrounding mountain slopes. The Kootenay silver rush of the 1890s created dozens of instant boom towns across the mountain valleys of southeastern BC; when the silver prices collapsed in the early 1900s, the towns emptied almost as fast as they appeared. One of the most visually spectacular and most historically evocative abandoned places in BC's mountain interior. Exact location available on our Abandoned Places Map Canada.
5. Abandoned BC Interior Pulp Mill – 1920s-1960s Fraser River Basin Paper Complex, Digester Tower and Turbine House Still Standing, Interior BC (Exclusively on Our Map)
A 1920s-1960s pulp and paper mill on a Fraser River tributary in the BC interior — the original digester tower, the turbine house and the log boom infrastructure still standing in the Interior BC landscape. BC's interior pulp and paper industry powered the province's economy through the mid-20th century; mill closures since the 1990s left significant abandoned industrial infrastructure across the Fraser and Thompson watersheds. One of the most dramatically scaled and most photographically powerful abandoned industrial places in BC. Exact location available on our Abandoned Places Map Canada.
Safety Tips
- Asbestos at Cassiar: the Cassiar townsite was built on an asbestos mining operation — never disturb soil or debris and always wear an FFP2 mask if near any remaining structures
- Remote BC access: many BC abandoned places require long drives on unpaved forest service roads — always carry extra fuel, food and a satellite communicator
- Never explore alone — always bring at least one other person
The urbex code applies everywhere: "Take nothing but photographs, leave nothing but footprints."
❓ FAQ
What is the most famous abandoned place in British Columbia?
Tranquille Sanatorium near Kamloops — a 1907 tuberculosis hospital campus with over 20 original buildings still standing on the shore of Kamloops Lake. BC's most extensively documented abandoned place and one of the most discussed urbex sites in Canada.
What happened to Cassiar BC?
Cassiar was a 1950s-1990s asbestos mining company town of 1,200 residents on the Cassiar Highway in northern BC. When the asbestos market collapsed in 1992, the mine closed and the town was demolished rather than left to decay. The street grid, foundations and mining infrastructure remain in the northern wilderness.
What was BC's role in the Kootenay silver rush?
The discovery of massive silver deposits in the West Kootenay mountains in the late 1880s and early 1890s triggered one of BC's most intense mining booms — dozens of towns appeared in the mountain valleys within years. Sandon briefly held 5,000 people; when silver prices collapsed in the early 1900s, most towns emptied as fast as they had filled.
🎯 Summary
British Columbia's abandoned places range from Canada's most famous tuberculosis sanatorium above Kamloops Lake, to a northern company town demolished when the asbestos market collapsed and Kootenay silver mining ghost towns in dramatic mountain valleys. Each of these 5 abandoned places in British Columbia captures a different layer of the most geographically diverse province in Canada.
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